Albert Einstein once said, “If you feed your mind as often as you feed your stomach, then you’ll never have to worry about feeding your stomach or a roof over your head or clothes on your back.”
However, very few people live by this principle.
Most people focus on feeding their bodies, exercising, and keeping healthy but forget about their minds. After finishing school, most people shelve learning and feeding the mind to the back of their to-do list.
However, this shouldn’t be the case.
As someone looking to improve their lives consistently, you should aim to feed your mind as often as you do your body.
But how do you feed your mind?
In this article, you’ll learn 15 practical ways you can use to feed your mind to ensure continuous growth.
Here’s what you’ll learn!
Let’s get right into it.
#Way 1 Read A Physical Book Daily
When was the last time you read a book?
Is your reading limited to tweets, Facebook posts, and the latest celebrity gossip news?
It’s time you changed that.
Rather than wasting away your evening hours on social media, spend at least 30 minutes every day reading a physical book.
Everyday reading has been explained to result in a host of benefits, including:
- Mental stimulation
- Vocabulary enhancement
- Stress reduction
- Memory improvement
- Improved focus and concentration
- Stronger analytical thinking skills.
With daily reading, you can be sure of consistent mental growth throughout your life.
#Way 2 Listen to a Podcast
Reading isn’t the only way to learn and grow your mind.
Podcasts also provide a vast opportunity for learning about different subjects.
And unlike books, podcasts aren’t limited to when you’re seated or in the house. You can listen to podcasts as you walk, work out, or while working on your chores.
And that’s not all!
Most podcasts feature the latest information from experts. If you’re looking to stay up to date with industry or career trends, podcasts are great tools.
Other than being great educational tools, podcasts are also great for:
- Getting and keeping you inspired
- Entertainment
- Helping you cut down screen time
#Way 3 Watch a Documentary
TV isn’t all bad.
You can also use it to feed and grow your mind.
Rather than wasting your time binging on the latest crime or romantic drama series, spend this time watching a documentary.
I know what you’re thinking!
“Documentaries are boring. How will I use them to feed my mind??”
Well, gone are the days when all documentaries were boring. There are excellent documentaries on Netflix, Amazon Prime, and other streaming platforms.
By watching these documentaries, you’ll get introduced to tons of new topics as well as improve your knowledge on issues you may already know.
Documentaries also help to introduce you to new cultures and lifestyles; therefore, giving you a greater perspective outside your experiences.
#Way 4 Practice Meditation
Meditation is like weight training but for the brain.
Practising at least 10 minutes of meditation every day has been proven to have numerous positive benefits to your mind and mental health.
Daily meditation has been linked to improved capacity for attentiveness, focus, and emotional tranquillity.
And that’s not all!
Sitting in silence for at least 10 minutes every day also results in:
- Enhanced working memory
- Better control over negative emotions
- Growth in some brain areas.
#Way 5 Ask yourself Questions every day.
How often do you challenge your perception about certain topics?
Do you take time to question your beliefs? Do you question what you were taught as a child?
If not, you should start.
Asking yourself questions that challenge your current beliefs is a great way to feed and grow your mind.
By questioning your beliefs, you force your brain to become curious and adaptive to different points of view.
Asking questions also forces your mind to look for information either from books or other sources, which in turn results in continuous learning and growth.
#Way 6 Stop Comparing Yourself to Others
The only way to continually grow throughout your life is to live an authentic life. Stop comparing yourself to others.
Comparing yourself to others leads to copying which ultimately results in you losing your originality. Comparing yourself also result in more negative thoughts.
However, when you stop copying others, you force your mind to think of ways to be more authentic. Your mind also becomes more innovative once you stop copying what others are doing.
And that’s not all!
Not comparing yourself to others also allows you to live your life to the fullest. Once you stop comparing yourself, you’ll be able to work on what makes you happy, which in turn results in mental growth.
want to learn how you can stop comparing yourself to others? The video below provides a guide on how to be your most authentic self.
#Way 7 Take in Daily Inspiration
One of the most effective ways of feeding positivity into your mind is the use of inspirational or motivational content.
