How to become a very smart person and increase the level of intelligence (IQ) – ready-made methods and examples, books, products and fitness for the brain.
Scientists claim that a person uses his brain by only 10%. A high IQ does not always mean that a person is smart, because in order to achieve real success in life, emotional intelligence – EQ (emotional quotient) is also of great importance.
But can only an educated person be considered intelligent? Or professors of mathematics, chemistry? Or rich?
“The problem with this world is that fools and fanatics are too confident in themselves, and smart people are full of doubts.” Bertrand Russell.
Who can be called smart?
Having a large amount of knowledge and being an intelligent person are two completely different things. Excellent students often have a high level of intelligence, but not all of them achieve success in life. To achieve results, not only knowledge is important, but also emotional intelligence, which is responsible for happiness and success in life.
EQ is often developed precisely by those who did not receive good grades at school, but in later life significantly succeeded.
An intelligent person does not just have a large amount of knowledge, he is well able to apply them in practice. He is able to see the perspective, analyzes events well. The ability to draw the right conclusions from your own life experience and mistakes is the advantage of an intelligent person. As well as the ability to think outside the box and correctly separate important things from secondary ones.
Is it possible to develop your brain?
Before you become smarter and increase your level of intelligence, you should figure out whether it is possible to change your thinking and life for the better at all.
reference. A person’s mind can be compared to muscles, in order for him to work, he needs regular loads. If a person does not pay attention to intellectual development, his brain gradually atrophies.
For example, accountants are less likely to suffer from senility, because they often have to count in their minds and work with numbers and their memory, which in general can be called brain training.
Scientists have found that some people often do things guided by their emotions, but do not think about the correctness of decisions and consequences. According to research, such people think about 10% of their time. In such cases, people make mistakes not because of stupidity, but only because they are not used to thinking only about the obvious (because it’s easy), but not two steps ahead or thinking about the consequences.
A smart person uses the brain constantly, which allows him to develop and become more successful than others. Below you will find many ways to become smarter in 15 minutes a day or a set of effective exercises for the brain.
To achieve the result, it is necessary to make efforts, this is a kind of fitness for the brain, which does not allow it to relax and makes it work all the time.
In Soviet times, education was biased towards comprehensive personal development, that is, they taught everything in a row, when in the USA there was a bias for specific specialties. Therefore, our physical education teacher could repair the TV himself, and the mathematician could knock down the stool.
But the main point is to develop the habit of receiving new information and analyzing it, and from different spheres, not only from where you are comfortable.
62 ways to Become Smarter
If you have a thought: “I want to become smarter,” then it’s better to start acting right away. You can develop your thinking in a variety of ways.
1. Reading useful literature
To increase the level of intelligence, it is necessary to read regularly, while the more complex the material, the better. This process allows you to replenish your vocabulary, improves visual memory and the ability to analyze the information received.
To read to become smarter, you need the right literature and be sure to think about the information received. It is worth allocating at least half an hour a day for this, preferably less, but constantly.
The universal recommendation includes classics, both foreign and Russian. Lermontov, Homer, Dante, Dostoevsky, Shakespeare are many other writers who managed to describe the feelings and experiences of people, which are reflected in their actions. After reading such a book, it’s as if you will live another life and become more experienced.
You can also choose scientific literature, but it is important to really understand what you are reading. If there are words whose meaning is unclear, it is important to take time and read the interpretation. The more a person asks questions and finds answers to them, the smarter and wiser he becomes.
2. Memory training is necessary for the development of the mind
A good memory is extremely important for a person, if you do not memorize new and necessary information, then you will not be able to achieve any result. There are several simple ways to improve your memory by allocating just a few minutes a day.
It is not necessary to take a list of products to the store. It needs to be compiled, reread before leaving home, but it’s worth shopping relying on your memory, trying not to miss anything every time.
It is worth memorizing the phone numbers of all relatives and close people, such information will never be superfluous. This may include residential addresses.
