We’ve explained what Physical Wellness is and its five major components. Now is time to go deeper into Intellectual Wellness.
Intellectual wellness is having curiosity and desire to learn new things, valuing experiences, staying stimulated with new ideas, and sharing them. It is responding to challenges and opportunities to grow, making plans, developing strategies, and solving problems.
It is the ability to engage in clear thinking and to recall and think independently, creatively, and critically scholastically and culturally. According to Dartmouth College being a critical thinker, developing good time management and being able to challenge yourself to see all sides of an issue, are good signs and indicators of intellectual wellbeing.
Keeping your intellectual wellness on track may not seem as important as maintaining your physical wellness, especially when there are so many other things to keep track of work, home, family, gym, chores. But remember, your intellectual wellness is equally a crucial part of your mental health and overall well-being.
As Leonardo da Vinci used to say “learning never exhausts the mind”. Make sure you follow these four easy ways to nourish and cultivate your intellectual wellness:
Explore
Not all learning comes from books; it also takes interaction with the world around you to stimulate your mind. The perfect way to boost your intellectual curiosity without spending all day at the library is as easy as taking a walk, paying a visit to a museum or a play, or simply exploring a place you have never been to before. Go with others, go alone, and take everything in.
Create
Being able to create and thinking creatively is known to improve memory retention as well as emotional stability. Art is well known for being therapeutic and fun! It helps bring a physical representation to emotions, allowing others to share an emotional experience as well. Learn to appreciate art and let your creative side run free! You can write, play an instrument, or even learn a new language- creating anything new is stimulating!
Read
Reading is known to have many benefits including improvement in memory, vocabulary growth, sharpening our brains and even having a better sleep. In a world of omnipresent screens, it can be easy to forget the pleasure of reading a good book. No matter what book you read, you can always escape from the worries and stresses of the everyday world, feed your mind and nurture your intellectual curiosity and adding a new dimension. It’s better to stretch and challenge our minds with intellectual and creative pursuits than to become self-satisfied, complacent, and unproductive. So, go ahead, and fuel your mind!
Do the opposite
Do something you wouldn't normally do in order to get out of your routine. Science often explains that even though it might be hard to break out of your comfort zone, it's good for you when you do it. Whenever you feel stuck, make simple tweaks like taking a different route to work, or watching something you normally wouldn’t be interested in. You never know what you might discover when you get out of your comfort zone. Debate an issue with a friend, but choose the viewpoint opposite the one you hold. It may sound hard, but focusing attention on information that is different than our beliefs is a good thing!
It’s not hard to up our Intellectual Wellness game; it’s just about paying a little bit more attention to these different elements and jumping in! Let us know how it goes!