Here’s How To Unblock Your Brain And T...

brain Do you ever go through a funk in life?

I sure do. Sometimes I’m just not having as much fun at work as I used to… not feeling excited about getting up and diving into my day as usual… and not as fulfilled as I normally am…

And, sometimes I just don’t have a clue why I feel this way.

Hey Moguls, Trevor Mauch here…

I mean, I have great businesses. Great lifestyle. Great family. Great life.

But, while I can tell something is off – I just can’t peg it.

You may be experiencing something similar right now. So, read on… as I share my prescription for blasting through it.

Use It or Lose It

You’ve heard the saying, “Use it or lose it,” right?

Usually people are talking about having learned a foreign language, or even physical fitness when they say it. Use your body (getting up and exercising a bit every day, which is what our bodies are made for, not sitting 10 hours a day) or your health, energy and lifespan will go down the tubes.

Makes sense, right?

But, it also goes for your mind.

I read a study a while back that showed how simple mind games like crossword puzzles, Sudoku, etc. help prevent Alzheimer’s and memory loss as you get older.

People who sat and watched TV or played on the computer most of the day at age 70 tend to get Alzheimer’s more often and lose their memory versus people who challenged their brains throughout the day with simple activities like knitting, puzzles and word games.

Use it or lose it.

But, before you say, “yeah, but I’m not 70, I don’t have to worry about that, plus, I’m challenging my mind all day at work,”… keep reading.

brain So, I’m blessed with the life I live, but up until recently I went through a phase where I just wasn’t as fulfilled and constantly energized and happy as usual.

Then I read a book called “The Charge” by an author from Oregon. It’s basically about what he calls the “10 human drives and activators” in life that help us live a fully charged, energetic and fulfilled life. Great book by the way.

One thing in the book really hit me and made me realize what I’ve been missing in life the past few years. That one thing is…

I “Forgot” How to Use My Right Brain

Yep. Half of my brain was going to waste. And it was my choice to let it go or save it.

We all learn in grade school about “right brain, left brain.” The left side of our brains is where we do most of our non-creative stuff. Adding and subtracting, science – Jeopardy kind of stuff. The right side of our brains is the emotional, creative, day-dreamer side.

We all have a dominant side of our brains. Mine has been my left side. Always been great at math, science, great grades, not too excitable and pretty straight forward. But I’ve also always loved music, drawing and being creative (but didn’t show it overtly).

So, while I was focused on growing my companies, I fell into a trap a lot of us go into...

Lots of learning, lots of thinking about business systems, numbers, strategy, etc. Not a whole lot of creativity, mental challenge, learning new skills (other than ones directly related to growing my company).

The Charge pointed out that when we don’t challenge ourselves with creative acts or learning new and exciting things or doing interesting new things… the right side of our brains really stops working fully.

Use it or lose it.

My normal day would be get up, hang with the family, go to work, maybe get a workout in occasionally, come home, dinner, hang out with the family, work before bed. Then I’d do it all over again. No real challenge, nothing new on a consistent basis, nothing really creative.

My right brain was giving up and it left me unfulfilled. Unexcited.

Are you in the same boat?

What Am I Doing About It? (And You Can Too)

As humans, we crave newness. We crave challenge. We crave creativity. Without them, we feel unfulfilled. But most of us rarely build this into our daily lives on purpose.

One thing I decided I could do to help myself was learn how to play the guitar. I love music. And I’ve always wished I could play. The thing is… I can. And you can.

My good buddy and fellow Mogul advisor, Patrick Riddle, did it. He learned to play the piano. We go to piano bars, and he hops on and just starts jamming. It’s amazing! Patrick chose to build “newness” (learning the piano) into his everyday life.

In The Charge, the author says to build in challenges every 60 days to ramp up the newness in life. So, I hit the guitar hard that summer… and just the thought of the challenge and being able to jam on the guitar with friends made me smile and happy.

Next, who knows… maybe I’ll finally learn to dance so I don’t embarrass my wife on the dance floor.

Whatever it is for you, take 5 minutes – right now – and pull out a calendar. For the next 6 months, write out something new you want to learn every 60 days. Then do it. You’ll be amazed at what opening up the right brain again can do for you.