Learning is an important aspect of life, reaching far beyond the confines of your childhood classroom walls. If you want to empower yourself, reinvent yourself, or simply satisfy an intrinsic desire of curiosity, learning is a catalyst to greater things. These 7 tips are designed to help you enrich the educational experience of your life’s journey, helping you to better process and apply the valuable lessons you learn along the way.
1. Give Your Brain A Boost
If you are wanting to maximise your learning potential, nutrition is a pivotal place to start. On top of a well balanced diet with plenty of water, supplements are perfect in delivering potent concentrations of essential nutrients. A few supplements to look out for include:
- Omega-3 fatty acids – which support and protect brain health as well as improve mood, thinking skills, memory, and reaction time.
- Citicoline – which builds healthy brain cell membranes, supports memory, and regulates mood.
- Curcumin – found in turmeric supplements, this beneficial compound is a potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory that protects the brain and maintains optimal functioning. Fighting inflammation can lead to less pain in many areas of the body.
While these sources of nutrients are beneficial, not all supplements were created (or rather, produced) equally. If you are uncertain which brands are the best purchase choices, check out resources like Research and You which offer comprehensive reviews on most products available on the market.
2. Read, Read, Read!
Reading for pleasure unlocks an array of benefits for the curious mind. From expanding your vocabulary to help you better express yourself to improving your memory, analytical thinking, focus, concentration, and writing skills – reading is a must!. Both educational to entertaining, a book is a valuable tool. If you feel you don’t have enough time to read – make some! You may lose your possessions someday but no one can ever take away the knowledge you gain from reading.
3. Meditation And Reflection
Meditation has been linked to delivering as many as 76 benefits to your health and well-being; improving concentration and focus, memory retention and recall, as well as improving information processing to name a few. By dedicating time to quieting your mind, you will undoubtedly improve your capacity for learning and retaining valuable information. Reflection is a type of meditation that allows us to process the meaning of our experiences, both positive and negative ones, and extract the important life lessons we may need to develop as individuals.
4. Work Out The “Why”
It’s said that asking ‘why’ is the single, most important habit for innovators as it allows you to fully understand something and, in turn, create solutions that deliver value. This simple question, which is often 1 of the first words that feature in a child’s vocabulary, will help you grasp the purpose of why you should be learning something, which then encourages you to pay attention and connect the dots.
To further understand, you can make use of the educational materials offered online. Printable Learning is a resource website launched by Carrot Ink to offer free educational materials, such as coloring books, worksheets, activity books, DIY arts and crafts and more. Carrot Ink is a top online seller of aftermarket ink and toner cartridges.
5. Practice Effective Listening
Sometimes we are so eager to share what we know that we tend to forget the value of effective listening. When you quiet your mind and open it up to what a speaker is saying; you are able to fully understand what is said, empathize with them, and learn a new point of view that may enrich your knowledge of a topic. If you feel you need a little help developing this skill, check out this link on 7 steps to effective listening.
6. Slow Down Or You’ll Miss It!
Modern society has a way of making us rush through life, quickly moving through our list of daily tasks and routine in order to feel a sense of accomplishment. However, mindlessly brushing your teeth while packing lunch and planning your outfit all at once may be time-effective, but you end up missing out on potential lessons because you are everywhere else except in that exact moment. Slow down, be in the present, and open yourself up to the life lessons that may be hiding in unexpected places.
7. Write It Down
Writing things by hand has been scientifically proven to support the memory recall of that content as well as help you understand it better. So whether you are taking down notes in class, journaling in a diary, or jotting down your daily learnings in a handy notebook that you keep on your person; writing things down will amplify the value of the lessons learned.
We all have an obligation in life to learn and grow as much as we can, and applying our 7 top tips will be sure to enrich your educational experience. From using brain boosting supplements to reading whenever you can, asking the proverbial ‘why’ to experiencing as much as possible – the lessons you learn will undoubtedly be a catalyst for a fulfilled life.