One of the best things you can do for your brain is to provide it with new experiences and new things to learn.  If you do the same thing in the same way every time then you are not stimulating new growth.  Even those things you most love to do should be done with variety.  Variety is the spice of life and a fertilizer for the brain.

Make sure you include physical activities because  much of your brain is dedicated to control of your body.  Here are my top 25 ways to enrich your brain experience.  Please help me come up with 25 more.  Leave a comment with your favorite ways to enrich your brain.  I’m sure I missed some important ones.

1. Practice Creativity – Use it or lose it.  When you use it you gain more.  Please practice creative thinking and grow your mind.  The Imaginative Mind: Mental Creativity and Creativity Techniques.
2. Walk Backwards – Seriously!  These types of unusual experiences are super brain stimulators.  Getting your body involved stimulates different parts of your brain.
3. Become Ambidextrous – Use your non-dominant hand to to everything you can.  Eat with it draw with it, brush your hair with it, whatever.  This is a powerful tip!
4. Read Upside Down – You can do it.  It’s not that hard.  Try it.
5. Love Someone – Find and nurture that special relationship that will fertilize your brain for the rest of your life.  And that’s just a beneficial side-effect!
6. Vary Your Routes – When you walk or run, travel a new route.  The more varied the better.  Take as many different routes on your commute as you can find.  When you are walking or riding don’t stare straight ahead.  Look to the sides and take in as much as you can.  Vary what you pay attention when making different trips on the same route.
7. Vary Your Other Habits – Whatever habits you have or whatever things you like to do repetitively; vary them.  Introduce new experiences into them.  If you like to read then read widely varying types of books.  Read books you disagree with.  Go to a different church every week.  Go to a different supermarket.  Go to a different restaurant.  The more varied the better.
8. Travel to New Places – Every time you can go someplace you haven’t been before, you are stimulating your brain.  You are strengthening existing pathways and creating brand new ones.
9. Go Foreign – Travelling or living in a different culture is fantastic.  Your brain will be challenged constantly.  If you can pull this one off then do it!  Watch foreign language films.
10. Vary Your Exercise Routine – I hope you’re getting the picture now!  Do something different.  Habit is easy, novel is good for your brain.
11. Dance – Dancing is a great mind / body experience for your brain. Stimulate some new neurons.
12. Beat Boredom – 7 Ways to Beat the Boredom Blues Boredom is the enemy of an active and growing brain.
13. Learn a New Language – Fantastic and challenging exercise for your brain.
14. Do Brain Exercises – Some companies have come up with specific programs for brain stimulation.  I like “nerogizers” from Mark Joyner.  It’s $4.95 per month with a 7 day free trial.
15. Step Outside Your Comfort Zone – This is tremendous for your brain.  Do something that stretches you and makes you somewhat uncomfortable.  This practice has other incredible benefits which will be the subject of a future article.
16. Try New Foods – First of all savor and experience your food.  Secondly, eat a wide variety of healthy foods.  Get into cooking and create a lot of different dishes.  You will use all of your senses by becoming your own chef.
17. Solve Games and Puzzles – Solve crosswords, Sudoku, etc.
18. Do Brain Teasers – Check out this site.
19. Draw Pictures – Use that underutilized right brain and draw.  You don’t have to be good.  Just draw and doodle to your heart’s content.  Boost this one by drawing with your non-dominate hand occasionally.
20. Write in Longhand – Stop typing on the computer all of the time.  A perfect way to write is to keep a journal.
21. Play Video Games – OK, I hate this one and I hate them.  However, stop worrying about your children.  Unless they are violent, some exposure to video games are good for their brain and yours.  Try it yourself.  But play different games and not the same one over and over.
22. Meditate – Meditation is a powerful brain booster.  Here are some meditation techniques.
23. Stimulate All of Your Senses – Stop and smell the roses – literally!  When you are walking stop and touch the flowers, tough the trees, lay down in the grass and drink in the aroma.  Listen to the birds, the traffic, whatever.  Open your senses to the incredible world that is happening around you.
24. Listen to a Variety of Music Styles – Whatever you listen to, change it up sometimes.  Classical music is great.
25. Form New Relationships – Experience people in all their magnificent diversity.  Make new friends and connections constantly.

Add your tips in the comments.  Subscribe to The Rat Race Trap by Email here or to a reader in the top left sidebar.  I would love to have you aboard.