Become More Intelligent Than You Are Now

Do you ever feel stupid around other people? Are you embarrassed when you don’t know the answer to a teacher’s question? Everybody has those times when they just feel like they don’t know anything. Of course, you can’t know everything, but no matter how smart you are, you can start becoming more intelligent today courtesy:wikihow.com



Improve your memory. Much of what is generally considered intelligence is simply the ability to remember things well. You can improve your ability to retain and recall memories in a variety of ways, including using mnemonics and by paying more attention to details.

Study more effectively. If you find yourself at a loss when your teacher puts you on the spot, or if you perform poorly on exams, you may not be studying enough. Even if you study a lot, improving your study skills can make a big difference. A variety of wikiHows offer tips to help you.

Read a lot. Just about everything that humans know can be found in print, whether in books and magazines or on the internet. Become a voracious reader, and you’ll expose yourself to more ideas and information. If you’re a slow reader, consider learning speed reading. Consider jotting down notes, and perhaps looking up a word or two in the dictionary.

Visit the library frequently and pick up anything which looks interesting to you. The subject matter is not quite as important as is the act of reading. Always have something good to read at hand.

Be more curious. How do some people get to know so much? Good memory skills are only part of the answer: you also have to be curious. If you’re satisfied going through life with little or no understanding of things you’re unfamiliar with, you won’t learn much. Make a conscious effort to be more curious by reminding yourself that developing your curiosity will broaden your horizons and help to make you more intelligent.

Research. Curiosity without initiative is like having a car that’s out of gas — it won’t take you anywhere. Fortunately, when it comes to knowledge you’re never far from success. If you read a word that you don’t know, look it up in the dictionary. If you wonder how airplanes fly, read a book about it. If you want to know more about politics, pick up a newspaper. With Internet access now pervasive, there’s less excuse for not finding something out that you want to know.

Learn how to look things up. If you know how to use references, from an internet search engine to an encyclopedia, you’ll be able to find the information you want more quickly and effectively. Effective researching skills will nourish your curiosity because you’ll become more confident in your ability to access knowledge. If your research skills leave something to be desired, take a class or workshop on how to research, ask a librarian or teacher, or simply practice researching. Or just press the "help" tabs on the internet and computer programs and read.

Figure things out on your own. There’s a lot more to intelligence than “book smarts". We can all learn to perform everyday tasks at work, home, and school better and more intelligently. If you don’t know how to do something, resist the urge to ask somebody else to do it for you or show you how. In most cases, you’ll be able to figure it out on your own, either by trial-and-error or by researching. While it usually takes longer to figure something out than it does to ask about it, you’ll learn more about the overall process, and you’ll remember it better. Most importantly, you’ll exercise your problem-solving skills instead of your “do as you’re told” skills.

Ask for help. It’s great to figure things out on your own, but sometimes you don’t have enough time to do so, despite your best efforts. Don’t give up; ask somebody to show you how. Make sure to pay close attention and ask any questions that you have, so that you’ll never have to ask the same thing again.

Exercise your mind in different ways. Most of us are good at the things we excel in naturally or the activities we do everyday. Challenge yourself to learn a new skill or to think in a different way, however, and you’ll actually become more intelligent. Choose something you’d like to learn to do (play the accordion, for example) or a subject you don’t do well in (maybe math) and focus on that thing. Initially, you may be uncomfortable and feel even less intelligent than you did before, but if you study or practice diligently, you’ll become more confident, and you’ll make new connections in your mind.

Teach others. In order to teach something to somebody else, you’ve got to know it pretty well. When you try to explain an idea or skill to somebody else, you’ll not only remember it better yourself, you’ll also find that the other person’s questions will help you find out how well you really know what you’re talking about.

Learn a new word each day. Go through the dictionary and find a word that you don't know already, then practice using it throughout the day. When you come across a new word when doing #3, look it up.