Recipes of dishes that are present in the diet all the time, usually everyone knows by memory. It is worth trying to memorize new ones, you can read them several times, but in practice you can use them already from memory.
It is worth remembering your passport details, bank card numbers.
Before you fall asleep, you should think about the past day, paying attention to all the little things.
An intelligent person always has a well-developed memory and attentiveness. Without this, it will simply not be possible to memorize new material and apply this knowledge in practice in the future.
3. Healthy sleep
For normal brain function, you need to get enough sleep regularly. It should not be allowed to sleep for less than 6 – 8 hours a day. Ideally, a person should have a stable daily routine.
The brain continues its work during sleep — it analyzes, compares, and processes the information received. But also during sleep, the brain gets rid of unnecessary information, which is extremely important for freeing up memory reserves.
4. Changing the usual environment, avoiding templates
Everyone has a so-called comfort zone. An environment in which he feels as safe as possible, all actions become habitual and are brought to automatism. Constantly being in such an environment, a person does not need to think, always the same actions, and perhaps even phrases. The longer he stays in such an environment, the less desire he has to leave it. This is due to the fear of the brain from new acquaintances, impressions, unwillingness to start the thought process.
It is very important to break out of the monotonous regime, travel, new acquaintances, bright leisure should be present in life. All new impressions make the brain work, it analyzes, makes decisions, compares. To change your thinking, you need to break the usual patterns. You can start by simply changing your usual route to work, visiting a neighboring city or a new institution.
Try new tastes with your eyes closed and try to figure out what it is.
Without new emotions and events, the person himself gradually fades and degrades without even noticing it.
Scientists explained why time flies faster over the years, because a person has fewer and fewer new emotions and sensations. This can be changed and you can live a 100% full life.
5. Regular sports
Scientists have repeatedly found that exercise affects the work of the brain. You can choose exactly what to do to become smart based on personal preferences. It can be swimming, basketball or football, just regular workouts, fitness and much more.
With loads on the body, blood circulation is restored, coordination improves, which has a positive effect on mental sobriety.
Playing sports directly affects brain activity. During physical exertion, a certain protein is produced in the human body, which effectively affects the ability to assimilate new information and activates human memory.
It is regular classes that allow you to keep a clear mind even until old age.
6. Development in what is really interesting
Almost everyone has a favorite activity, which is given free time. You should always strive to become even better at what you like and get. If there is no hobby, then you can find a new hobby, the main thing is that the brain is active. Learning a new language, deepening into any science, just acquiring skills that were not there before is great for this.
Learning new things is always a great workout for the mind. It is important that the brain processes new information, you need not just to learn or memorize, you need to delve into the study of new material, analyze and understand, then all this will be stored better in memory.
7. Speech development
Having tried for the first time to make an entry in your diary or expressing thoughts in front of the camera, you may notice that it is not so easy to formulate sentences correctly and beautifully.
The ability to express your thoughts beautifully is a sign of an intelligent person, in whose head there are no hesitations “eh, how should I say …”.
Not everyone pays due attention to how they express themselves and how correct and beautiful it sounds from the outside, and this is completely in vain. It’s nice to have a conversation with an intelligent person, he pronounces words correctly, builds sentences beautifully and clearly.
Books, audiobooks, the study of synonyms, proverbs, sayings, winged expressions will help to develop speech. You just need to pay attention to your speech, find flaws and correct them.
8. Refusing to watch TV
“Those who read books will always control those who watch TV,” this quote is attributed to the French writer Stephanie-Felicite Ducret de Saint-Aubin Janlis.
In fact, TV or YouTube should be perceived as entertainment, not as a habit or background noise. If you go to the cinema on the weekend, have fun, but if you turn on any consecutive show or series on Wednesday, just to kill time, it’s better to reconsider your views. Instead, you can look at the biography of an outstanding person, listen to what mistakes are often made when learning a language, or the incredible story of Napoleon.
