5 Work out a different way of breaking up what you are learning into smaller
chunks. Your brain finds it easier to deal with big issues when they
are broken down into smaller elements.
6 Try getting the information in a different way. Use a different mode, per-
haps adopting a visual or physical mode if you have been listening
for a long time. By doing this, you will be bringing a different part
of your brain to bear on the matter. Visualizing what success would
look like may help you.
7 Celebrate what you have done so far. Thinking positively about your
achievements is likely to help you to want to go on. Making a list
of all the things you are pleased about will help.
8 Find something to laugh about. There is evidence that when you laugh
your brain releases endorphins, which act as relaxants.
9 Ask a friend or member of your family for help. Two minds are better
than one!
10 Stop and think what you did last time you felt like this. Make a list of all
the ways you have dealt with this kind of situation before. The
brain loves patterns and by doing this you may help it to make a
new connection.
The importance of where you learn
Most of us start our learning journeys in the home with our family.
We visit a library, a museum, a town center, a leisure attraction, or
a stately home with them. We watch television and go to the cin-
ema. Then, when we reach a certain age, we go to school. After this
college and, perhaps, university beckon. At some stage, we start
earning a living and learning on and off the job. Throughout our
lives we travel and meet new people.
How you learn and how you feel about learning will proba-
bly depend on where you are. For example, many people feel that
they are a very different person at work from the one they are at
home. How does this affect our readiness to learn? Clearly, for
much of our lives, we have no choice about where we are learning:
we are either at school, at work, or at home. Yet, we are potentially
learning wherever we are.Switching On Your Mind 67