Optimal Thinking

What is Optimal Thinking?

Optimal thinking is the process of making the best decision possible for the circumstance you are currently in. Often when we make decisions, it's decided in an instance, we don't generally spend half a minute or more debating with ourselves what we're going to do. As a result, we don't always make the right decisions, although for a lot of decisions it's a given what we should do. We have the power to either make an optimal decision or a suboptimal decision.
Making bad decisions is easily done, and I would go even to far as to say that we make at least


one bad decision every day. Let me explain what I mean by this before I carry on. When I'm discussing making a bad decision, I'm not only talking about decisions that have negative impact on us or others, but about good decisions as-well, to a certain extent. Now this may sound confusing, as surely a good decision is a good decision and not a bad decision. Well, this is both true and untrue. In general these decisions would be good, however when applying optimal thinking to ourselves, then they're not good. Optimal thinking is about making the best decision in your circumstance, not making a good one. So by making a good decision when there is a better one, now makes that first decision the wrong decision to go with, in turn making it a bad decision. Remember this is in the terms of optimal thinking. 


So when applying optimal thinking to our lives, you're really thinking as such: how can I make the best decision (x), to obtain the best possible outcome (y)? You may be thinking already that this is just common sense and that it's already something that applies to your life. But is it? Your first reaction will be yes as we all have some idea of what the outcome is going to be or how our decision will affect the outcome. 
This though, is when we confuse good decisions with the best decisions. Good decisions (which ironically are bad decisions) are things you can come to in an instance without too much effort put into it, the best decisions however, are not so easily thought of. I'm not saying that you can't make the best decision in an instance, but I am saying that it's easier to make that good decision in that time-frame rather than the best one. 
And whilst this may seem like an easy thing to do, you'll soon find with some decisions that it's not as easy as it first sounds. 

If you aren't a very decisive person though and are wanting to become more decisive so you can then better apply optimal thinking to yourself, then here's a previous post of mine: How to Become more Decisive.


What does optimal thinking apply to?

Optimal thinking isn't just something that pertains to decisions involving productivity or effectiveness around a task, but can apply to anything and everything. For example: interactions and communications with people, daily chores and jobs, career and work, life decisions etc.. 

Questions that should often be asked when trying to make an optimal decisions are; What is the best use of my time, what is the best thing I can say in response to this person, is there a better decision to make than the one that I'm about to make. There are more, but I'm sure that you get the idea to what optimal thinking involves and what it applies to.


Conclusion


The main point of optimal thinking is not to get you to spend more time thinking, but to get you to raise the bar in terms of decision-making. Yes raising the bar/standards will maybe cause you to take a longer time to make a decision, however it will be the best decision and so will be worth it, which is the overall purpose.

8 Steps to Improve Teamwork Skills

"Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much."

Helen Keller 

"Teamwork is the ability to work together toward a common vision. The ability to direct individual accomplishments toward organizational objectives. It is the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon results."

Andrew Carnegie

"The nice thing about teamwork is that you always have others on your side."

Margaret Carty 

Teamwork is a critical skill that you as a person will need to learn. Teamwork is a highly regarded ability by many people - especially by employers. 

If a person has good team working qualities it helps to build relationships with others. The funny thing is, some of these tips don't only have to be applied for when working in a team, but can also be used for when communicating with people on a day-to-day basis. 

Hope you enjoy. :)

1. Listening

Teamwork means working with others, so putting only your ideas forward and not listening to others, is not teamwork. You will need to take the time to listen to other people. Having other peoples input and not just your owns is important for making the best decisions, and for the team to respect each other. 

Other team-members may be able to spot flaws in your idea, which will mean improvements can be made. You can also discuss their ideas, looking at the pros and cons. Listening is an essential skill that you will HAVE to learn if you want to improve your teamwork skills.

2. Sharing

Whilst listening to other peoples thoughts and ideas is essential, if no one is willing to share their ideas with each other, the team wont get very far. 

