For many people, 2020 will have been the least mentally stimulating year of their lives. Instead of visiting museums and theatres, the furthest many of us got was to visit the grocery store. Just because we’re limited by where we can go, it doesn’t mean our brains have to be limited to what we can achieve. Here are some ways you can remain mentally stimulated as we head towards the end of 2020.
Set yourself goals
It can often be hard to judge how mentally stimulated we are, or we have been during a certain amount of time. One of the best ways to make sure you remain mentally stimulated is to set yourself a goal. This could be anything, like setting yourself the challenge of reading a certain number of books in a certain amount of time. You could even set yourself the task of learning a new skill, for example learning how to knit a hat or a scarf before your loved one’s next birthday. Physical challenges can also be just as mentally stimulating. Set a goal of being able to run a certain distance in a certain time, or be able to lift a certain weight and then find a way of planning how you’re going to reach that goal.
Find excitement
Our minds are often most stimulated when we feel excited. You might think there’s been very little to get excited over in 2020, but there are ways to make your own little moments of excitement. This can be anything from treating yourself to something and waiting for it to arrive in the post, to looking forward to watching the next episode of a boxset you’re loving. One of the best ways to create your own excitement is to play a game and hope you’ll succeed in winning.
You might think that games that have been traditionally described as mentally stimulating, like crosswords and sudoku, are not that exciting. Luckily there are a wide range of games that can be just as mentally stimulating as these if not more. For example, casino games like poker involve a lot of thought as you consider all of the possible outcomes of your hand of cards and whether it’s worth the risk to play them or not. While the casino halls may be closed, there are a number of different casino games online that you can play wherever you are at any time of the day that suits you. As these pay out real money, it’s the closest you’ll get to sitting around a casino table from the safety of your own home.
Plan for 2021
Many people might feel like they have wasted 2020. We put off many plans at the start of the year, thinking we would be able to do them by the end of the year. Unfortunately, that time where the restrictions would be eased enough to complete such things never came for many people. That’s why it’s so important to try and plan things to do in 2021. Find yourself a diary or an app on your phone and start to plan how you can make up for lost time with friends and family in 2021.
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