Finding positive content that ignites all your senses and drives you to act towards improving your life is essential if you want to grow your mind continually.
Every morning, feed your mind with either an inspirational video, audio, quote, or photo.
Doing so allows you to feel charged up and motivated as the day progresses.
Feeding your mind inspirational content also gives you improved endurance to negative thoughts.
#Way 8 Help Another Person
Sounds counterintuitive, right?
However, research has proven that helping others to learn a concept helps you understand the concept better.
Whether it’s at work, school, or at home, find someone you can help solve a problem they’re facing.
By doing this, you get to learn about a new problem as well as practice creative thinking as you look for solutions to the problem.
By helping others, you reinforce what you learned, and feed new solutions to your mind.
#Way 9 Try Something New
When was the last time you tried something new?
If you’re like most, it’s been awhile, right?
But did you know that trying something new forces your mind to step up and perform at a higher frequency?
Whether it’s a hobby, habit, or job, trying something new throws you out of your comfort zone, which in turn results in the highest instances of mental growth.
By trying something new, you’re forced to feed your mind with new skills, which translates to continuous growth.
#Way 10 Get Physical Exercise
Working out doesn’t only help to keep your body fit. Physical exercises are also essential if you want to maintain a healthy mind.
Daily physical exercises result in increased production of capillaries (tiny blood cells) in the cerebral cortex (the area of the brain responsible for thought). More capillaries mean that your brain receives the nourishment it needs to perform at its best.
Exercise also helps to reduce blood cholesterol levels, which in turn leads to a reduced risk of stroke.
For older adults, exercise also helps to reduce the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease.
#Way 11 Play Brain Games
Another way to feed your mind for growth is by playing brain games.
Psychology today refers to brain games as games that help people practice different aspects of their cognitive processing. According to psychology today, playing brain teaser games allows you to get better at skills related to the game.
If a game tests your memory, playing it will result in improved memory. Games that require you to think fast, help you to improve your processing speed.
By playing brain-training games, you also improve your problem-solving skills while having fun.
#Way 12 Spend Time with Like-Minded People
Legendary motivational speaker Jim Rohn once said,” You’re the average of the five people you spend the most time with.”
Which is why if you’re looking to grow your mind, you should hang out around people with the same goal as you.
Join book clubs, attend workshops and seminars, and connect with like-minded people over the internet. Doing so allows you to learn from these individuals as well as motivate you to keep working on growing your mind.
Creating such connections will also help you to share tips and tricks on what and how you can feed your mind to help it grow.
#Way 13 Put Down the Bottle
Don’t get me wrong.
Research suggests that alcohol in small amounts is good for your health and reduces the chances of developing dementia.
However, overindulgence in alcohol is detrimental to your brain health.
Not only does it result in an increased risk of developing dementia, but it also reduces your minds processing speed and creativity.
When drunk, you’re also less likely to pick up a book, listen to a podcast, or watch a documentary.
#Way 14 Say No to Mental Junk Food
The same way you consciously watch what you put in your mouth; you should also watch what you feed your mind.
Put an effort to avoid mental junk food.
Avoid books, news articles, films, and other inputs that promote negative thoughts.
Take time to consciously go through your playlist, Netflix subscriptions, news feed and any other information going into your brain. Prune out everything that feeds negativity and add those that help add positivity to your life.
#Way 15 Learn a New Skill
Another way to feed your mind for growth is to become a lifelong learner.
Aim to learn something new every day.
When coming up with new year resolutions and goals, include learning a skill as one of them.
Learning a new skill increases the density of brain white matter, which in turn helps to improve your performance in different tasks. It also enables you to develop more neural pathways that allow you to learn better and stave off dementia.
Final Thoughts
There you go.
All you need to stand guard at the door of your mind. Fifteen strategies you can use to feed your mind for consistent growth.
Which strategy will you implement in your life? Please tell us in the comments below.
And if you have any further questions on how you can feed your mind for growth, leave it in the comments below.
I’ll do my best to answer all questions received.
Related Content
23 Best Self-Help Podcasts – Going Deeper
How Does Regular Exercise Improve Cardiovascular Function During Times of Stress?