9. Interesting and intelligent personalities are needed in a person’s environment
“With whom you will be led, you will gain from that” — a Russian folk proverb. And this is true, the environment in which a person spends a lot of time will definitely influence him. You should not try to communicate with smart people in order to look the same. A person needs this in order to gain new knowledge from them, try to rise to their level, gain new experience, perhaps adopt some useful habits.
“Smart People are the best encyclopedia,” by Johann Wolfgang Goethe.
10. You need to ask questions
If you meet a successful or just an interesting person, ask him questions, and he will always be happy to answer them, because it’s always nice to share something.
Do not hesitate to seem stupid, asking about what you do not know and what turned out to be incomprehensible. Gaston de Levis said: “It is easier to judge a person’s mind by his questions than by his answers.” If a person asks, then he wants to have this information, he is really interested in understanding and assimilating new knowledge.
The ability to ask questions is very important in everyday life. It’s not just about questions to the interlocutor, but also to yourself, to the situation around you.
11. Systematization of the learning process
Everyone wants to be versatile, but this does not mean that you need to snatch information in snatches from different spheres. Such training is unlikely to bring the desired result, the information is piecemeal, but it is quite poorly absorbed about everything.
The best way to learn something new is to choose a certain direction. It is worth deciding which area is most interesting and studying it gradually, but deeply. It is easier for the brain to process and remember information when new knowledge is connected to each other, but it comes gradually.
You can consider the example of studying geography. If a person is interested in this area, then it is more logical to first study absolutely all countries and their capitals, regardless of the size of the territory and fame. Then you can remember their location on the map and the contours. After that, you can remember the flag of each country, explore the sights and so on. In this way, a person receives a lot of new and useful information, and his brain successfully processes it and connects it with each other.
12. And if you change the left and right places?
To force yourself to work in a new way, it’s enough just to start doing the usual things with the other hand, for example, a right-handed person will start combing his hair, brushing his teeth and eating with his left hand, and a left-handed person, on the contrary.
To kill time, instead of a TV, you can write some kind of quote with both hands at the same time to hang it in a frame. This will be a visual representation of how different hemispheres of the brain work. After a month of such changes in movements, try again to write a quote with both hands at the same time and look at the difference.
13. Why are people getting smarter? They don’t go easy ways
You should always make your brain work – this is development. People simplify their lives as much as possible, so there is no desire or even need to strain their thinking once again. But it is simply necessary to do this in order to avoid its own degradation.
During a trip to the store, you should not mindlessly put the goods in the basket, it is better to calculate the total cost of the purchase in advance, adding up the prices in your mind.
Once in an unfamiliar area or city, you do not need to immediately seek the help of passers-by. It is better to figure out the terrain yourself using a map.
You need to get used to making efforts to get answers to the questions that have appeared. Over time, you will easily perceive what for most will be something extremely difficult.
Many people have come to this page because they are looking for ways to become smarter in 5 minutes, in one day, in 30 days or even overnight. Although this process should last a lifetime, but even in a short time you can launch your brain into a more active phase. It is enough to pay attention to this every day and instill new habits.
30+ More ways to get smarter
- Intellectual games perfectly contribute to the development of thinking. You need to constantly complicate your task. If it seems that the game of chess has almost reached perfection, then it’s worth trying to do it for a while. So you have to make decisions quickly, which is a good workout for the mind.
Drinking coffee if there are no contraindications. This drink helps to concentrate, cheer up and continue working. - Trying to guess the next phrase of the interlocutor is a great simulator for the brain. Some experts claim that if a person has proper training, then he will be able to understand others without words at all. Facial expressions, facial expressions and other signs will be enough for this. A certain part of the brain is responsible for this function.
- Solving crosswords in your free time is a great leisure. It is better to choose complex options and do not leave the work unfinished. The answers to the questions that turned out to be unbearable should definitely be found and studied.
