Successful people have a lot in common, and here’s something they all agree on: Channeling your thoughts can help you accomplish your goals. In fact, a 10-minute breather out of your hectic day will not only make you more successful, but it can boost your intelligence, too. Try even more brainy habits of the wisest people.
Here’s how it works: Ten minutes before you go to sleep, take a moment to reflect and write down the things you want to accomplish. Maybe it’s finishing up a big project at work, or making more time for an important relationship in your life.
After you write those goals down, ask yourself a few honest questions about them, and write those down, too. The questions might address how exactly you will accomplish that goal, or how you should approach any potential road blocks along the way.
Then, while you’re sleeping, your subconscious mind will actually work at resolving those issues. As it turns out, your brain can wander in a way it cannot while you’re awake, making connections and finding creative breakthroughs while you slumber. But it’s when you wake up that the real brain blast happens.
According to previous research, your brain is the most alert and innovative immediately after you wake up. Now is the optimal time to grab your journal and start writing down whatever comes to mind about last night’s issues. (And don’t forget the one question you need to ask yourself every day, according to a billionaire.) Odds are, you might find a solution to that vexing problem you had the night before.
This technique has worked for many successful people, including Josh Waitzkin, former chess prodigy and tai chi world champion. His morning routine has helped him “tap into his higher realms of clarity, learning, and creativity—what he calls, “crystallized intelligence,”’ according to Inc.
Of course, you might need to practice and hone this skill with a few attempts before it is effective for you. But if you stick with it diligently, those brain blasts of intuition and creativity will make you feel like a genius.
[Source: Inc.]
