How to Keep your Mind Sharp and Positive

As we grow old, all of us would like to relish and enjoy our life graciously. At an old age, you would tell stories to your grandchildren and play with them, see your children living happily, gather together and talk to your old friends in a park, etc. All these things are a colorful part of one's life.

The other side is that, old age can be miserable, and one may even spend days sitting on a wheelchair. The truth is you surely attain wisdom as you grow older. In other words, "Gray hair is a crown of splendor; it is attained by a righteous life" ~ Proverbs 16:31.

But the problem is that, the functioning of the brain is more feared in old age, than the problems due to aging.

We can set the strength of our brain by taking steps to build up our mind and soul consecutively. The two important ways to keep your mind active at any age are discussed below.

"The brain needs a healthy soul and the soul needs a brain that works right." ~ Daniel Amen

Prayer and meditation lead to emotional balance in a human being and promote cognitive, physical and relational health. By doing prayers, you feel compassionate, fearless by feeling the presence of God and your heart becomes light and peaceful.

Also, it is proven that doing meditation reduces your anxiety, depression and anger. Let's see how this works in our brain. The anterior cingulate cortex of our brain provides communication between the frontal lobe and limbic system of our brain.

The thoughts and behavior are controlled by the frontal lobe and the feelings and emotions are controlled by the limbic system. Prayer and meditation activate the anterior cingulate cortex, which causes empathy in us, and stimulates less reaction to fear, anger and depression. Believers can put their whole trust in these living words - "You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you." ~ Isaiah 26:3

"The brain wants to learn. It wants to be engaged as a learning machine." ~ Dr. Michael Merzenich

In your school days, you would have learned that the number of brain cells are limited. Even some of you have a sense of futility, that brain power is the same for all human beings. I would like to ask you a question.

How many of you know that brain cells die after alcohol consumption? If our brain cells are not able to rejuvenate, does it mean that all toppers die at the age of 50? (The calculation is roughly done by considering that brain doesn't produce new cells and the person is an occasional drinker).

The good news is that, cognitive performance of a person can be improved through learning at any age. Even if you are old, you can embrace the digital age, and learn the technology. In other words, age is no restriction for you to learn good things. Remember that your brain gets activated when you learn and it always wants to learn.

• Don't be a couch potato and find some mind stimulating activities to keep your brain active.
• Drink clean water and never compromise on it.
• Eat healthy food and feed your brain neurons with nutrition.

• According to scientific reports, eating the brains of squirrel, horses, pigs, goats, monkeys, chicken etc., cause severe brain tumors and other brain related diseases. So it is better that you don't eat it.
• Go to the church and sing songs praising The Lord. Your mind will be peaceful and happy staying away from the chaos in the world.

• Memorize your lessons and read things by heart.
• Play mind-friendly games.
• Always do positive self-talk.
• To keep your mind sharp, you can try to work on improving your IQ.
• Practice waking up early in the morning as it would help you to start your day peacefully and the early morning sunlight is good for the body and mind as well.

• You can learn arts like painting, sketching, writing, etc.
• Learn a new language or learn to play instruments like piano, guitar, violin, flute, etc.
• Teach others. By teaching others, you can also learn.
• Clean your house and arrange your living space in order.
• Practice healthy social interaction with people.

• Don't get bullied by anyone and lose your confidence, because these negative things will have a bad impact on your mind.
• Be yourself, "God has given you one face, and you make yourself another". ~ William Shakespeare.
• Stay focused in whatever you do.

• Never lose hope because; "Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies." ~ Andy Dufresne (Shawshank Redemption).
• Loving all is practically not possible, but don't hate anyone intensely.

It is important to understand that, keeping your mind sharp and positive, not only depends on physical factors but also on mental factors. So, never let anyone steal the happiness from you nor let them tell you that you can't do something. Whether it is good or bad, it comes from within you.

Let the badness decay and positive things will automatically arise. Keeping your mind sharp and positive, will consequently transform you into a good human being and will also help you to dodge your aging symptoms.