by Michael Lawrence Green
Happy New Year!!!
We’re halfway into January and we’ve got an entire year in front of us.
Most of us have established goals for the year, but how many of us have set goals to help our memory and brain health? Well, this is the year that you can start!
At Memory Spring, we promote an integrated approach to improving your memory by emphasizing four key areas: Physical, Organizational, Technical, and Mental/Emotional. Here are some potential goals to consider in each area.
1) Physical – The Physical area includes anything that you do to your body including exercise, nutrition, sleep, and hydration. Potential goals might include: a) Exercising one additional hour per week, b) If you’re a heavy caffeine user, reduce it by 20 percent, or c) eating one additional serving of brain food per day.
2) Organizational – The Organizational area focuses on the how you organize the world around you. Potential goals might include: a) Reducing clutter in your life, b) Establishing a place for your keys, purse, and other daily items, or c) Organizing your home office.
3) Technical – The Technical area has to do with exercising and stretching your brain to maintain and improve mental performance. The popular term is neuroplasticity. Potential goals might include: a) Finding a new hobby, b) Taking a memory or other type of class; or c) Implementing a brain exercising program.
4) Mental Emotional – The Mental Emotional area focuses on how you deal with stress and your belief basis. Potential goals might include:a) Establishing positive affirmations in your daily routine; b) Integrating some physical exercise into your weekly routine to offload stress; or c) Learning a new breathing technique to apply when you’re stressed.
Here are some tips for goal setting:
A) Make your goals SMART. SMART stands for:
Specific – Make sure that you can put some type of detail to it.
Measurable – Make sure it can be measured
Actionable – Make sure that it is goal is clear enough that you can put action steps to it.
Realistic – Too many times, we establish goals that are not achievable given our situation. Take the time to evaluate. You want it to be a stretch but doable.
Time dependent – Make sure you have an end date.
A good example of a SMART goal would be: Read 8 books by December 31st. Well, as long as it’s realistic as compared to what you read this past year.
B) Write down your goals. By writing your goals down, it signals your brain to start moving in the right direction. In fact, researchers have found that you become 42% more likely to achieve your goals and dreams, simply by writing them down on a regular basis.
C) Have an accountability partner. According to Success.com, when someone knows what your goals are, they hold you accountable by asking you to “give an account” of where you are in the process of achieving that goal. Accountability puts some teeth into the process. If a goal is set and only one person knows it, does it really have any power? Many times, no. A goal isn’t as powerful if you don’t have one or more people who can hold you accountable to it.
Establish goals to improve your memory. Those goals will pay you dividends this year and for the rest of your life.
For more information on establishing goals to improve your memory contact us at (530) 297-6464 or click here to email us.