Mental Variety
Did you know that it is essential for your mental wellness to cultivate interests outside of your profession? Our brains need variety in order for us to feel like we are firing on all cylinders mentally.
If you are investing in these kinds of interests currently, then you know that feeling of mental dexterity and refreshment that comes from letting your brain do something new and different.
Think of it like working out in the gym. If the only exercise you do is bicep curls, then no one could really argue that you are “fit,” and you would certainly be missing out on the full benefits of fitness despite spending hours in the gym. The same is true for our brains. If all we use them for is to learn or study one subject or complete similar tasks, we miss out on the benefits of mental stimulation and wellbeing that come from variety.
Far too often, work takes up the majority of our energy each day, making dissociative activities (like binging shows with no real interest) easy to gravitate towards at night. Letting our minds and bodies be completely at rest is definitely important, but we need a variety of activities each day in order to keep our brains engaged. With a little bit of effort, you can vastly improve your routine and mental wellbeing.
Try downloading a book or documentary on a subject that fascinates you and is not at all related to your job. If you’re having trouble thinking of something that might mentally engage you, try starting with the main subjects you learned about in school. Is there something within the realms of math, science, history, social studies, or communication that intrigues you?
You could also make time for games, puzzles, or something creative. Even coming up with a new way to organize your to do list can be mentally inviting!
It doesn’t really matter what you pick, as long as you enjoy learning about it or doing it. The feeling of enjoyment of soaking up new information or performing a fun task is like your brain doing jumping jacks. The mind feels much better when it gets to do a variety of fun things.
What are you going to learn about next?
