I’ve been am amateur neuroscientist for a couple of years now. The interest was prompted by a coaching training program I immersed myself in for two years called Conversational Intelligence (C-IQ). The program was founded by a woman named Judith Glaser who passed away over the course of four years, while still conducting coaching call programming. She was a force and she ignited the latent neruo-nerd in me.

Since I’m all about depth and health as I kick off the year. I spent the morning in my apps (WHOOP + MyFitnessPal) trying to figure out how to balance my protein, carb, and fat intake and figuring out if my WHOOP app really tracks all the calories I burn in one day. Along with the other mundane tasks of privileged domestic life like dishes, laundry, coffee, making the bed, examining my face for more wrinkles, etc. What swept me away from this exciting Sunday morning of ritualistic activity? An article on engaging my BRAIN (of course).

This is written more like a list of what we all need to do this year (and the first one is a real treat):

Learn to juggle - It’s a complex skill that you can practice daily and have fun! There are tons of videos on YouTube that will help you through this.
Learn Something New Every Day - This is a great reminder that we live in a world where auto-pilot is easy (see my mundane morning rituals above). Here some inspired ideas: learn a new language, study a musical instrument, dance (see TikTok for frequent dance challenges).
Get Enough Sleep - Full disclosure, I didn’t know where to start with this until I got WHOOP. It was a present this December, so I’m new at knowing about my sleep. What’s the big deal in relation to the brain? Sleep is the time for repair and restoration of the bran which allows for the future growth of your neuroplasticity.
Exercise - Now maybe you see how well aligned this list is with my personal OKRs?! Exercise impacts the quality of your motor skills, memory, and ability to learn. Physically, exercise is also increasing the oxygen to your brain and releasing hormones you need for expansion.
Be Mindful - Meditation seems to be the “go-to” way to do this for the people I know well. Essentially, mindfulness is the quality of being present in the moment and being conscious of your feelings and emotions when they pull you away from your focused work. This practice touts a rewiring of the brain that can help you reduce mental ruminations and emotional reactivity AND increases working memory and cognitive flexibility.

I plan to refer to this list often and start my juggling program today!