People will have to be willing to share an idea, don't leave it to everybody else, make sure you have some input. It will not only give you more confidence within the team but can also help to encourage others to put forward their ideas. 

Don't hold back because you want the credit for yourself and you don't want others to steal the limelight, it's not the end of the world. Just be more laid back about it and care more about helping the team out, not just yourself.

3. Communication

For a team to work effectively and for team working skills to be made manifest, communication MUST take place, whether we like it or not. Not just communication, but effective communication. It's no good talking about the weather when you need to be dealing with the situation at hand, although it's good you have the confidence to talk. :)

Teams come up against problems and obstacles, but without effective communication how will a team overcome these? - it simply can't. So try to communicate. 

If you have trouble communicating effectively, then maybe you should read a previous post of mine: 12 ways to develop communication skills.

4. Don't let sore relationships affect your input

When working with others, it's not uncommon for people to not get along with each other. Maybe something outside of the team has happened between these people, maybe you just don't get along, however, don't let this put a downer on your input team. 

When you let sore relationships get in the way of making the correct decisions, or you refuse to help the team because of this, you're only hurting the team. Not only that but people will lose respect for you if you can't be mature enough to put it behind you.

Biased decisions can be made and mistakes which could have been avoided are instead, driven straight into. If you want, you can read a previous post of mine: How to make an unbiased decision.

5. Willingness to accept

A good team member will be able to have all of the other qualities on this list, as-well as having the willingness to accept team decisions and roads of development. 

It can be very easy to not run with an idea that was chosen over yours, but having the ability to do so will allow the group to make better progress. Believe it or not, it's also good for keeping team morale up, as things run a lot smoother when all team members are willing to accept and participate in an idea 100%. 

It's no good to have somebody on a team who hinders rather than helps.

6. Support

A good team that works together shouldn't just be a group of individuals working together, but should in a sense form an individual as a whole, made from all of the individual team members. 

Different individuals of the team will have different personalities and characteristics, meaning different levels of encouragement and support will be needed. Being able to recognise when somebody needs encouragement or support is a skill that will come over time, but is great for team morale. It also allows you to become closer to that person or people, showing that you care what is happening to them, further tightening the team together.  

7. Patience

As discussed in previous points, working in a team will require you to work with different individuals. Different individuals will have different personalities, some will be loud and boisterous, others will be quiet and timid. As a member of a team, patience will be needed on your behalf. If you were to lose your patience and become angry at other team members, that could affect team relationships and make it awkward for the group as a whole. 

Patience will be needed for working with everybody; it takes time for a group to find its footing and can take even longer for a team to work and gel together nicely.

8. Hard work

It's great if a team can listen to one another, it's great if a team can share ideas with each other, it's great if a team can communicate effectively, but without hard work - what's the point. 

Hard work is where the ideas presented are put into practice and are tackled head-on. Hard work is great for getting a team to gel together and great for encouraging other team members to do the same. 

I have written an earlier blog post about the benefits of hard work for you to read, if you're interested that is. :)

The Logic of Logic

We are always using logic in our daily lives, from small to big tasks. Although we still make mistakes, a bit more time spent thinking would allow us to get a better end result.

What Exactly is Logic?

Logic itself can be tricky to define completely, but it is derived from the Greek word 'logos', which is translated as "sentence", "discourse", "reason", "rule", and "ratio". These translations in themselves are still not enough to help us understand what logic is.

A general way of defining the term logic could be to say it is the study of critical thinking and reasoning.

Logic isn't just reasoning, but about how you reason. It's no good trying to reason with yourself that something is good when it's not, having the skill to reason effectively and honestly is part of logic as well.

Using logic to back up your point is good, but only using logic to try and back up your point isn't. Having the ability to look at a situation from multiple angles is when you're getting somewhere in terms of logic.

Why Should we Apply it to Ourselves?

