One of the most complex things in the universe is the human mind. It has many awesome and weird features but also a lot of weaknesses and glitches.
Usually when you go to the store and buy something, it’ll come with a manual. Even if you can’t figure out how to use it, you just load up YouTube and more than likely, there will be a video with detailed instructions.
Unfortunately our brains do not come with that luxury.
You just gotta plug n’ play at life and learn as you grow.
Exercising your brain is not impossible, though. You can get a huge leg up in your personal life, career and anything you want by learning simple psychological hacks.
By mastering your mind, you get a big advantage over others who navigate this world only through emotion and basic instinct.
Luckily, there are 9 simple hacks that you can do to expand your mind. If you’re an Entrepreneur, or just someone who desires more, this will surely help.
Mind Hack #1: Don’t sweat the small stuff
Stress is a silent killer! Sometimes it’s easier said than done, but seriously — never let yourself get bogged down by negative thoughts.
Life IS hard, nothing is meant to be easy.
But something you can do to make stress easier is to…
Laugh!
Many people don’t realize that laughing is a great way to relieve tension and stress. Plus — it helps you become more creative.
It gets those good juices flowing. The reason is because your brain releases dopamine when you laugh.
One of the so-called happy hormones, and you’ll definitely reap the rewards later on.
Mind Hack #2: Make Wednesdays more productive
Wednesday is typically regarded as the toughest part of the week.
The weekend always seems so far away when you’re waking up on Monday.
No matter what type of business you’re in, Monday is typically the busiest day because you’re preparing for the week and catching up from he previous one.
Once hump day passes by, you start getting pumped up because the weekend is near by.
So a simple mind hack to get you pumped for Wednesday (think of it like a mini weekend getaway) is to make your brain love Wednesday.
How do you make your brain love Wednesday?
To plan something special for that day!
Treat yourself to your favorite food, or a fun activity with your friends or family — something you’ll look forward to once the week starts.
Time will go by quickly that you won’t realize it’s almost the weekend.
Mind Hack #3: La-la-la-la-la . . . Learn a new song
Singing or dancing immediately puts you in a good mood but it actually has more benefits for your brain.
If you’re in the mood to belt out songs, why not change things up and tune into a new radio station or playlist?
You can then try to memorize their lyrics. By learning a song for the first time, acetylcholine — the chemical that helps improve memory and build your brain — increases significantly.
Who would’ve thought that acting silly and learning new songs could actually improve your mind.
Who would’ve known acting silly and learning something new, can actually help your mind.
Mind Hack #4: Change your daily routine
Doing the same tasks every day, for months and years on end can be boring and daunting.
You can improve your attention and strengthen your focus by building new routines. You don’t need to do something drastic, though.
A small effort can go a long way — may it be re-organizing your pantry, taking a new work route, rearranging furniture and more.
Once you do this, your brain will be forced to become alert and pay more attention to your surroundings.
Mind Hack #5: Reset your circadian clock
Life is stressful. We’re all super busy and it’s hard enough to get sleep these days, especially if you’re busy at work or school.
You can reboot your internal sleeping rhythm, a.k.a. circadian clock — by eating less and getting more sun.
This helps you become more productive and improve your concentration despite having an evening insomnia and morning grog.
If you’ve had a good sleep and your mind is clear, you can be more productive and creative.
Mind Hack #6: Write it down with a pen
Putting your thoughts into writing actually does wonders for your mind.
By physically jotting down ideas, you remember things much better versus typing it on your phone. The reason behind this mind-expanding hack is the strong brain-body connection we have.
Something unique actually happens when we take notes. A spatial relation occurs from the bits of information that we are writing down on paper.
Another section of the brain takes those spatial tasks and start linking to filter out what’s less relevant and what you should remember.
So write down more notes!
Mind Hack #7: Repeat until it becomes a habit
Many theories suggest that if you do a specific activity long enough, it eventually turns into a habit. You can read a book every morning until it becomes part of your routine.
By doing this, you learn more new things without ever forcing yourself to do a certain task.
This applies to other activities such as doing exercise, trying a new sport, cooking delicious meals and more.
Keep in mind that you can create bad habits by repeating things you shouldn’t be doing, to the point where you are being lackluster.
Mind Hack #8: Speed read
Lots of information can be accessed in just a few clicks but how are you supposed to consume all of it?
Learn to speed read.
This technique offers multiple benefits to your brain because it improves your memory.
This same technique can be used for consuming online courses and videos. Play them at 2x speed rather than the default playback speed.
Believe it or not, retaining data at nearly immeasurable speeds is possible — even for an average individual like the rest of us.
Conclusion
Every brain is wired in a different kind of way. These above-mentioned hacks may work for you but may not work for others and vice versa. The key to expanding your mind is by trying out simple methods to see what really fits your personality.
Hopefully, with these tricks, you can exploit your brain’s innate ability to alter anything about yourself and unlock your full potential.
Let me know in the comments below what simple mind-hack you will be trying to improve your life, and mind.
Originally published at medium.com