It’s a classic story when you would want a wish ‘to be able to make other wishes come true’. That’s called a meta-wish.
To prepare ourselves for the future, we would need a similar meta-wish strategy in learning. What would you like to learn? To be able to learn how to learn fast and effectively.
Why?
Because the future is going to be drastically different to what we know today. The faster we get used to it, the better for us, humans.
McKinsey & Company have just released a report on the future of our work.
No surprise, it’s going to be a technology-driven world, if we want it or not. Automation, self-driving cars, 3-D printing, robots, drones, neurological networks via the internet, virtual reality, Nano-technology and bio-engineering are going to shape our nearby future and we need to prepare for it.
And if you are not seriously considering the changes, McKinsey Company are predicting that 50% of current jobs will be automated and the workforce will need to learn new skills.
Why wait and not start now?
What skills are the most important for us to develop? Emotional Intelligence, learning quickly and being adaptive, being healthy and creative.
We all should be asking ourselves: how well am I equipped with these skills?
Emotional intelligence is a broad area and driven by positive psychology as well as neuro-psychological methods to stay in your flow, resilient to stress and learning how to quickly bounce back from adversity. Social-savvy, adaptive emotionally to different circumstances, we need to learn fast different strategies on how to bio-hack our brains holistically and effectively using as many natural methods as possible. Mother-nature is a powerful remedy for many illnesses and stress.
Here is one of the ways to do it: learn the basics about positive psychology and apply it: I like this list of recommended books on this topic.
Meanwhile, I have started my journey in learning from one of the experts in the field of fast-learning, Jim Kwik. Jim is a guy who taught the cast of X-Men how to learn their scripts. He is a celebrity and popular speaker on learning how to read fast as well as how to bio-hack our brain to learn how to learn (the meta-strategy mentioned above).
Jim had brain damage when he was 5 years old, he struggled to remember and focus and learnt to read 3 years after his peers.
When I saw Jim with Elon Musk, Hugh Jackman, Richard Branson, Bono, Michelle Obama, Hillary and Bill Clinton, Sergey Brin and Larry Page I wonder: “if a guy with brain damage managed to succeed to work with such epic people and teach many how to learn fast, so many other people can as well!’
If you are curious about his method, please let me know as I will be happy to share with you throughout January, what it takes to learn fast.
Would you like that?
For now, let me give you a teaser: if you want to learn Jim’s morning routine that he uses to jump-start his day and activate a super-brain positivity, here it is.
Jim believes that first, we create habits and then habits create us so it’s important to create effective habits early in the morning. One of the most important things you can do is to spend the first hour of your day without gadgets. No touching a phone for emails or messages. Because if you do, you start your day in a reactive mode.
1. He starts remembering his dreams. Why? Because our mind doesn’t stop processing information at night, it actually becomes more productive as it taps into our subconscious mind. We can get so many more insights and solutions to problems during our dreams.
2. He makes his bed. Why is it important for our brain? Because that way we start the day with an element of excellence & success: the way we do little things we do big things. Also, if we start the day by making our bed, we send a signal to a clean environment which is what we need to think and focus clearly. Finally, it feels good to come home to a made bed: a full circle of success.
3. He drinks a lot of water. Why? Because we consist of 80% of water including our brain and during sleep, we lose a lot of water so it’s crucial to overhydrate first thing in the morning.
4. He brushes his teeth with the opposite hand. Why is that good for the brain? Because it creates new neuro-connections in our brain to learn and move. As our body moves our brain grooves.
5. He uses the deep-breathing exercise. Why? Because our brain needs oxygen. Although our brain is 2% of our body weight, it consumes 20% of all nutrients and oxygen, so it’s important we flood our system with extra oxygen from deep-breathing.
6. He makes himself a brain-tea. It consists of gotu kola, ginkgo, lion’s mane, MCT oil and other gems. This concoction stimulates our brain and increases its focus and memory throughout the day.
7. He journals while drinking his tea. To boost our brain power, it’s important to take notes. Planning our day and writing what things we feel grateful for is a flourishing technique for our brain power. Jim has a gratitude board as well as his vision board. If you want to access your gratitude quickly, count all the things in your life that money can’t buy. Gratitude is a key to longevity and so much more (check Time Magazine’s meta-study on the power of gratitude)
8. He does High-Intensity exercises for 3-4 minutes. Why? Whatever is good for your heart is generally good for your head. When you get your blood pumping quicker, you get your system working and cleaned inside-out.
9. He does a brain-power smoothie. Water, chocolate, almond, blueberries (‘brain-berries’), avocado and walnuts.
10. He reads while drinking his smoothie. 20-30 minutes a day of dedicated reading because leaders are readers. An average person reads one or two books per year. An extraordinary person reads one book per week.
Design your first hour of your day to be ‘brain-friendly’ and start your day like a super-hero.
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With gratitude,
Darya
XO