How to Make Your Brain 1% Smarter

Make your brain smarter.  Here’s how.

But first…

“I must have ADHD”  That’s what I thought.

I was in college and needed to do well.  I couldn’t focus on what the teacher was saying.  My brain would wander.  I took Ginkgo Biloba.  Maybe it helped.  But I don’t think so.

I failed my first organic chemistry test.  It made me realize I had to actually study if I wanted to get better grades.  I could float by, sure.  But I couldn’t float and get what I wanted, which was into medical school.

A friend and I had a friendly bet.  He told me I couldn’t get through with straight A’s.  He said it was too difficult.  I felt this was a worthy challenge. We bet a dollar.  I owe him a dollar.

In jiu jitsu we drilled a move over and over again.  I felt good.  It seemed easy.  Then later when we’re actually rolling, I got trashed.  At one point, I was thinking…oh wait we just learned how to escape this…too late…tapped.

My wife can remember any set of numbers.  Doesn’t matter how long.  It’s quite remarkable.  It took me 5 years to learn her phone number.  (I blame cell phones)

I spent all weekend learning a bass riff.  Then on Sunday, we changed the key.  I couldn’t transpose it in my head.

I’m horrible with directions.  I get lost going home.

I used to write songs, play my guitar, and sing.  The guys in the band would make fun of me because I’d forget the words to the songs and then make up new words while we were playing in front of people.  Sometimes this worked well but most of the time…….well there’s a reason I’m not a famous singer/songwriter.

I shot myself in the back with a bow and arrow once.  Yeah, you read that correctly.

I still think I have ADHD.  Well at least ADD.  I’m not hyperactive at all.

In junior high I was in a gifted program.  We were given a challenge. It was a type of logic problem.  You had to rule out answers and continue to work through the problem.  If you messed up on any step, you could never get the correct set of answers.  My classmates finished in a few days.  I was not finished and my teacher gave me extra time.  It took me weeks but I finished it.  Turns out I got more right than anyone else.

When I was in medical school I had to tell a surgeon that I didn’t know the answer to his question.  He promptly asked me “Well, what do you know?  Anything?”  He was an ass.  But I learned a lot from him.

Sometimes I read essays about physics.

Sometimes I read astronomy or astrology or cosmology.

I’ve studied Christianity, Buddhism, Taoism, Stoicism.

I treat newborns, terminal cancer patients, diabetics, hypertensives, opiate addicts, children with post traumatic stress disorder, adults with post traumatic stress disorder, veterans with traumatic brain injury, police officers with high cholesterol, fighters with anxiety, lovers with performance issues, and elderly folks that just want someone to talk to.

I’ve made a career at being just good enough to know that I’m not good enough.  Just specialized enough to know I’m no specialist.  Just average enough to know there’s no such thing as average.

I’m sorry, my ADHD kicked in.  You didn’t want to read all that mumbo jumbo.  You wanted to know how to get smarter.

And I’m going to tell you how.

Here it is……

The philosopher Socrates had a saying.  I’ll translate it like this: “I only know that I know nothing”.

p.s.

Be Kind.

p.p.s.

Be weird.