Keep Your Mind Sharp

To keep your mind sharp is a real challenge. Have you ever had to think so much that your brain actually hurt? That happened to me a few years ago when I needed to change my career. After being comfortable in the automotive service business, I had to change to a sedentary type of work. I chose to train in the architectural drafting field. My mind was challenged like I can not remember when. I had to recall things that I had knew in the past as well as to learn a lot of new things.

I had some knowledge of construction and enjoyed working on the computer. I chose the drafting industry. I did not realize how much that I did not know. Needless to say, I was overworking my brain and I suffered for it. I would come home from work and be mentally exhausted with a sore mind. A sore mind is different than a headache in that an aspirin won't help a sore mind. I can only describe it like a sore muscle. It was then that I realized that I was going to need to exercise my brain as you would any other muscle in your body.

There are sites and programs that you can join, such as lumosity.com. But being somewhat frugal I looked for another route. There are games that are standard with most Windows OS that can offer some challenge. I started playing solitaire but I did not like not being able to win or complete the hands. I turned my attention to the game of Freecell. This game enabled me to finish hands that were finishable. I would play this game before work started and at lunch to get my brain warmed up. It seemed to help me with my thinking.

I have now gotten to where I do not allow myself to accept any hand to be unfinishable. I may have to back up or even restart but I do not give up until that hand is won. After a number of years now, I am convinced that every hand can be won. Even my grandson will watch me play to see if I can win. I think that he just likes the way the program will celebrate the win. I have a screen shot of my game board that shows the number of games played, the percentage of games won, and fastest time. Some hands have taken me more than 30 minutes to finish.

I would encourage you all to exercise your brain and keep your mind sharp.