E stands for Education.
Be a lifelong learner.
Seek out novelty and new experiences.
Get out of your comfort zone.
Learn a foreign language, musical instrument, art, craft or technical skill.
Take a course in a subject that fascinates you.
Read books on a wide range of topics.
Try a new recipe for dinner.
You don’t have to be good at something to reap the benefits of trying something new. The process of learning, in and of itself, stimulates the growth of new brain cells and new connections.
If you find something challenging, that’s great! It means you’re boosting your brain. Mouse and rat studies have shown that when they are raised in stimulating environments with colourful toys, mazes and running wheels, they grow bigger brains.
And what was my education for today?
The power of focusing on what’s strong, not wrong.
Because whatever we focus on, we magnify in our life.
Instead of focusing on the unrelenting pain in my feet, and that my two big toenails were going to fall off, I focused on the fact that I had made it this far. I focused on the beauty of my surroundings and the privilege of what I was doing: something that was brain-boosting, fulfilling and contributed to others. Choosing my focus made a tangible difference.
Self talk rules. What we say to ourselves — that each step is making a positive difference, that the sun feels glorious on my skin, the breeze feels delightful through my hair — produces endorphins that reduced my pain.
Make it a habit to focus on what you want, not on what you don’t want. Focus on direction, not perfection; on where you’re heading, not on what’s standing in your way. Every small step you take in the direction of better brain health will add up to enhance the quality of your life enormously.
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This is a photo from Stage 14 (of 22 stages) of the 300+km Pekoe Trail.
For more photos of my time in Sri Lanka, click here.
If you’d like to trek the Pekoe Trail yourself, please contact Deen at srilankatrekkingclub.com
I highly recommend you do it in the recommended 22 days, not the high speed 14 days that I did it in! You can also choose to only do one or a few of the stages to get a taste of Sri Lanka’s glorious tea country. Happy hiking – it’s a fabulous brain-boosting activity!
Please share this Health-e-Byte with anyone with an interest in brain health or a diagnosis of dementia.
