6 Simple Steps to Increase Your Intellectual Wellness

When I feel I’m challenging my mind and mentally growing, I feel great about myself. I don’t feel you can ever stop improving yourself mentally with knowledge or gaining a new skill.

Examples of Intellectual wellness are:
Development of good study skills and time management development of your own ideas views and opinions
Exposing yourself to new ideas, people and beliefs that are different from your own
Become aware of who you are and what you value.
Become a critical thinker.
Being open-minded.
Studying abroad or traveling.

DAILY AFFIRMATION
I Will Come Through This Challenge With a Better Understanding of Myself.
Remind yourself out loud that you will get through the challenge; not only will you get through it, but you will learn something about yourself.

I also feel as though it's personal development as there are a couple of beauty courses that I want to enrol in, so I’m taking the time to find a suitable course for me to do and gain more qualifications but I also have access to Coursera and I’m really trying to find a course that’ll benefit me, there’s just so many options that in itself is overwhelming but I have seen courses on psychology and mindfulness and as I’m interested in these subjects – duh! It would be a no-brainer to enrol in these and get a deeper understanding and well…qualifications too. I'm taking advantage of the current downtime that I do have & want to up my skills but sometimes there’s easier and not such costly ways to increase your intellectual wellness.

READ

Try these tips today for a good night's sleep!

6 SIMPLE STEPS TO INCREASE YOUR INTELLECTUAL WELLNESS

Debate an issue with a friend
This one will be with a twist, how about doing it from the opposite viewpoint that you hold? Focusing attention on information that is different from your own beliefs can improve your intellectual wellness. You’re expanding your mind to grasp new information as it’s very easy to relay information that we already know and can explain fluently but from the other standpoint it’ll be trickier but you’re exercising your mind. I personally think that it can make you also see and understand a topic, you may not necessarily still agree with the viewpoint but you might understand [within reason of the topic]

Reading is FUNdemental
Reading for many can seem like a chore, associated with studying more than ever as you get older and you never want to pick up a book again. Our attention span seems to have shortened to 30 seconds - 1minute instagram videos & a short caption but reading a book that is on a topic that you enjoy and want to know more about can expand the mind and it'll be more interesting than thinking you only need to read to study. Even if you read a fiction to escape into another world, you're exposing yourself to alternative words and learning but in a fun way. Reading is one of my favourite past-times. I am more a non-fiction reader as I love to constantly deep dive into subjects.

Learn a foreign language
How mind challenging! We are exposed to different languages daily now and even in school, we are taught either French, Spanish or German – mine was the first two but I absolutely loved Spanish. There’s so many languages I’d love to develop my skills on such as Italian & French. Learning different ways to communicate, once again expands the mind and helps with being receptive to new knowledge.

Play a musical instrument
Remembering the first time I managed to play a song on the guitar – self-taught, I was so pleased and happy with myself. The process was fun but it was different from when I grew up playing the piano. We are learning to create sounds and display our emotions through an instrument. BTW the song I learnt, was Nirvana Come As You Are, I’m such a 90s child.

Play games / wordsearch / crosswords / Sudoku
Sudoku, wow – I recall that ‘phase’ people would be doing it in books (our phones didn’t have apps back then) and I looked at all these numbers and blank boxes and immediately told myself I couldn’t do it. That wasn’t true, I had never tried. Wordsearches, I enjoy – I’m a little competitive when it comes to it, I play it like it’s bingo lol. It keeps the brain active and helps to maintain and build – these things don’t have to be boring.

Journal frequently
Yup, the one thing I constantly go, on and on about. When you take the time out to write down thoughts it can mentally help especially if you struggle to express feelings or even if you’re trying to make sense of what or why you’re feeling the way that you are. Being able to identify your feelings and understanding yourself more, you’re increasing intellectual wellness by encouraging your mind to think deeper.

Is there anything you do that increases your intellectual wellness?