Exploring Intellectual Wellness

The sixth post in the Exploring Wellness series is all about exploring Intellectual Wellness. In the previous post about Occupational Wellness, we learned the importance of finding work that is both valuable and well-matched for an individual’s unique personality and skill-set.

Intellectual Wellness is about expanding your horizons.

Cultivating the Intellectual Wellness dimension embraces lifelong learning and the pursuit of knowledge in all areas of life — academic, cultural, and societal.

It’s also about keeping your brain sharp through stimulating mental activities.

Intellectual Wellness

When I think of Intellectual Wellness, Frasier Crane pops into my mind. If you’re not familiar with the character from Cheers and eventually the spinoff Frasier, he’s a pretentious, yet loveable, psychiatrist with credentials from Harvard and Oxford, who puts a very high value on the finer things in life.

I think of Frasier, because he’s well-read, values the arts and culture, and is clearly a man of intellect. If you can set aside the elitism and sometimes the attitude (nothing but love Frasier!), he’s a great example of Intellectual Wellness in his own, extreme way.

But developing your Intellectual Wellness does not mean your life has to look like Frasier’s. There are many ways a person can cultivate wellness in this dimension, like being an active member of society, engaging in brain stimulating activities, or furthering their education.

Be An Active Participant

Part of contributing to society is to be an active participant in its creation and maintenance.

You can fulfill this role by going into civil service or volunteering in your community, but at the very least you should vote. Every citizen that has the luxury to vote, should do it. In fact, we have a responsibility to those who came before us and those who will come after to exercise our right to vote.

Be an informed participant and stay up to date with current affairs, both locally and globally. When you know the facts, you can effectively debate issues, consider all points of view, and challenge your own ideas.

“The recipe for perpetual ignorance is: be satisfied with your opinions and content with your knowledge.”
Elbert Hubbard (1856 – 1915)

Exercise Your Brain

We’ve all heard the saying, “If you don’t use it, you’ll lose it”, right? No matter the context, this is just as true for our mental abilities. If we do not exercise our brains, we struggle with memory, processing speed, decision making, and more.

In fact, research has shown that participating in mentally stimulating activities, such as crossword puzzles, can actually slow the decline of memory loss in aging participants.

Not a fan of crossword puzzles? Not to worry. You can flex your cognitive muscles in many ways. Engage in trivia, critical thinking and problem solving, or learn something new.

*Find the answer and more brain teasers here.*

Further Your Education

Education is important. We need to learn how to effectively communicate, interpret knowledge, and function in society. Without these fundamental skills, life would be challenging.

The previous posts regarding Occupational Wellness and Spiritual Wellness, describe our need to find a purpose and contribute to society. But once that role is found, we still need to learn how to do it.

Learning comes in many forms. You can take academic courses, work as an apprentice or mentee, or learn through personal experience. It doesn’t matter where or how you educate yourself, only that you regularly take strides to grow.

Continue to refine skills and broaden your expertise in one area or learn something completely new. A new position, career, language, hobby, etc.

Challenge yourself and start at the beginning. Yes, it will be frustrating, but learning those new skills are what will keep your brain in fighting shape.

Cultivating Intellectual Wellness

Learn something new. This could be a foreign language or web design. Find something that sparks interest and follow your curiosities.
Expand your viewpoints. Have a conversation with someone who thinks differently than you.
Read a book. Could be fiction or a biography. Maybe you will learn something new or how to correctly structure a sentence.
Flex your cognitive muscles. Give your calculator or spell check a break and do it yourself. Although, it wouldn’t hurt to check your work.
Do a puzzle. I love puzzles. Jigsaw, crossword, logic, sudoku, etc.
Play a board game. Any type of game that forces you to recall information or think critically will be beneficial, and so much fun!
Create something new. Let your imagination be your guide. This could be art, music, a new flower bed design, etc.
Appreciate something someone else has created. Again, art, music, a flower bed design, etc. Not only does this enrich your life, but it connects you spiritually to the artist and promotes compassion.