Pumping Mental Iron
I was facilitating a MasterMind Group this morning and likened our experience together to a workout in the gym. That is the whole concept behind the name of my tag line since the beginning, as most of you know.
Whenever I go somewhere with a name tag on and people don’t know me yet, they say “Pumping Mental Iron? Are you a trainer?” Or they say “Pumping Metal Iron! Oh you’re a trainer!” Often they don’t get it.
That’s okay, it gives me an opportunity to give them my “elevator speech” about working out the 6 inches between your ears just as you work out your body at the gym.
It always fascinates me how many people don’t work out at all, either in the physical, or in the mental gym.
The two are so related. Brain fitness is becoming one of the fastest growing industry, with the huge population of Baby Boomers aging, and becoming concerned for their cognitive ability. Over 26 million people have Alzheimer’s Disease, isn’t that scary? Many studies are being done on Neuroplasticity, and and have now shown that our brain does not just shut down with age.; it is an organ that continues to change, adapt, and process information by making new connections among neurons.
It has been shown that people who use and challenge their brain are about three times less likely to develop Alzheimers! Here are some of the activities elderly people engage in to ward off Alzheimers: Chess, Scrabble, crossword puzzles, learning a musical instrument, or learning a language. It is suggested by neuro-specialists to engage in activities that challenge visual-spatial skills, motor functions, language, and memory. That’s the mental part.
Harvard Business Review reports that this research explains why people like Alan Greenspan and Warren Buffett stay so sharp later in life: they have spent and continue to spend their lives reasoning, remembering, learning, planning, adapting, making decisions, solving problems, and dealing with stress.
Now, here’s the physical part. “Anything that’s good for your heart is good for your head” is the saying that’s going around. Watching your weight, blood pressure, and cholesterol help take care of your brain, too. Scientists now say the four “musts” to protecting the brain from aging are:
1. Eating frech fruits and veggies
2. Regular aerobic exercise
3. Challenging your mind with difficult tasks
4. Staying socially active and connected.
This all seems like a no-brainer, right? (pun intended) According to Trends Magazine May 2008, Software geared to brain fitness is a $225+billion business. Jumping on the bandwagon of offering software that assesses and trains cognitive skills are Fortune 1000 companies, the military, sports teams, and others. Nintendo’s Brain Age took in over $80 million in 2007. The game stimulates the brain through problem solving, math, imagery and scrambled words.
The brain needs to have things that are difficult and new to continue to create new connections and continue to work.
Top Ten Takeaways:
1. Become a perpetual student devoted to learning new things.
2. Get into a good facilitated MasterMind Group that challenges your thinking and problem solving.
3. Stop resisting change and learn something new.
4. Keep a healthy body. Eat right and work out!
5. Don’t listen to or say things like “I’m having a Senior Moment” or “I must be getting old”. That’s CRAP.
6. Continue to read. I talked to Charlie Jones last week and he said “It’s all in the books”! That’s why he’s smart!
7. Maybe there is a way for you to tap into the brain fitness market, expected to be at over $1 billion by 2015.
8. Ask yourself ‘What am I doing for my employees to keep their brains performing at optimum level, thereby improving productivity and innovation?’
9. Make a new committment to training at all levels in your company. Some of your competitors are cutting back on training now to reduce expenses. Training is not an expense. It is an investment. Great time to increase market share!
10.When it’s play time, play games that increase your cognitive ability. Think NEUROPLASTICITY!
Contact me if you need more resources on this topic or have any questions on this information or it’s sources. julia@mentaliron.com
As always, I am committed to your success.
Coach Julia
www.mentaliron.com
Tags: Alzheimers, Brain Fitness, Charles T. Jones, MasterMind, Neuroscience, pumping mental iron