- Installing smart apps. When you really want to spend time in front of the smartphone screen, you can do it usefully. Now it’s easy to find a lot of useful applications that can be a source of new information, a memory simulator, and so on.
- It is better to give up viewing funny pictures and reading unnecessary information about the life of “stars” and all that. If you have free time, it is better to open any useful site like Wikipedia and read a random article or quite unusual articles.
- Walking in the fresh air. A person just needs to walk and breathe fresh air every day. If you try to go for a walk every day, then in just a few days the brain’s performance will significantly improve, as well as the general condition. At this point, you can get time for privacy and relaxation or listen to an audiobook.
- The development of numerical sense is also important for a person and the work of his brain. To do this, you can use everyday actions, for example, taking a change out of your pocket, you can “by eye” and memory estimate how much money is in your hand. Or just when packing things in a bag, when a person tries to fit them correctly, the brain solves a very difficult task for him.
- Providing the brain with regular rest. During the period of mental activity, this important organ simply needs rest for more effective work. Approximately every hour and a half you need to be distracted for at least 5 minutes, you can do some physical exercises, drink coffee or just walk around the room.
- The game “Tetris”. Scientists conducted an experiment that proved the influence of this game on the human brain. If a person spends 30 minutes playing every day for 3 months, then there are positive changes in critical thinking, information processing, reasoning, as well as in areas related to language and movement.
- Learning information in new ways. If before that a person preferred exclusively paper editions, you can master audiobooks. You can also try various free courses on the Internet, in general, get information in a non-standard way for yourself. Besides, it will be a look from a different angle.
- You can’t forget about your emotions. If situations arise at work or at home that do not suit a person, you need to tactfully talk about it with others. Do not be afraid or shy to talk about your feelings and emotions, you just need to express them correctly and accurately.
- Listening to classical music. Scientists have proved that after listening to Mozart’s works, mathematical thinking improves significantly. It can be considered by the example of rats, after a session of such music, they overcame mazes faster and more accurately.
- A different view of stressful situations. Difficulties are simply necessary for a person to have intellectual breakthroughs, this also applies to development in the creative field.
- Proper nutrition and the use of certain foods. For the normal functioning of the brain and human life, a balanced diet is simply necessary. And in order to increase brain activity, certain foods that contribute to this should be present in the diet.
- Anticipation of pleasure as a stimulator of brain activity. Scientists have found that the hormone dopamine, which is simply necessary for normal concentration and attention, is produced in humans during the anticipation of pleasure. For example, if you really want to eat a cake, it is better to postpone it for the evening or even the next day, so attention and concentration improve, willpower is trained and the figure is preserved.
- Watching or listening to lectures of international TED conferences. The latest news of science and culture are discussed there, and intellectual elite from all over the world gather at the conferences themselves.
- Meditation perfectly reboots the brain and promotes the emergence of new ideas and solutions to problems. This was proved by Japanese scientists on 63 volunteers. It is enough to relax, close your eyes, distract yourself from any thoughts and focus on breathing. Usually 10 – 15 minutes are enough.
- Intellectual leisure activities. British doctors examined 5,350 people from completely different strata of the population and concluded that the brains of those people who spent their leisure time at exhibitions suffered significantly less from age-related changes than others. The second group usually rested while watching TV. The human brain rests more effectively when it analyzes, comprehends and compares something, while also getting aesthetic pleasure.
- A passion for video games, but not an abuse of such leisure. Numerous studies have proven that people who play video games several times a week are better oriented in real space, process a frequently changing picture better and faster, and monitor a large number of different objects more effectively.
- Training in various types of dances, it is better to give preference to those that require developed coordination. Dancing helps to improve blood circulation of the brain, tune in to decision-making, promote the development of a quick reaction, help to concentrate.
