YOUR BRAIN & YOUR PURPOSE

This is the second show related to our brains and how we can improve them. Did you know that our brains like having purpose in our lives. A reason to get up in the morning, to do things, learn things, and figure things out. All of those give the brain exercise and improve health physically as well as psychologically.

We human beings work best in a community and having a purpose is a major part of being in a community. A defined life purpose (you don’t have to write it down) helps us be resilient when faced with adversity. Purpose also improves our cognition, helps to ward off Alzheimer’s, and supports better mental health in general.

In the Greater Good Magazine’s website there was a great article about How to find your purpose in life by Jeremy Adam Smith. He suggests that the reason people find it hard to find their purpose is because you feel isolated from others or from your community. He also postulates that human purpose “evolved” to more easily do things in a community that are bigger than what we could accomplish by ourselves. Isn’t that an interesting idea?

Smith identifies 6 specific things that can help you to find a purpose – I talk about each one in the podcast. I included that all in the show because I think that finding a purpose is especially important for those over 50. That is when we start winding down and we also think about or do retire. At that point it’s important to have something to replace our jobs and keep ourselves interested not just in life but also in helping others.

It’s a good time to look inside ourselves to see what we are at our core, in our innate self. To realize that we can live inside out instead of outside in – what I mean by that is to see who you are and what’s really important to you and live from there rather than reacting to outside stimulus. If you want to learn more you can contact me at my down below in the comments or at my email susanrr@healthytipsafter50.com .