Do your homework if you're in school! Don't procrastinate, finish it last minute, or copy someone's paper. The homework is there for practice, and when you do it, you'll become more confident in that subject. But remember, homework time is not the same as study time, so you can't count homework as studying.

Find a hobby that interests you. Many people increase their intelligence by attempting to get better at something that they're already good at. For example, not only does it make a computer programmer look smarter if they know C++, but it can help you with your job.

Surround yourself with intelligent people. Being around people that are smarter than you can help you become more knowledgeable.

Read the news. Keeping up with current events will let you know what's going on in the world, while also exercising step 3.

Improve Stamina

Stamina means having the strength and energy to endure an activity, illness or stressful situation for an extended period of time. People most commonly use the word stamina when referring to exercise, sports and other physical activities of the body or cognitive exercises of the brain. Generally, however, increasing stamina means decreasing fatigue when performing the activity. courtesy:wikihow.com



Instructions

Eat a healthily-balanced diet. A well-balanced, low-fat diet that includes plenty of fruits, vegetables and lean meats keeps your body healthy and increases both your physical and mental stamina.

Eat several smaller meals throughout the day rather than one or two large meals, to keep your body steadily supplied with energy.

Snack on fruits, raw vegetables, nuts and other lean proteins between meals. Carry high-energy fruit and nut mixes with you during times of extended performance, such as hiking, cycling or cramming for final exams.

If you need alot of Stamina for a long distance run or exercise,have an energy drink to boost your energy/stamina.

Get plenty of physical exercise for optimal health and increased stamina.

Although physical exercise makes you tired immediately after you finish, regular exercise increases your energy level and stamina in the long run.

Cardiovascular exercise, such as aerobics, running, biking and dancing, exercise your heart and lungs, increasing the efficiency with which your body supplies oxygen to the muscles. As a result, your body's endurance and stamina increase and fatigue levels decrease.

Lead an active life. Basically, any type of movement is good for your cardiovascular health. Wear a pedometer and shoot for a goal of 10,000 steps every day.

Choose an activity that you love. It is easier to increase stamina and endurance if you enjoy the activity you are doing.

Gradually build up to the desired level of performance. Start out slow by doing the activity for 30 minutes the first time. Increase the duration of your performance by realistic intervals until you reach your goal.

Involve others in the activity to make it more fun.

Bring the kids, the dog or a neighbor when you go for your daily run or walk. Or, join a gym where you can make friends and exercise together.

Keep your motivation high and increase your stamina for studying during final exam week by hosting study sessions for friends.

Visualize your goal by closing your eyes to see yourself finishing the race or getting an A on the final exam. Avoid focusing on the challenges, obstacles or hurdles you may face before reaching your goal.

Do Computer Yoga

How are your muscles feeling right now? Take a little break. Do computer yoga. It's very easy, and you'll be relaxed in just a few minutes. Computer yoga will help to resolve the tension felt in your body. It will calm your mind through meditation and self-questioning. Computer yoga is the office worker's and writer's answer to remaining positive through the day; ideally, practicing computer yoga daily will help you to remain positive throughout your daily routine. courtesy:wikihow.com
Move your head and think the mantra "Om" in your head. Turn your head left and right. Forward and backward.


Move your shoulders, so that all tensions resolve. Find the way that works best for you. Move forward, and then move another way round. Move with your elbows and think "Om, Om, Om..." And another way round. Think "Om".

Move your spine to the right and left side. The head also. Think "Om , Om, Om... " in your spine.


Move your feet on the ground. Say "Om" in your belly, in your legs, in your feet and in the earth. Concentrate on the whole earth and think the mantra "Earth".

Massage your body from head to feet. Hold your hands together over your head, rub the palms, visualize the sky above you and say the mantra "Heaven". Feel the light that comes down. Massage the light into your face, your eyes, your ears, your whole body and think "Light, Light..." Fill yourself with light. Move your feet, fill light into the earth and think, "Light...".

Move your hand and send light to your loved ones and to all people. Say "I send light to... May all people be happy. May all the world be happy."