As a system of critical reasoning, logic is a principle that can pertain to all things and is essential for our lives. Reasoning can be good or not so good, logic can help to tell what it is.

Logic is something that we should all apply to our lives, so many misunderstandings, mistakes, and embarrassments can be avoided.

10 Reasons why you should Play Chess

Chess is a game normally associated to intelligent, strategic individuals who enjoy the adrenaline rush of outsmarting and outplaying others around them. Although there is a bit of a stereotype for chess players, you don't need to have an IQ of 200 to play.

There are millions of people who enjoy playing chess every day and have numerous tournaments around the world throughout the year.

As chess is not reliant on age and has no need of retirement, chess is a very highly competitive sport and requires an immense amount of dedication, with both young and old battling it out to become no.1.

Chess is part of the curricula in nearly 30 countries and is a subject in all public schools - you will see why if you read below.

 

1. Logical thinking 

Chess develops logical thinking because the whole game is based on logical thinking. Not wanting to make a blunder and wanting to capitalise on your opponents mistakes or positional errors requires planned thought.

2. Improves maths and science 

Maths and science are subjects where you are either right or wrong. So with chess players, (who when playing chess will see a move they make to be either the right or wrong play,) can relate similar thinking to both these subjects.

In a 1977-1979 study at the Chinese University in Hong Kong by Dr. Yee Wang Fung, chess players showed a 15% improvement in math and science test scores.

Dr. Calvin F. Deyermond, Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction for the North Tonawanda City School District, wrote: "Chess develops intellectual, aesthetic, sporting, decision making, concentration, and perseverance skills.We have seen the effects of this wonderful game in our classroom and as an extracurricular activity. Not only is it mentally challenging but it attracts not only gifted pupils but also students at all levels of learning. Many students who have been experiencing problems, particularly in mathematics and reading, sometimes demonstrate remarkable progress after learning chess."

3. Teaches independence 

Chess is an individual sport and how well you do comes down to how well you can play. True you can go to clubs and have lessons, but it will always be your own decisions which make or break a match.

This naturally teaches independence, having to rely on yourself and not others around you.

4. Promotes studying 

With chess, like most things, the more you study and practice, the better you will become. As I said before about chess being highly competitive, to remain at the higher levels of the game, regular practice is necessary.

Chess players are able to apply this to other things already having the discipline to put the work in.

5. Improves memory

Chess is difficult sport to compete in and many things must be known by memory. Chess improves the ability to store and gain information.

According to a two-year study conducted in Kishinev under the supervision of N.F. Talisina, grades for young students taking part in the chess experiment increased in all subjects. Teachers noted improvement in memory, better organizational skills, and for many increased fantasy and imagination (Education Ministry of the Moldavian Republic, 1985).

With so many different variations of play, players usually memorise certain patterns and strategies to deal effectively with their opponent. Looking into openings, traps, and end game positions.

6. Patience and concentration 

Patience and concentration are two things that come naturally to a chess player (especially concentration).

Without concentration you will 90% of the time lose a game (100% of the time if you're against a good player).

Without patience you could make moves to early which your opponent could counter and build upon.

7. Imagination and Creativity 

With so many possible outcomes and so many strategical paths to go down, a chess players imagination and creativity will be tested and over time improve.

8. Improves school grades and your level of learning 

A 1990-92 study using a sub-set of the New York City Schools Chess Program produced statistically significant results concluding that chess participation enhances reading performance.

In a 1974-1976 Belgium study, a chess-playing experimental group of fifth graders experienced a statistically significant gain in cognitive development over a control group, using Piaget's tests for cognitive development. 

Perhaps more noteworthy, they also did significantly better in their regular school testing, as well as in standardized testing administered by an outside agency which did not know the identity of the two groups. 

Quoting Dr. Adriaan de Groot: ...``In addition, the Belgium study appears to demonstrate that the treatment of the elementary, clear-cut and playful subject matter can have a positive effect on motivation and school achievement generally...''

