Train Your Brain

Congratulations. You've made it to 2021, and that's something that you should be proud of. Really, pin an imaginary medal on your chest. All of us have made it to another calendar year after an unprecedented tide of restrictions to our way of life. This pandemic has certainly taken a toll on our state of mind and has influenced it drastically, for better or worse.

And before we knew it, most of January has rolled in and it just doesn't feel any different. We seem to be persisting with the same struggles day in and day out, and many of us are still coming into grips with this new reality and mulling over methods of coping with it. But we must remember that our brain has evolved to survive this sort of thing. It may take a few punches and ache dully for a while, but it has all the tools we need to spring back into action and stubbornly brace itself for more. Among the most powerful of these tools is called neuroplasticity, the ability of the brain to reintegrate neural networks in response to experiences and behaviour we perform. Instead of simply staying put and waiting for this storm to run its course, we can engineer our minds to be capable of riding it.

Perhaps the most practical ways to integrate this into our daily lives is to tweak our existing responses in the face of a challenge and by doing our very best to immerse ourselves into meaningful activities, achieving a flow state. 

Instead of biting your nails or resigning yourself to gloom when stress overwhelms you, maybe you can go out for some fresh air or take a break and do something you love. Do this enough times and the stress may not bother you as much next time around. It is easy to get caught up overthinking and being stuck in a web of worries. You might as well untangle yourself and start a productive routine, or just about anything that you fills you with purpose.

Every action that we choose to perform and every thought that we choose to entertain in our minds causes a ripple that permeates the ocean called our mental health. By applying some basic techniques to modify our brains to our advantage, we could get out of the slump we've been having and keep unnecessary anxiety at bay. Here's to an exciting and enriching 2021!

- Nikhil