Rub your palms together. Think on the enlightened masters and say, "Om, all enlightened masters, please help me on my way." Now you can ask a question. Think about your life. What are your goals? What is your way? Hear the answer within you. Feel the answer inside. What is the answer?

Put your hands on your legs or your belly. Make your mind calm and think the mantra "Om" in your head, your thorax, your belly, your legs, feet, in the earth and in the whole cosmos. "Om Om Om Shanti Om Peace Om Peace Om Shanti Om Peace..."

Stop your thinking for one minute. Simply sit there. Don't think.

> What do you have to take in your life? Take it. ?
> What is your positive sentence now? What helps you to stay positive through your day and your life? For example, "My positive sentence is: I am optimistic. I follow my way with optimism."

Have fun..!

Survive Overthinking

When faced with stressful periods in their life people react in many different ways. One common way is over thinking or over analysing a situation which is then aggravated by the mental exhaustion that follows. wikihow.com



Stop reading this article! An unusual opening line to an article but if you are reading this then you are already probably on the road to overthinking.

Write everything down. It doesn't have to be structured, just get it all down on paper. An unpleasant image but you need to mentally 'vomit'. Putting pen to paper is the equivalent of putting your fingers down your throat. Once you have exhausted yourself writing, you will find that the pattern of continuously re-visiting arguments and counter arguments will abate a little. You may well even get to sleep tonight.

Do not believe you have gone mad. You are not alone. Other people may look composed and calm on the outside but there is a very good chance that behind closed doors these people are subjecting themselves to a rather heated internal dialogue as well. It's natural, the trick is to try and keep it spiralling out of proportion.

Do something that requires you to concentrate. Not driving, not walking, not running it is far too easy to go onto autopilot and start re-visiting arguments and counter arguments. Playing an instrument, learn to speak German mein lieblings , competitive team sports, anything that requires you to have to actively engage your brain.

Think Black. If you are lying in bed and your brain is humming like a powerline, try to imagine you are in a vacuum, you are powering off your brain like a computer... or if that doesn't work, try to think of only the colour black!

Talk Shows not Music. If it's heartbreak that's causing you to overthink then listening to music can often be the worst thing to do. Go for talk shows, something that engages your mind rather than something that causes you to lament. If you are currently listening to Total Eclipse of the Heart or Nothing Compares to You, turn it off NOW.

Avoid alcohol. Just don't do it. It is a depressant and no matter what you think at the time, the grand conclusions you will have come to in your head will be shaky at best.

Cliche Time. Yes, it's a dreadful cliche but time is the greatest healer. Whether it be a tongue lashing from the boss at work or the trials and tribulations of being in love, the situation will become less raw over time. Over analysis will not solve anything, it will only slow down time rather than speed it up.

Get the Balance Right with your friends. It is important to talk to someone about the situation you are facing but your friends can be too sympathetic and it will cause you to re-visit a situation multiple times. This can lead you into a bout of wallowing in self pity. Think about which of your friend's 'shoots from the hip' their advice is valuable and might kick you out of the martyrdom rut!

Laugh at Yourself. There is a very good chance that you are over egging the pudding! Your boss is probably not the sadistic ogre that you have painted them as, the row that you have just had with your partner is probably not the raging battle between 'Heaven and Hell' that you have created in your mind. Look at your problems through an independent observer's eyes and decide whether the end of the world is really nigh.

Good Luck to You all. Over analysis and over thinking really can be debilitating, I wish you all the best and hope you have found this article useful.

Stop Thinking Too Much

Generally, we should think before we speak or act but sometimes we think so much that we fail to speak or act at all and allow that thinking to breed anxiety. This article will offer some advice to help you know when it is time to stop thinking and move on. courtesy:wikihow.com



Know when thinking becomes thinking too much. Thinking is something we need to do to survive, so it is hard sometimes to judge when we are doing too much of it (not unlike eating!). A good rule of thumb: you know you are thinking too much when you start thinking the same thoughts over and over again (ruminating).

Meditate. If you feel like you don't know how to stop thinking, you need to learn what it's like to "let go" of your thoughts, so that it's something you can do deliberately. Imagine that thinking is like breathing; you do it all the time, without even realizing it. But if you need to, you can hold your breath. Meditating will help you learn how to release your thoughts.

Put your thoughts down on paper. Thinking is a mental tool that is ideally used to analyze your options objectively. So on a piece of paper or on a computer, define a problem, write down your options, and list the pros and cons for each option. Seeing your thoughts in front of you like that will also help you stop cycling through them in your head. Once you can't think of anything more to write, your mind has done its job, and it's time to stop thinking.

Follow Your Intuition. If two or more options seem equally appealing, thinking more will not make things clearer. This is where you listen to something deeper.

Ask for advice. You may have exhausted your own thinking power, but someone else might be able to offer a different perspective that makes the decision clearer.

Act. At this point, you've used your mind, you've listened to your gut, and you've gotten a second opinion. Now you must be bold. Odds are, if you think too much, it's because your fears get the best of you, and you don't want to mess up. But there comes a point where you have to "fish or cut bait"!

Live in the Moment. Once you've resolved the thinking process, and taken action, focus your awareness on the here and now. Your mind will be tempted to pore over your decision, making you doubt yourself and worry, but what's done is done!

Train Your Mind to Positive Thought

Training your mind to practice positive thinking enables you to increase your self-esteem and perceived control in your life. Learning how your mind works and how to incorporate positive thoughts can help improve many areas, including work, family and social relationships. Improving your life through positive thinking, however, requires a proactive effort on your part to combat and change your current lifestyle and perceptual attitudes.



> Identify the internal negative thought patterns your mind uses. Types of negative thought patterns include: personalizing (blaming yourself), filtering (focusing only on the negative) and catastrophizing (anticipating the worst and blowing negative events out of proportion). Think of concrete examples in your own life in which you internalized problems and used these patterns to think negatively about situations.

> Practice positive self-talk. Think of a negative situation which you encountered over the past day or week. Turn the negative thoughts you had about the event into positive thoughts. For example, perhaps you experienced a flat tire on your way home from work. Instead of catastrophizing the event, find a way to spin it into a positive experience (e.g., you gained the important skill of changing a flat tire). Practice this positive self-talk for several negative situations or events that you've experienced to get into the habit of training your mind towards a different thinking pattern.

> Evaluate your thoughts throughout the days and weeks that follow. Periodically stop throughout the day to review your internal thoughts to determine if they have been mostly negative or positive. Think rationally about the negative thoughts which you do encounter. Find ways to spin those negative thoughts and train your mind to see them in a positive light.

> Create a positive thoughts journal. Spend time each evening or morning reflecting and writing down good things that have happened in your life or throughout the day. Acknowledging good events and positive experiences then writing them down helps improve your thinking habits and trains your mind to think positively.

> Find healthy ways to deal with stressful events and situations. Develop and keep an exercise routine several times a week. Exercise and regular physical activity stimulate brain chemicals that improve your mood and boost energy levels, according to the Mayo Clinic. Spend time each day in meditation, focusing on clearing your mind and on relaxation. Meditation decreases the negative effects of stress and rejuvenates the mind and body.

> Surround yourself with positive friends and family members. Negative people who continually focus on the bad and are unsupportive may only re-enforce negative thinking habits. Alternatively, making friends with and spending time with supportive individuals may help you achieve clarity when troubling situations arise.

The Secret for Perfect Health

Holistic health brings us great insight into the mind body connection. By focusing our minds and energy on positive thoughts, we are better able to foster healing in our bodies. Principles taught in Rhonda Byrne's book "The Secret" mirror this philosophy and are of great use when dealing with sickness. Follow the steps below and begin to attract health to your mind, body and soul.courtesy:ehow.com



> Use your imagination and believe you are in perfect health. Imagine how a healthy body would feel and hold onto such feelings. Recall a past time when you were in good health or picture yourself as strong, energetic and pain free.

> Get a clear picture of what you want to look like. Cut out pictures of people with healthy bodies and put them in a place where you will see them each day. Such photographs carry positive energy that will increase your attraction to wellness.

> Write down several positive affirmations about your health. For example: "I am getting healthier everyday," or "My body is slender, strong and full of energy." Then spend 10 to 20 minutes each day meditating on these positive affirmations.

> Find the things that inspire you and experience them frequently. When you feel joy, the Law of Attraction will bring more joyful energy into your life. Go for long walks in nature or listen to inspiring music. Anything that makes you feel calm and at peace will do wonders for your body.

> Let go of negative emotions. Holding onto anger, resentment or fear will eventually manifest itself as sickness. If your emotions are deep seated, consult a counselor or psychiatrist to help you work through them.

How Yoga Can Change Your Life Forever

“Yoga teaches us to cure what need not be endured and endure what cannot be cured. ”

While it's true that you'll get out of your practice only as much as you're willing or able to put into it, a committed approach to your practice can help you in ways that you've never expected. Indeed practicing yoga could be the platform and motivation you need to completely transform your life.


courtesy:ezinearticles.com

The basic benefits of yoga are widely documented and have been extensively researched. Research into the more controversial benefits of yoga continue - at the time of writing, pubmed.org (a Service of the National Library of Medicine and the National Institute of health) listed more than 900 research papers investigating the benefits of yoga. A search on the internet typically reveals benefits which include:

> Increased fitness
> Increased strength
> Fat reduction and weight loss
> Relief of back pain
> Better relaxation

Individually these benefits sound like compelling reasons to practice yoga and may be exactly what you are looking for. But yoga is an all encompassing approach to health and well-being - the word itself literally means union, and when we look at the impact practicing yoga can have on our lives, we should also take an all encompassing approach. While yoga alone cannot work miracles, it may be the foundation, along with some self belief, to help you:-

Earn more money: Practicing yoga increases your ability to relax and cope with your daily stresses. It also helps to develop a meditative ability allowing you to slow or clear your mind of constantly racing thoughts. After a hard days work, these are exactly the techniques you need so you can unwind, and recharge through longer and deeper sleep. If you can achieve that then you'll feel more refreshed, energised and motivated each day, improving your focus and concentration. You can channel this in what ever direction you want including working towards a promotion, searching for your ideal job or starting your own business.

Write a book, learn to dance: As outlined above, regular yoga practice can help you increase your energy, motivation and focus as well as improving your concentration - all of which can be used to develop your personal hobbies and interests, whatever they may be, mental activities or physical ones.

Spend more time with your friends and family: Promotion and money aren't your motivators? How about using your increased energy levels to bring greater balance between your work and personal lives, allowing you to spend more time with the people that matter.

A shot of self confidence: performing regular exercise, combined with the positive effects yoga has on metabolism and appetite, can help with weight (fat) loss. Combine that slimming with the toning effect yoga has on your muscles and you can start to develop the body you want in no time - and be feeling better about yourself just as quick. What better boost is there to your self confidence?

Depression relief: Yoga postures are designed to stretch, compress and massage your internal organs and glands. This stimulation is thought to help balance hormone levels in the body, which can help to achieve a more balanced emotional state.

Quit smoking: As well as strengthening your resolve to quit through the increased motivation, energy and focus, yoga breathing techniques (pranayama) are ideal to help you pass the cravings that at the biggest hurdle to quitting smoking.

As you can see, the benefits of yoga go far beyond simply improving your wellbeing - the benefits can be channeled to help you to make fundamental improvements to your whole life. When the rewards are so great, it's not difficult to understand why people become so enthusiastic about yoga.