During the 1995-1996 school year, two classrooms were selected in each of five schools. Students (N = 112) were given instruction in chess and reasoning in one classroom in each school. 

Pupils in the chess program obtained significantly higher reading scores at the end of the year. It should be noted that while students in the chess group took chess lessons, the control group (N = 127) had additional classroom instruction in basic education. 

The control group teacher was free to use the ``chess period'' any way he/she wanted, but the period was usually used for reading, math or social studies instruction. The control groups thus had more reading instruction than the chess groups.

Even so, the chess groups did better on the reading post-test; therefore, the gains in the chess groups were particularly impressive.

9. Socialisation 

Chess will always require you to play against somebody (unless you go against the computer,). Whether you attend clubs or tournaments (or both), there will be lots of people there who enjoy chess - promoting interaction and social transactions.  

10 It's Fun 

If you play it for nothing else, chess is fun and is great when you win. Chess never repeats itself and never feels repetitive. 

Here's the links to the websites I like: 

• For playing chess I use chess.com
• For learning and developing strategy, I normally use thechesswebsite.com

Improve your Mental Maths

Maths is an alien term for many of us and we commonly relate it to intelligence. Although intelligence is a good quality to have when approaching maths, a bit of practice and a few good techniques is all you need to have a basic understanding of the subject. 

The amount of people who need calculators for basic mathematics is quite surprising, however, the last time the majority of people studied maths was probably in school. 

Mental maths is a useful tool to have and can help in many different scenarios. One of these could be adding up the price of the shopping. Not only can it be useful, but it helps keep your brain active and helps with helps with problem solving; mental capacity and concentration.

Mental maths isn't something you can instantly do brilliantly, unfortunately it does need practice, but you can improve the rate in which you understand with these and many other tips. 

1. Addition 

When adding any single digit numbers up, try to group numbers together that make 10. This makes it a lot easier when doing it mentally and it enhances the time in which you can do it. 

For example: 4+3+8+9+1+6+7. Group together numbers that add up to 10 first. (4+6), (3+7), (9+1). You have three lots of these groups of 10, meaning you have 30. Then you just add on the left over 8 to make a grand total of 38!

I've just shown you how to add single digit numbers, but what about two digit numbers? The concept is really just the same only fractionally harder.

If you have the sum of 10+97+45+12+50+35, you would first start with the numbers in the 10's column, grouping them together into groups of 100. 

For example: (10+90), (40+10+50). This would tell you that you have 200, adding up the left over 30 to make a total of 230. Now add up the units, grouping them into lot's of 10: (5+5). The remaining numbers that don't go into a group of ten, just add them on extra making the total of these 9. Now add 10 and 9 and 230 together. This will give you 249.

This is the same concept for three digit numbers and so on. This does take practice to be able to use it smoothly and I would advise starting with the units. Once you've got those down, move onto the two digit sums. Once you've got those down, move onto the three digits etc...

If you ever have a sum where no numbers can be grouped together, then just split the sum up and add it step-by-step. 

For example: 2567+3418. (2000+3000=5000), (500=400=900), (5000+900=5900), (60+10=70), (5900+70=5970), (7+8=15), (5970+15=5985). Final answer=5985. 

2. Subtraction 

Subtracting is a little bit harder than addition, but isn't too bad. This is where addition plays an important role (strange - addition needed for subtraction). 

When subtracting, start with the smaller number and just count the difference in between, but adding them into units; ten's; hundred's etc.

For example: 924-345. So you would do: (345+5= 350), (350+50=400), (400+500=900), (900+24=924). So you've done: 5+50+500+24= 579. This number you have ended up with, is what you get when you subtract 345 from 924. 

3. Multiplication 

A very simple way to multiply is to split the number up. For example 24x34.(20x30=600), (4x30=120), (20x4=80), (4x4=16), 600+120+80+16=816. 

