- Creatures of Habit by Jenna Gestetner | Resolute
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- A Habit For Maintaining Intellectual Health
cog·ni·tion
noun
Definition: The mental process of acquiring knowledge through thought, experience, and the senses.
We are constantly consuming: food, television, social media content, news, and more.
And the quality of what we consume mentally is just as important as what we consume physically.
SCIENCE:
Learning, especially through reading, is a dynamic cognitive process.
The brain forms new connections and strengthens existing ones to enhance memory, comprehension, and critical thinking.
When you read, you engage multiple areas of the brain: the visual cortex decodes written text, the prefrontal cortex works on understanding and analysis, and the hippocampus assists in memory formation and retrieval.
IMPACT:
Research in neuroscience shows that maintaining your intellectual health by engaging in activities like reading can improve brain function and even contribute to the growth of new neurons, a process known as neurogenesis.
This enhances your brain's ability to process and retain information.
And, studies have shown that lifelong learning, including regular reading, can delay cognitive decline in aging adults.
IMPLEMENTATION:
Why habits? Your time is valuable and limited; you don’t need more complex systems. My goal is to provide you with simple, effective tools to support your physical and mental well-being and make you more efficient and conserve mental energy. (read more)
Be intentional about how you can learn and grow from the content you consume.
Step 1: Pick a topic that interests you
Step 2: Find a book on that topic
Step 3: Set aside at least 20 minutes each day to read
TOOLKIT:
In every edition of Creatures of Habit, I feature a product to help you implement this week’s habit.
I love my Kindle Paperwhite for reading, but if you prefer listening to your books, Blinkist is excellent.
Blinkist summarizes popular books in less than 15 minutes, so you can listen or read their summaries.
Not only is this great if you don’t want to read a whole book, but you can also use it as a way to get a taste before you commit to reading a full book.
CHALLENGE:
This week, take 20 minutes every day to intentionally read something to learn.
“Learning is not attained by chance, it must be sought for with ardor and attended to with diligence.”
Until next week!
- Jenna Gestetner :)