Making Your Gray Matter

August 2008

Contents This Month

· Don’t Dis the Box

· Trigger Words

· Brain Age Review

· Quotations

· Update Your Email Address

· Refer Madness

Don’t Dis the Box

Boxes are good! They allow us to store things for later retrieval or just for safe keeping. They also allow us to carry more things than just our two hands would accommodate. I often hear people say “Think outside the box” in a way that seems to diminish the value of the box.

The box is the archive of all our memories, hopes, and dreams. It also stores our habits and skills. That box is what got us to where we are. Every once in a while it behooves us to look through the box to see what we want to keep and what we can safely discard. It is also where we can place new items.

Leaving things loose outside the box allows them to be lost more easily. If you keep learning new things for your box, you are simply getting a new and improved box. Don’t “dis” the box; it holds all your old and new thinking tools.

Trigger Words

“Key words.” I used to use the phrase commonly when teaching people to Idea Map. However, I’ve often struggled with the term as it seems too nebulous. I think I’ve got a better one – “trigger words.”

A trigger word sparks our memory. When you are Idea Mapping, capture the word that will most likely trigger your recall of the idea connected to it. Those trigger words will differ from person to person. That’s the way it should be! Since our storage mechanisms differ from person to person, our retrieval should be similarly unique.

If you are still new to Idea Mapping, you may need to capture a phrase in your first draft. Review the map once or twice and then redraw it with only trigger words. You’ll be amazed at how good your memory will become with your Idea Maps when you learn to pull the trigger!

Brain Age Review

We all do enough everyday that seems to drain our brains. Do you have anything that fills your sink (I was trying to extend the “drain” metaphor)? For Christmas my family gave me a Nintendo DS game and a Brain Age game.

I give it two pre-frontal cortexes up! There are several “games” available within the Brain Age game:

· Daily Training. This includes quick calculations, reading aloud, arranging randomized numbers, syllable counting, and several other seemingly simple exercises. The challenge is to do them quickly and accurately. The software tracks your progress.

· Brain Age Check. I always get nervous whenever I do this. Then again, I suffered from text anxiety in school so this brings back some of those memories. (Maybe there will be a Wii Freud game by this Christmas!) I’ve seen a decrease in my brain age (a good thing), I hope my wife’s not afraid I’ll go back to puberty again!

· Quick Play. It’s exactly what it sounds like. Don’t have time for a full training game, but want something productive to sharpen your brain? Quick Play is for you.

· Sudoku. This is what I enjoy the most. While I still enjoy crossword puzzles, Sudoku is more fun for me. Its handwriting recognition isn’t always great, but erasing is a lot easier than on paper!

A few months ago I reviewed The Brain Fitness Program and told you to save your money. Take the money you saved from that recommendation and spend it on this.

Quotations

“If we dwell too long in venomous thoughts, we become the venom.” – Dave Gunby (American, Buffalo Bills fan)

“Every action of our lives touches on some chord that will vibrate in eternity.” – Edwin Hubbel Chapin (American clergyman, author)

Update Your Email Address

Don’t miss an issue of The Radiant Learner. If your email address is going to change, let me know about it.

Refer Madness

If you had a good experience in my workshop/seminar, share it with someone you know. If you provide me with a lead that generates new business for me, I’ll pay you (or your favorite charity) $250 (less if it is less than a full-fee engagement).

If you belong to a professional organization that needs a speaker or If you know any business or non-profit organization (including your own), that could benefit from my workshops, presentations, coaching, or needs a facilitator:

1. Tell your contact about me.

2. Tell me about your contact. Call me at 972-378-0937 or write me at dgunby@mindimensions.com

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