Use each letter of the words in the triangle to memorise the following 9 ways to learn more effectively, enjoyably and easily!

1. I Can – Believe it or Believe it not! As Henry Ford once said “Whether you believe you can do something or whether you believe you can’t you’re right!“. Decide to believe in yourself – your potential is infinite and your best has yet to come!

2. Creativity – yours is infinite – let it soar! We are born creative! Even though  we may not have used our creativity for a long time it’s still there waiting to be unleashed! Like the tin man in the Wizard of Oz, it may need a drop of oil! Today do something totally new or something old in a totally new way. Your creative ability is infinite! Look at any children at play and you will see infinite creativity in full swing, let them inspire you!

3. Attention/Mindfulness – learn to relax and focus Learn to put your attention where its needed most and on what’s truly important in the present moment. As our society continues to get faster and faster, the tendency is to cultivate a mind which is always “racing” and prone to distraction. We must learn to relax our minds. Learn meditation, relaxation, yoga, mindfulness, tai chi or similar forms of exercise which cultivate stilling your mind and improving your attention.

4. Newness – your brain thrives on newness! When you first arrived on this planet everything was new and in those first few years you learnt to walk, talk, recognise, eat and much much more! In times of great change we learn greatly! So remember if we resist change, we are also resisting learning! So travel to a totally different culture, learn something you thought you couldn’t learn and continuously try new ways of doing old things. If it doesn’t work, so what, learn from it and try something different instead!

5. Learning Growth – Continuously aim to improve how you learn: Before learning anything set yourself a goal – the who, what, when, where, why, how of what you’re learning. Ask yourself – how will I know I’ve learnt it – how will you test yourself? Get an overview of what needs to be learnt. Use the left and right side of your brain – the logical and the creative. For example use colour, words, images, structure, movement, rhythm, excitement, humour. Above all make it an enjoyable experience! After achieving your learning goal ask yourself – what worked and what could be done better next time?

6. Exercise – Physical exercise – Body/Mind: Recent research in Japan showed that people who exercise three times a week for half an hour have mental abilities 30% greater than those who don’t. It really stands to reason – do you think you learn more effectively if you physically exercise regularly? Test it and see – take time to exercise. The exercise can be gentle like walking, swimming, cycling or whatever type of exercise you like.

7. Age – regularly exercise your mind: No matter how much of your brains potential you have used so far, there is always more to use – you have at least 100 billion brain cells! The reason that we believe “mental abilities get worse with age” is because most people believe it! There was a time when we all thought the world was flat as well! We were all wrong! Begin to believe that your … mental abilities can soar with age … exercise them and as they say “use it or lose it”.

8. Reinforce – keep noticing what’s working: The law of reinforcement – whatever behaviour is reinforced will tend to be repeated – so keep on noticing what’s working and celebrate it! Keep on reinforcing what it is you would like more of in your life. Think about everything that is working, then ask yourself – how can I improve the rest?

9. Never Give Up Learning to Learn: Learning is growth. Growth is learning. Never stop learning. Never quit exploring. Your canvas awaits your creative masterpiece. Never give up learning! Never give up learning to learn!

Now if you’ve read this far, congrats and remember as Einstein said “the true power of knowledge is in its application”. Decide to take at least one action after reading this article and learn more … effectively, enjoyably and easily! Let us know how it goes!

Sean M Kelly founder of www.MindTraining.ie is an International Professional and People Development Trainer/ Coach with over twenty years experience in the training industry. He has created and delivered training to many globally successful businesses and organisations in countries including Ireland, UK, USA, Luxembourg, Italy, Russia, Lithuania, Israel, Poland, the Czech Rep. and South Korea. Sean focuses on providing interactive, experiential and empowering training and coaching which can have an immediate positive impact in the workplace. Intrigued to find out how … contact us: