Be Your Brain's Best Buddy

I picked this week's One Thing well in advance. I had it since last week, at least. But I have not gotten around to bloggin' about your noggin until mid-week. And I have a rushed post at that. I'm behind on thinking about and executing this project for the very reason I am writing it: I need to care for and honor my brain this week, in order to have some brain left to write in my blog about.

In other words, I haven't been practicing what I am about to be preaching. I don't know why not, it's so simple, really. In fact, I'm KEEPING it simple, for my brains's sake. What is it? What is the first cardinal rule I wan to share about the care and keeping of good brains? To help me remember it (a little brain trick here) I made it into a cheer/chant of sorts:

Give your brain a break!
Don't drain your brain!
Let it rest once in a while, won't you please?

Background for minds that want to know:
I've got a new gig writing health and fitness articles on the side. I picked a bunch of topics that are doing the OTHER thing for my brain that will keep it young and sharp--they are challenging it. I'm learning new stuff. I'm expanding my repertoire, and as I love doing that, I have taken on a bit more than I should have.

Now I am teetering on burnout, within just one week. And I'm behind on my other projects, some of which (like my blog) I also love. That's not a great feeling, and I have deadlines to meet as we speak. I'm furrowing my brow, possibly getting a headache, maybe even writer's block.

I find myself searching for a strategy or a word and then I get up for some tofu instead and wonder what the heck have I done? I'm supposed to be my brain's best friend this week, not its ruthless master. I trip over my sock, and it occurs to me that I have done is gone all out of balance.

One thing a brain really needs is someone to keep it balanced. It's a complex, highly valued organism, right? It needs a careful proprietor. Someone to keep it balanced by offering it stimulation and new ideas, and also down time and mindlessness. Oh, and....

...mindfulness. Ah ha! Eureka, my brain has done it for me again. It's calling out for me to be mindful. So, I am minding my time, minding my goals, and minding my brain, starting now. Won't you join me? Already my brain is happier. I have stopped rushing it and started listening to it.

Pick One Thing: Your Brain

We've got the brain's physical health covered in all the past discussion we've shared when we picked our Blood and our Heart. Conveniently, all the same stuff is great for the brain, because it's fueled by the same blood supply. In fact, you could say the brain is the king of all the body's messengers, sending and receiving and reading all the incoming news from your nerve endings, then interpreting and filing them, too. That's a lot of pathways. Keep them gleaming and open with regular habits that tend to your arteries, aortas and the whole circulation gang.

We might devote extra focus this week (and forever) on getting more fatty fish like salmon or tuna in our lives, or at least mercury-free fish oil (don't freak out, I found a great one that tastes okay, so if you want to know, just ask me). Choose more of the other Omega 3 sources, too--plant sources like soy, nuts and flaxseed are tasty and quick. That'll keep our brains lubed and oiled.

But there are two other primary aspects of caring for your brain that I want to really reinforce now. First, your brain will age like the other parts of you, so it does need exercise, like the other parts of you. Oxygen, good, however I mostly mean brain exercise of the thinking sort. Learning something new. Doing a puzzle. Trying stuff with your non-dominant hand. Go ahead. Write your name with your left hand, righties. You'll be adding to your brain's life. Plus it's fun.

According to experts, you should vary your activities and challenges throughout life to keep all the functions of your brain in tip-top shape. This is why people who have more fun learning new things all their life enter into their golden years with such vibrant brains. Alzheimer's is genetically predisposed, but there's a pile of ways to stave off its onset. Starting with fish and sticking with fun, feed and expand that brain.

Second, there are plenty of other experts who recommend a little of the opposite, as well. What happens to the brain of people who regularly meditate, for example? I'll tell you what--good things. They tend to be sharper and last longer. It seems the "checking out" is as important as the challenge. So take some time off with your brain. Show it around the woods or take in a silly movie with it. Put it down on a pillow, close your eyes, and dream of quiet stars and clouds for a few minutes.

Gaze at a sleeping baby. mmmmmm. (You know, that baby's brain is busy growing neurons like mad while those sweet fat cheeks turn rosy on the sheets. Your brain should be growing nothing but heartstrings and admiration. There's nothing you need to think of, at all, when you watch a baby sleep. like I said, mmmmmm.)

If your brain really were your best friend, what would you hope that it could do, on a regular basis? I bet your answer is something like: have fun, grow strong, enjoy beauty, find peace, be prepared, and accept and share lots of love.

Well, there you go. And here I go. The rest of the week is about balance for my buddy, my brain. It knows, as all best friends do, that it is never, ever too late to encourage me to make a change that sincerely benefits me.