Keys To Increased Intelligence
Keys To Increased Intelligence by Alan Tutt
http://www.KeysToPower.com
It's back to school season, and many students will be looking
for ways to make better grades with less effort. Even those of
us who are not enrolled in formal education, are faced with
having to learn more now than ever before. Over the years, I
have learned many tricks to increasing intelligence and making
learning easier. Here is a brief synopsis of what I've learned.
1) Pay attention! Most people don't learn things simply because
they are thinking about something else at the time. If you are
in class and the professor is giving a lecture, don't spend time
writing notes or planning outings. Also, keep note taking to a
minimum, since focusing on writing takes your attention away
from what you are hearing.
2) Memory works better when you have visual images. Instead of
trying to remember words, dates, and facts, try to visualize the
information, and even put it into a story format if you can. The
mind remembers stories better than dry facts.
3) Another memory trick is to put a lot of contrast into what
you are trying to remember. Imagine the information as if it
were cartoonish. Make it colorful, imagine it at high-speed, or
very, very slowly. Imagine the villain with horns and a tail, or
the victor with a sword and wings. Anything to make it different
from your normal experiences.
4) Numbers can be remembered as shapes tied together. Take
whatever number you need to memorize and imagine each numeral as
an object. For instance, a 1 becomes a rocket, or a candle. A 2
becomes a swan, a 3 becomes a pair of open handcuffs, and other
numbers take on other shapes. Imagine the various items
connected (or in sequence in a mental journey) and you can
remember anything. This is the technique used by the world
memory champions, so it works.
5) Take regular breaks. Learning takes a lot of energy, and your
mind can only absorb so much in any given time frame. Twenty
minutes of studying followed by ten minutes of relaxation (not
TV watching, nor talking on the phone - sitting and doing
nothing helps the mind absorb new material) is about the best
learning cycle for most people.
6) Keep up your physical health. Get regular exercise and
eliminate as much processed foods from your diet as you can.
When your body is operating cleanly, your mind benefits. Also,
make sure to get enough sleep. You can't learn anything if you
are groggy from a lack of sleep.
7) And most important of all is to believe in yourself. Every
one of us has the brain-power to accomplish miracles if we
simply direct our focus the right way. There is a whole field of
self-image psychology that tells us that we will perform as well
as the image we have of ourselves. If we believe that we are
incompetent, then we will perform at a low level. If we believe
that we are a genius and can learn anything, then we will not be
afraid to put in the effort required to learn a new subject.