What do you think smart people have in common? A lot of people think of intelligence as simply something you’re born with. Some people after all make smart being effortless. Intelligence though isn’t a set of traits. It’s a flexible ability to learn and stimulate your brain that can improve over time. The thing smart people have in common is that they’re dedicated to lifestyle habits that support and protect their mental health.
Here are some habits that are common in smart people and they make you smarter every day.
1. Ask Questions
The German philosopher Hans Georg Gadamer once said, “Knowledge can only be with those who ask questions”. Most people don’t ask questions because they think they’ll look stupid but they couldn’t be farther from the truth. Learning requires asking questions and finding answers. As kids the depth of our curiosity has no boundaries as everything around us piques our interest.
2. Read across genres
The brain is a very powerful tool and reading is the mental exercise it needs to be tip-top shape. We have an excess of almost all the written books created by humans. Reading often not only keeps you informed and teaches your brain to function well but it will also help you to continuously learn new things. Make reading your routine even if it is just a portion of a chapter each day, your intellect will grow over time.
3. Be with smart people
Friends can teach you new skills and keep your mind active. Our surroundings shape our values, beliefs and ways of thinking. Spending time with intellectuals will constantly help to feed your brain because with smart people, there’s always something to discuss and there’s always something to learn from them.
4. Take time to think
We all are easily distracted from one thing to another, not properly understanding the true essence of the information received. The habit to take pauses to take time to reflect on what you learn is highly beneficial. When you take time to think, you get to consider all the factors that might directly or indirectly have a connection to whatever you’re doing. Same goes for conversation. Smart people listen more and talk less and they manage to get a lot done with fewer words.
5. Exercise Frequently
Don’t overlook exercise and its effect on our smartness. Our brain and body constantly cooperate together with our overall energy and physical health has a direct impact on the quality of our thoughts. Physical exercise also provides discipline which plays an important role in our mental well-being and daily activities and is advantageous for the efficient growth of positive habits.
6. Prioritize Eating Healthy
You must be familiar with this prevailing notion that glucose is the ideal fuel for the brain but a balanced diet rich with vitamins and minerals is the best fuel you can get to power your brain and body. The optimum diet for enhancing brain performance contains enough protein, moderate amount of carbohydrates and enough healthy fats. Therefore, whole grains, lean meat, nuts, fish and dairy products should be on your dinner table. It’s best to adopt the habit of eating enough to be satisfied and avoid junk food as much as possible.
7. Keeping Journal
It’s been proven in group studies that a few minutes spent on reflecting the events and thoughts of the day in writing increases brain power. Nothing motivates and helps you become smarter like personal experiences and your own achievements. Take a few minutes each evening to write down your thoughts, events and insights of the day. With this, you’ll get an opportunity to analyze the ideas that come to you and thoughts and questions that arise.
8. Thinking out of box
Do something new, even if you think it won’t work. Practice makes perfect. Smart people are not unnecessarily scared of failure. They understand the universal truth that without practice nothing can be truly learned. So, they’re up for the challenge. It’s impossible to learn a new equation, if you don’t attempt the questions on it.
9. Stimulate your knowledge
If you don’t intend to use what you learn, there’s no use in studying it. Smart people always make use of their acquired knowledge not because it’ll help them to succeed but rather because sharing their intellectual resources make them more valuable. Have you read a book? Discuss it with people who’ve read it. The best technique to reinforce and comprehend the subject matter is to share new information and concepts.
10. Be selective
Be selective on what you put effort on. Those whom you spend time with, including your loved ones reflect your personal identity and needs. Guiding you toward understanding yourself and the world around you. Beyond friendship when you’re careful of what you give your attention to, you’ll be able to work optimally without necessary distractions.
11. Take short breaks
In the era of total digitalization, our brain literally burns out from the bombardment of information. Being in what is happening isn’t always a good thing. That’s why even a small vacation is sometimes needed to stay creative and stave off cognitive burnout. After working for several hours, weeks and months, due to the absence of pauses and moments of mental calmness. We begin to think superficially and automatically.
12. Learn to organized
In their devices and instant messages, both at home and at work, people that have the habit of making things orderly tend to be smart. Disorganized objects, frequent message alerts and clutter on a desktop and in work places all divert the mind from tasks and lower productivity.
13. Study people behavior
Smart people tend to be understanding in their own way and consider things like their colleague’s motivation, their perspective of the project and the level of help they require. Try to understand the situation of people around you. It’ll take strong intellectual effort but in the long run, you’ll have better social skills and be able to make the right decisions especially when other people are involved.
14. Be actively present
Though you can see everything around you, do you really pay attention to it? Many of us watch the world uncritically, focusing primarily on the things that immediately affect us. But, instead spend a few minutes daily examining your surroundings critically. Examine the normal everyday interaction that takes place in your environment on a global, interpersonal and societal level.
15. Sleep properly
According to studies, giving our body more downtime helps our brain function better in terms of memory, attention and focus. It was also found that those who stay up late and get up early have the worst attention level. Pears that slept longer, the brain processes information from the previous day as you sleep.
16. Play mental games
A particularly beneficial way to spend your time is by playing games that force you to play creatively. Utilize your imagination and solve constantly involving problems. They hone your mental faculties while bringing you delight and happiness.