I find it easier to add them as I go instead of at the end. So I would do this: 24x34. (20x30=600), (4x30=120), (600+120=720), (20x4=80), (720+80=800), (4x4=16), (800+16=816). 

4. Adding and subtracting money 

This is just as straight forward as the other tips. The great thing about adding and subtracting money is that you can it goes into 10's and 100's, making it easier than adding or subtracting time. Whenever you add or subtract money, just ignore the decimal point and use the first two tips to help you come to an answer.

For example: £1.67+£23.89. Firstly ignore the decimal points as I said before, this will make the sum simpler to do mentally. - 167+2389. Then just use tip 1: (2000+0=2000), (100+300=400), (60+80=140), (7+9=16), (2000+400+140+16=2556). Now put the decimal point back in to get a final answer of £25.56.

When you subtract, use the 2nd tip. Make sure to take the decimal points away, adding them back in the end result. 

6 Benefits of concentration.

With so much going on in today's environment, many of us have frequent exposure to noise and distractions most of the time. It's not surprising then, that we're not able to concentrate. 

Concentration is a great skill you can acquire, that will help you in numerous ways throughout your life.

This trained skill can be maintained and used very effectively in many different circumstances.

1. Productivity 

Concentration can help improve our personal productivity and the time you take to do things. If you solely concentrate on the task you're doing, not giving in to any interferences, you'll find that you'll do more of a thorough job.

Because of your ability to focus, you won't have chance to think about what you dislike or find boring about the task, as you'll be concentrating 100%.

You'll be able to see the improvement in the tasks you do, when you fully focus.

2. Self-discipline 

When you improve your focus, your self-discipline will naturally get better as-well. When you concentrate on something, you are forcing all of your energy and thoughts onto one thing for a period of time. 

By continuing with concentration even when you're not feeling in the mood, impresses self-discipline to become rooted, increasing with practice and persistence.

Both concentration and self-discipline are great qualities to have, giving you the edge in many different aspects of life.

3. Better at listening 

Listening is definitely something that we need to do. Having the facility to be able concentrate, will help with our listening skills. We will be able to listen for long periods of time, and be able to absorb what is being said. You'll be surprised how much you can learn from just listening, without having to say anything. Try it out.

4. Patience 

If we're able to concentrate for long periods of time, and have an improvement in self-discipline, then of course patience will see benefits also.

Patience is a brilliant trait to have, which goes in harmony with listening. You'll be able to reason and put forward ideas to a higher degree of effectiveness and understanding. 

If you take the time to listen and observe, you'll be shocked to see how many people are impatient, which is something we need to avoid.

5. Counters boredom 

If you are able to hold your focus and get into what you're doing, boredom won't be a factor you'll be too concerned about. This will help when studying in a class (or on your own on a particular topic), that you don't find it enjoyable or interesting. If you have this skill of concentration, boredom will be reduced hugely and in many cases - prevented!

6. Improves memory 

I'm not sure if concentration increases your overall memory power, however, your ability to remember things will improve. 

When concentrating on any given topic, your mind will be fully immersed in the subject, aiding in the ability to remember key points and other pieces of information.

For example: This can help if you have trouble in remembering people's names, or if you have to really work at remembering directions.

10 Benefits of reading.

Firstly, I would just like to say that I love reading, but only when it's material that interests me. Fortunately there's quite a lot of books that I find fascinating enough to read. 

Growing up, reading was a natural thing to spend time doing. However as I went through school and college, I found that many people didn't and don't read! 

It seems for a majority, books are old;boring and are a waste of time. This is a false view to take, reading is definitely one of the best didactic hobbies you can have. 

To try and persuade people that reading is a great tool to use (and because its intriguing to know), I've put together a list of benefits that you will experience through being a book worm:

1. Mentally challenging. 

When I say challenging, I don't mean that its hard to understand (although some books can be). What I mean is, your brain has to concentrate on the information its taking in, trying to digest it as best as possible, creating thoughts and ideas relating to what you're reading. This will help in increasing your intelligence, which is something t.v can't do....yet.