Read People's Minds

Some scientists will say that it is impossible to read minds. They will also tell you that you can read body language, or use empathy, or that you even have neurons that help you make educated guesses on what a person might be thinking or feeling. Perhaps there really is nothing mystical about the power to read minds. Perhaps it is simply human intuition based on observation and educated guesses after all, but that doesn't make it any less useful an ability to learn. courtesy:ehow.com



Following are some of the ways you can try:

> Learn body language. How a person moves, holds their hands, even what their eyes are doing are very telling about what is going on inside of their head. For example, pupils tend to grow larger when you are interested in or excited about something. If you are talking to someone and making eye contact, finding their pupils are large and round, chances are they are not feigning interest in the conversations. Someone who is fidgety or biting their nails is likely nervous. Someone who folds their arms across their chest when they are not cold is probably trying to put a barrier between you and themselves, or if they draw themselves inward, with their shoulders hunched, there is probably something they don't want you to know. There are many variables. Large pupils can also mean they've recently had their eyes dilated, and fidgeting could be the result of the recent consumption of a large caffeinated beverage.

> Learn to mentally put yourself in another's place. Scientists have recently discovered that your brain has neurons that fire when you watch someone do something the same as if we had done the action ourselves. They have dubbed these “mirror neurons, and they explain our ability to have empathy. When you are able to open yourself to understanding how other people are feeling, you are able to figure out reasons and anticipate future actions, reactions, even thoughts.

> Know that if you do believe that there is some kind of undiscovered energy that allows for a psychic connection between people, you can try to tap into this energy and use extrasensory perception to read someone's mind. This doesn't mean you'll literally be able to read their mind like a book, or that you will hear their thoughts like a radio broadcast. Instead, you will receive inexplicable impressions, feelings, perhaps even images or words will pop into your head.

> Take up meditation. Meditation helps to discipline the mind so that you can alter your state of consciousness at will. Psychics are most receptive to impressions when they are able to slip into the Alpha state, a state of relaxed awareness, somewhere between sleeping and full alertness. If you have ever found yourself zoning out; in front of the television, or while riding in a car or doing a monotonous chore, you have experienced the alpha state. Learning to meditate can help you purposely put your brain in the alpha state, where you will be more successful in reading people and receiving impressions.

> Practice and combine all of these steps. You will soon find yourself able to intuit the things going through another person's mind, even if it is contrary to what they are actually saying. Whether it is a paranormal ability, or plain old observation and deduction, it certainly is a skill worth learning.

Colors Affect Your Heart Rate / Life

Most people love color and want to paint every room in their house. Others don't care for it at all. If you are thinking of repainting you need to keep one thing in mind. Colors can effect out mood and make us sad or happy; they affect our eating habits and even our heart rate. Most people don't put this much though into color and what is does to us. It is proven that several colors actually raise our heart rates while others can lower it. Take into mind which color to paint a room with what you will be doing in that room.

If you are repainting a room that you are going to use to relax in you will want to use a color that will lower your heart rate.

If you are painting your home gym you will want one that will raise your heart rate. The color red.

The color yellow can actually raise your heart rate.

The color blue and purple lower it.



While yellow can raise your heart rate it can also improve your concentration which is why legal note pads are yellow. Yellow would be a very good color choice for a home office or a hobby room.

The color red is a tricky color; it can raise your heart rate and evoke passion and energy or is can make you frustrated or angry. This color is a popular choice in bedrooms or accent walls. If you use this as an accent wall you will be able to have a more muted reaction to it.

If you are looking to repaint a living room or dining room think about what you want the mood to be in there.

If you want an energetic and vibrant living room go with a bolder color like yellow.

But if you want a more relaxed casual living room to kick back in then think blues and greens and purples. It is very important to think about what mood you want for a room and what you do in that room before you repaint.

Keep in mind that colors can really change how you feel especially if you are looking at them on a daily basis.

Whichever you choose make sure to have a variety of rooms. You will want a relaxing room every once in a while and you will want a high energy room as well.
author:Jenny Dixie