Life is full of pressure. Worries about your health, terrorist threats on the news, financial troubles, conflicts at work and family concerns. Without a center in your life, those pressures are likely to push you around. I’ve found taking time to center myself every day gives me the strength to do my best.

Centering is often seen as a religious or spiritual activity. Centering yourself around spiritual beliefs or rituals is perfectly fine. But if you aren’t a particularly religious person, or situations have caused you to change your faith, you might find it hard to center yourself.

I’m not a religious person, but I still find time to center myself every day. Here are a few of the things worth centering on:

The Now. Focusing yourself on what you have instead of what you don’t have. Focusing on present actions instead of future worries and past regrets. Focusing on what is.

Your Dreams. Center yourself on the direction you want to take your life. Re-reading any goals I’ve written down helps me reaffirm what I want from life instead of responding to cynicism and frustration.

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You probably own a car. Perhaps even a motorbike. One thing is for certain though: if you are reading this you are the proud owner of a brain.

Why is it that we care about how to keep our cars in top shape (oil changes, tire pressure, frequent cleaning…) more than about ensuring our brains - the physical basis for our minds - perform at their peak?

A spate of recent news coverage on brain fitness and “brain training” has missed an important constituency: younger people. Recent advancements in brain science have as tremendous implications for teenagers and adults of all ages as they do for seniors.

In a recent conversation with neuroscientist Yaakov Stern of Columbia University, he related how surprised he was when, years ago, a reporter from Seventeen magazine requested an interview. The reporter told Dr. Stern that he wanted to write an article to motivate kids to stay in school and not to drop out, in order to start building their Cognitive Reserve early and age more gracefully.

What is the Cognitive Reserve?

Research since the 90s shows that individuals who lead mentally stimulating lives, through their education, their jobs, and also their hobbies, build a “Cognitive Reserve” in their brains. Stimulating the brain can literally generate new neurons and strengthen their connections which results in better brain performance and in having a lower risk of developing Alzheimer’s symptoms.
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Photos by Giampaolo Macorig and Jillhudgins.

In today’s world we have loneliness, but rarely solitude. Western culture tends to portray anyone who wants solitude as being anti-social or unhappy. But, as I’d like to argue, getting more time by yourself can actually increase the quality of your communication. Instead of surrounding yourself with the crowd, you can focus on having real conversations.

Why Spend More Time Alone?

Staying connected at all times seems to be the addiction of the 21st century. Instead of having real conversations and social interactions, people are just filling up their alone time with noise.

If being disconnected for a few days or even a few hours gives you shivers, it’s probably because you haven’t learned how to be comfortable with your own silence. But if you can fully appreciate just being with your own thoughts, you can fully interact when you’re with people. Here are a couple other reasons to carve out more time for yourself:

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I’m a vegetarian. I also eat virtually no junk food, white bread, soft drinks or caffeine. For most people, living on such a diet seems like an act of self-torture. But this way of eating isn’t the result of extreme self-discipline. Once you know how to redesign your diet, eating healthy foods all the time is easy.

Why Redesign Your Diet?

Isn’t permanently redesigning your diet a little excessive? You’ll miss all the great foods like roast beef, candy and potato chips. Why bother going to all the work of overhauling your diet just so you can live a few extra years? Click here to continue »