2. Improves vocabulary. 

Books (especially challenging ones) throw unyielding words our way sometimes, and without understanding of them, we can miss much information the book is trying to convey. So researching these words, is needed to be done. After you have distinguished what this new word means, you have added a new word to your vocabulary.  

If you do have trouble learning a new word, I suggest, once the meaning has been acquired, to try and use it in sentences. This technique helps massively. 

3. Heightens your concentration levels. 

As mentioned earlier, reading needs concentration to achieve a full level of understanding. Because reading and concentration goes hand-in-hand, naturally your focus will improve with time. 

Keeping your attention for longer periods of time is also something that comes with reading, as its not normally a quick five minute read.

4. Information inherited. 

Books help clarify difficult subjects, they go into depth analysis on a given topic and give much information concerning it.

5. Builds self-esteem.  

As you read and become more knowledgeable, your confidence will start to increase when discussing certain issues. 

Having a good understanding of something will make you more self-assured than others, creating a knock on effect, with people wanting to know more about what you think on a subject. 

6. Sharpen your memory. 

If you're not working your mind regularly, it will not have its potential IQ as when it is being worked. When working your mind, memory can be enhanced, so by reading, you're helping build your memory muscles.

Reading can help reduce the risk of Alzheimer's disease, which is something we would want to avoid. 

Plot lines, characters, locations, facts and figures, have to be remembered when reading fictional and non-fictional books. (Disclaimer: not all of these are included in every book.)

7. Self-discipline. 

Self-discipline is another thing that can come about through reading. Having the will power to make time for reading and then having a long stretch of reading, is an achievement and is very easy to put off. 

Self-discipline is combined with concentration and is definitely a valuable life skill. 

If you have a daily schedule, try adding reading to it. A good time to read for many people, is just before bed. 

8. Overcome boredom. 

When feeling bored, something I tend to do is pick up a book and read. Its surprising how long you can read for, without realising how much time can fly by. Its also a relaxing activity to do.

9. Entertainment.  

You can spend many hours or more, reading books. Some are as much as a cinema ticket and can provide more entertainment over a longer period of time than watching a film can.

10. Creativity. 

When you're reading, you're exposing your brain to new information and thoughts. These help with your creativeness, providing a newer scheme of observing and processing ideas.

Does Chess boost IQ?

Chess is a game where you try to trap your opponents King (checkmate), using  and positioning other pieces, implementing: strategy, anticipation and a working memory.

Chess is a great game in developing your intelligence and exercising your mind, although it is uncertain if chess actually boosts your IQ, or if it just helps your mind in reaching its very near full potential. 

1. Concentration and Patience.

If you're going to learn to play chess, or if you already do, you will know, or come to know, that a monstrous amount of concentration is needed. You will need to be concentrating on every move you and your opponent makes, needing to think of benefits and consequences of each move made. Patience is also better established in this procedure.

As you progress to a higher level of chess, it is made clear early on that one wrong move, can cost you the game. To avoid such a catastrophic mistake then, concentration must be applied and used effectively. 

For example: I was playing a friend at chess, and I had a lapse in concentration. He was then able to take my queen and gain control over the board. 
From that point on, it just went downhill. However I then struck lucky, as he had a lapse in his concentration, allowing me to take his queen and regain control of the game. - I went on to win the match. This illustrates what a lack of concentration can do.

2.  Analysis.

Chess helps to develop analysis and how you go about in doing it. In fact some results taken show that teenagers who started to play chess, strengthened their numerical and verbal skills. It also suggested that increased memory could be a by-product of this depth analysis. 

3. Spatial Intelligence.

The need to foresee moves and strategical possibilities, is essential in the game of chess. This has the ability to build up knowledge and memories of previously played games, using strategical comprehension from those games and executing them into new games.

You will also need to develop the technique of looking at moves further on in the game. Some players are able to look 10-15 moves into the game and then use their understanding of the game, to decide if its for the best or worst.

