{"id":7458,"date":"2011-09-26T21:54:13","date_gmt":"2011-09-27T05:54:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/?p=7458"},"modified":"2014-10-22T19:08:04","modified_gmt":"2014-10-23T03:08:04","slug":"got-mental-exercise-9-ways-to-stay-sharp","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/got-mental-exercise-9-ways-to-stay-sharp\/","title":{"rendered":"Got Mental Exercise? 9 Ways to Stay Sharp"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;\" class=\"sharethis-inline-share-buttons\" ><\/div><p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/Screen-shot-2011-09-26-at-4.49.08-PM.png\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Just as we all need physical exercise, so too we all need mental exercise.\u00a0 Just as our body becomes flabby from lack of physical exercise, so too our mind becomes \u201cflabby\u201d from lack of mental exercise.\u00a0 Absent mental exercise, we\u2019re likely to become bored or even depressed.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0The good news is that we have many ways of exercising our mind.\u00a0 Let\u2019s take a look\u2026<!--more--><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Working <\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Work provides us with lots of mental exercise.\u00a0 As workers, we stretch our mental muscles while performing all but the most medial tasks.\u00a0 And as we\u2019ve largely completed moving from a manufacturing economy to a service \/ information economy, those medial tasks have become much fewer. \u00a0Thus, the vast majority of us enjoy mentally stimulating work.\u00a0 And through work, we get to stretch our minds for a very long time.\u00a0 Consider that we spend eight or more hours per day, five or more days per week, for some four decades or so, working.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Volunteer Opportunities <\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Many volunteer opportunities offer a significant intellectual challenge.\u00a0 My wife, Wendy, and I teach English to Hispanic adults in our community.\u00a0 With those students who are more advanced, I\u2019m able to converse in English.\u00a0 But for those students who are beginners, I need to offer instruction in Spanish.\u00a0 Sure, it\u2019s more difficult for me to communicate in Spanish, my second language.\u00a0 But doing so provides me with a stimulating mental exercise.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Reading<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Reading means thinking, and thinking means mental stimulation.\u00a0 A visit to your local library or bookstore, or to the website of an on-line book seller, will overwhelm you with the enormity of available reading material.\u00a0 I happen to be a news junkie, so I read a number of news magazines and newspapers.\u00a0 I also enjoy reading periodicals specific to my interests.\u00a0 Reading, by the way, is especially stimulating when followed by related, meaningful conversation.\u00a0 And this leads to\u2026<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Choosing friends carefully <\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Each of us has a few favorite interests about which we enjoy conversing.\u00a0 And each of us (hopefully) has a friend or two who share one or more of our favorite interests.\u00a0 If so, we have the ingredients for stimulating conversation.\u00a0 Caution though, not every interested person is an interesting person.\u00a0 Some people simply talk without saying anything.\u00a0 I know a few such people.\u00a0 I\u2019ll bet you do too.\u00a0 To enjoy mental stimulation through conversation, we need to be selective about those with whom we spend our time.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Attending class<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Whatever our interest, there\u2019s a class to teach us more about it.\u00a0 College degree programs, adult education classes, on-line classes, or audio tapes in the car.\u00a0 The \u201chow\u201d doesn\u2019t matter.\u00a0 All that matters is that learning involves thinking.\u00a0 Wendy\u2019s Uncle Wes is 90 years old.\u00a0 He continues to take two courses each semester at the college near his home.\u00a0 Hats off to Uncle Wes!<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Writing<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Perhaps the most in-depth mental exercise of all, writing calls for an exactness of thought.\u00a0 Obviously, such thinking is intellectually challenging.\u00a0 And it really doesn\u2019t matter what you write.\u00a0 You can write a blog, or articles for a magazine, or even an entire book.\u00a0 It all requires thought.\u00a0 Again, mental exercise.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Embracing new technologies<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Learning new technologies requires that one \u201cclimb a learning curve.\u201d\u00a0 Though at times frustrating, it certainly requires thought.\u00a0 As for me, some day, I\u2019m really going to figure out how to use my Photoshop Elements Software Program.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Participating in hobbies<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Some friends of ours, who are very much into birding, invited us to attend the annual bird festival in Eastern Oregon.\u00a0 So, last spring, we hooked up our travel trailer and headed east.\u00a0 Well no, I don\u2019t think they\u2019ve converted me into a bird watcher.\u00a0 But both Wendy and I had a grand time.\u00a0 We saw a countless number of bald eagles and we learned a whole lot about a number of bird species.