Lists of Benefits you can expect from chess, young or old.

• Independence,
• Logical thinking and understanding,
• Concentration,
• Working memory,
• Fluid reasoning,
• Knowledge.

If you want a full list of the benefits, then check out this post: 10 Reasons why you should Play Chess.

Increasing intelligence.

Your brain is an extremely complex part of your body, and like muscles, if you want to access its full potential - you have to work it. So just like going to the gym to get fit, you can use simple mental exercises to get your brain working at its best. 

The benefits of mental finesse.

Quickened learning - Your learning rate will increase with your intelligence level, and you will be able to grasp certain concepts easier than before.

Logical thinking - With an increased intelligence level, your logical thinking will grow. Thinking rationally and logically is the best thing to do, while using the Bible for guidance.

Concentration - Your concentration levels will progress, making it easier to do a certain activity for a longer stretch of time.

Memory - Although these exercises will help with augmenting your memory, there are normally separate, more focused exercises for helping in refining memory.

Exercises for increasing your intelligence

1. Reading.

Reading is an activity that is deeply appreciated by many. Normally fictional books are the top choices, wanting a suspenseful, exciting book. However these books are not the best choice when it comes to challenging and improving your mind.

You should read books that make you focus, non-fictional books are great for doing this, as absorbing the information is needed to be able to stay focused. 

If you don't know the meaning of a word, don't worry. Just look it up and carry on. This will help in adding new words to your vocabulary. 

A great non-fictional book I would recommend is, the king James Bible. This is because there are many challenging sentences and words, and you're wanting to concentrate to get the full meaning of God's law.

2. Correct sleep pattern.

Nothing makes it harder to concentrate than sleep deprivation, so early to bed and up early in the morning is the best bet. You’ll be most refreshed if you go to bed early and don’t sleep for more than 8 hours. If you stay up late and compensate by sleeping late, you’ll wake up dormant and will have a hard time focusing.

Results show that people who sleep for more than 8 hours, and those who sleep for less than 6, have a higher risk of diabetes than those who sleep 6-8 hours. (No more no less). So as good as polyphasic sleeping sounds, I will probably give it a miss.

3. Exercise.

When it comes to improving your intelligence, exercising is not something that would jump to  my mind. But actually it does help, I've noticed the benefits of it myself when taking my dog for a walk each day. 

Getting out and doing exercising is great for thinking and making logical decisions. The fresh air clears your head, and you find it easier to concentrate after exercising. ( Although if you do something like a marathon, you may be too tired to concentrate.)

4. Avoid T.V.

People love to spend time vegetating in front of the television while the world flies by. I was guilty of this as well, but now have cut down by a huge amount. You don't use your mental capacity while watching T.V and your brain isn't properly stimulated, which isn't really very beneficial for yourself.

After a few hours of it, you've done nothing of accomplishment and you will feel drained from excessive watching. This is a horrible feeling.

Another thing about T.V, is that it has an effect on your mood. If you watch something that is sad - you normally will feel sad; if you watch something that is angry - you will be able to be more easily annoyed; if you watch something inspiring - you will feel inspired. Without even realizing it, T.V has an effect on you which is not naturally healthy and is often bad for you.

5. Chess.

Chess is a great game for boosting intelligence, and there is a lot more strategy to it than people may think. When I got into chess, I realized that actually, I wasn't as good as I thought. In truth, in comparison to professional chess players, I was rubbish. 

So after learning some new strategies and techniques, I felt an improvement.

There is so much more to take in than I previously thought. 

For example: openings; mid-game tactics; end-game play; traps; and many other types of play.

The fact is, you have to think about so much with chess when you're playing, you're taking in the current moves that are being made, and you're having to think about future play down the road. Sometimes you have to visualize ten+ moves into the game, to out-smart your opponent.

Chess helps enhance your memory, visual spacial acqutity and perceptive deduction.

6. Debates.

Debating (not arguing) is another good way to develop the way you think and process information.

When involved in a debate, your aim is to persuade and convince the opposing side to understand that your position on the topic is correct and that theirs is wrong. You will be forced to examine and cross examine the information presented, and go into greater depth to outwit the other party.

What is IQ?

IQ stands for "intelligence quotient" and is a score that is acquired from one of many standardized tests designed to access intelligence levels.  The results established from the test will allow an assessment on your ability to think and reason.

IQ is the standardized way of looking at your intelligence comparatively to others. Your actual IQ cannot be measured to the exact number, but the test score is very reliable and is normally only out by a few numbers. The reason being is that, your real IQ is very hard to know for definite as outside influences come into play: distractions, extreme temperatures, health etc... 

That's not to say that if you get a score of 100, you can say you should be getting 180. Its score is only out by a bit, for example your IQ is more than likely to be in the range of 95-105. 

IQ however is not the be all and end all, it does fail to measure certain things. For instance: it fails to measure musicality and many other abilities that you can be very well capable of doing.

Intelligence is often confused with knowledge, wisdom, memory and other things. There are many different IQ tests, different tests have different results and meanings. Many IQ tests use the score of 100 as average, but for some tests it  will mean something else. The British Mensa uses two main tests to determine intelligence quotient, the Cattell III B and the Cattell Culture Fair III A. 

An adult can only get a maximum of 161 on the Cattell III B.

To be able to qualify for Mensa, they require your IQ level to be within the top 2%.

From their website, these scores on these tests will qualify you for the Mensa society:

• Cattell III B - 148
• Culture Fair - 132
• Ravens Advanced Matrices - 135
• Ravens Standard Matrices - 131
• Wechsler Scales - 132

There are different types of intelligence as well, and being high in one, while low in another doesn't mean that you're not as capable of being as successful as other people. However this theory of multiple intelligences has had mixed opinions, I would have to refer you to the Wikipedia site for you to have more of a complete understanding.

How to Remember directions and addresses.

Finding it hard to remember directions and addresses is not a unique problem, many of us have experienced this and still do to this day. In fact many people have no idea, when it comes to how to retaining directions for a long period of time. 
Don't worry if you're one of them, in fact you probably will be, and is the reason why you're reading this post. (He he).

Exploring new locations and places you're not familiar with can be exciting, but after you've been past the same street three times, and as your stress levels increase, you will be finding it hard to find the experience enjoyable. 

So how do you remember directions and addresses? Luckily there are some simple techniques you can use in aiding you on your quest:

1. Image linking

Try to link directions to images and put them into a story. Create images to go with: directions; street names; names of shops and other buildings; names of towns and cities etc. 

By doing this your conscious mind has a better chance at remembering them, linking one direction to the next. If you want, you can go a step further. Try to imagine the textures of the images, the taste, the smell, the feeling, the size. Making the memory as real as possible can be incredibly valuable for this type of task.

2. Acrostics

If you don't like the idea of creating images in your mind, then you can use the same technique, but with words. Join street names,landmarks and other things that stand out, into one long sentence. Your sentence doesn't have to make sense, its sole purpose is just to help  you remember. 

  

3. Repetition

Have you ever heard the phrase practice makes perfect? Well this can be applied for directions. By repeating the directions/street addresses over and over in your head, you will more than likely be able to recall them at any given time. This can be used as a 'combo' to go with tips#1 or #2.

4. Plan ahead

If you have the chance, look at a map and use the memory techniques above to help matriculate the route. Also go and actually 'do' the route, performing this will help you familiarize yourself and help you feel comfortable when you do the route for real. (Sounds a bit like revising for an exam. He he.)

5. Cheat

If you are still finding it hard to recall directions and addresses, then you could just cheat. Keep a pen and paper (or little notepad) on yourself at all times, then when you are told directions, just write them down - you'll never have the worry of trying to remember them again!