\u00a0 In fact, if you want to know how to recognize a vulture in flight, just ask me.\u00a0 Yep, intellectual stimulation.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Attending cultural events<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Attending live theater stimulates thinking and encourages lively conversation.\u00a0 The same is true for attending museums, lectures and concerts.\u00a0 Once, with lots of encouragement from Wendy, I attended a ballet.\u00a0 While it wasn\u2019t the most fun evening of my life, I did come away with an interesting story \u2013 The fellow seated to my right, apparently attending at the encouragement of his wife, leaned over and whispered in my ear, \u201cEvery man in this room is in love.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>How about you?\u00a0 Are you getting your share of mental exercise?\u00a0 And if so, how?<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211;<\/p>\n<p>Bill Birnbaum is author of, \u201c<a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Lifetime-Small-Adventures-Bill-Birnbaum\/dp\/193263200X\/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1316980200&amp;sr=8-2\">A Lifetime of Small Adventures: Stories of adventure, misadventure, and lessons learned along the way<\/a>.\u201d\u00a0 He writes a blog at: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.adventureretirement.com\/\">www.AdventureRetirement.com<\/a>.\u00a0 Bill lives in Sisters, Oregon with his adventurous wife, Wendy, a red kayak and a well-worn pair of hiking boots.<\/p>\n<p>Don&#8217;t Forget To Follow PickTheBrain on <a href=\"http:\/\/twitter.com\/pickthebrain\">Twitter<\/a>!<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Related Articles:<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/4-musts-to-stay-committed-to-your-diet\/\">4 Musts to Staying Committed To Your Diet<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/the-massive-benefits-of-a-healthy-diet-and-how-to-make-yours-stick\/\">The Massive Benefits of a Healthy Diet and How To Make Yours Stick<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Just as our body becomes flabby from lack of physical exercise, so too our mind becomes \u201cflabby\u201d from lack of mental exercise.  Absent mental exercise, we\u2019re likely to become bored or even depressed.    The good news is that we have many ways of exercising our mind.  Let\u2019s take a look\u2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/got-mental-exercise-9-ways-to-stay-sharp\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12163,"featured_media":7464,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[6],"tags":[1651,287,1650,66,4629,1652,1653],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v19.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Got Mental Exercise? 9 Ways to Stay Sharp - Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Just as we all need physical exercise, so too we all need mental exercise. Just as our body becomes flabby from lack of physical exercise, so too our mind becomes \u201cflabby\u201d from lack of mental exercise. Absent mental exercise, we\u2019re likely to become bored or even depressed. The good news is that we have many ways of exercising our mind. Let\u2019s take a look\u2026\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/got-mental-exercise-9-ways-to-stay-sharp\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Got Mental Exercise? 9 Ways to Stay Sharp - Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Just as we all need physical exercise, so too we all need mental exercise. Just as our body becomes flabby from lack of physical exercise, so too our mind becomes \u201cflabby\u201d from lack of mental exercise. Absent mental exercise, we\u2019re likely to become bored or even depressed. The good news is that we have many ways of exercising our mind. Let\u2019s take a look\u2026\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/got-mental-exercise-9-ways-to-stay-sharp\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pickthebrain\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2011-09-27T05:54:13+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2014-10-23T03:08:04+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/Screen-shot-2011-09-26-at-4.49.08-PM.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"401\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"297\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@pickthebrain\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@pickthebrain\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Erin Falconer\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/got-mental-exercise-9-ways-to-stay-sharp\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/Screen-shot-2011-09-26-at-4.49.08-PM.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/Screen-shot-2011-09-26-at-4.49.08-PM.png\",\"width\":\"401\",\"height\":\"297\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/got-mental-exercise-9-ways-to-stay-sharp\/#webpage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/got-mental-exercise-9-ways-to-stay-sharp\/\",\"name\":\"Got Mental Exercise? 9 Ways to Stay Sharp - Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/got-mental-exercise-9-ways-to-stay-sharp\/#primaryimage\"},\"datePublished\":\"2011-09-27T05:54:13+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2014-10-23T03:08:04+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/2da8ae162c097bdb749ab098472b4cc5\"},\"description\":\"Just as we all need physical exercise, so too we all need mental exercise. 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