- Daytime rest and sleep, if possible. Significantly improve the work of memory and the overall performance of the brain can be done with 90 minutes of sleep at lunchtime. If it is not possible to fully sleep, then you need to lie down with your eyes closed for at least 5-10 minutes. This is proved by experiment.
- General body massage. It perfectly stimulates the production of the hormone of happiness and activates many nerve endings that mediate between the skin and the brain. It is important to take 7-10 days in a row once every half a year, since massage does not help if you take breaks for 1-2 days constantly, for example, do it 2 times a week.
- Regular sex, at least once a week. This process effectively affects the work of the brain. At the same time, studies have shown that the most important thing is the process, the presence or absence of an orgasm does not matter.
- Activation of intelligence with the help of fine motor skills. It is enough sometimes to do something with your own hands, for example, knitting or weaving beads.
- Stimulation of brain activity with the help of colors. You can buy items of clothing, as well as some things for the desktop yellow, red or orange, they have a great effect on the work of the organ. But the blue and green colors, on the contrary, calm brain activity.
Other brilliant methods.
- Regular check of the condition of the vessels, at least 1 time a year it is worth doing ultrasound of the cervical arteries. This is necessary in order to exclude disturbances in microcirculation, due to which the brain may simply lack glucose and oxygen. With such problems, headaches occur, and the work of the brain slows down significantly.
- Using the technique for quick memorization described in the book “How to Develop Absolute Memory” by Dominic O. Brien. It involves associations of new information that needs to be remembered with any bright picture. So the brain not only remembers better, but also allows you to quickly recall the necessary information in the future.
- The absence of a smile at the moment of mental activity. A frowning facial expression allows you to think more analytically and skeptically, this has been proven by an American experiment. Melancholy promotes reflection and serious brain work, and laughter and a smile are a rest for the main organ.
- Learn the skills of playing any musical instrument. This perfectly involves the departments of the body responsible for coordination and memory, respectively, increases IQ. You can take lessons from a professional musician or just a gifted friend, and there is absolutely no difference whether you press the keys, play a stringed instrument or a wind instrument. In addition, a previously passive area of the brain will often be involved, for example, you need to play the piano with two hands at the same time, and not just with the right or left. This is what we talked about above when you had to write a quote with both hands at the same time.
- Return to writing with a regular pen on paper instead of printed text. Of course, this does not apply to permanent work, you can just write a letter to someone or do the exercise “Morning Pages”, which Julia Cameron recommends. The point is to sit down in the morning and write everything that comes to mind, while you can change your handwriting or even try to write with another hand. Scientists have proved that writing by hand activates the departments that are responsible for memory, speech and thinking.
- Games with children perfectly awaken creative energy, trains the amygdala, promotes the development of emotional intelligence. In addition, it would be very useful to adopt from children the direct habit of asking questions always and about everything.
- Making lists, and not only of tasks, but also of what has already been done. This method allows a person to feel happier and more confident, seeing that he has already accomplished something and achieved something. Well, it would not be superfluous to remember that things are already planned in the future and there are goals.
- Recording new knowledge and skills. A great way to re-analyze what started to turn out or just think about new information. This will definitely affect the increase in intelligence, even if you allocate only a few minutes a day to this.
- Sharing the acquired knowledge with other people. It is very important not just to remember or learn the information, it will be much better to understand it well and deeply and pass it on to others so that people understand the explanation. As Albert Einstein wrote: “If you can’t explain an idea in simple words, then you just haven’t understood it well enough.”
- Instilling the habit of thinking before doing something. Many people do not think about the consequences of their actions before they occur, and this is fundamentally wrong. If there is a desire to quickly become smart, then first of all it is necessary to start thinking about all actions, constantly start the thinking process, think about what others can say about this or that act and whether it is right at all.
- Work on bugs. In fact, this is a very important moment, when something did not work out, you should not treat it as an accident, you need to figure out and understand why it turned out exactly this result. If a person understands what he made a mistake in, then this will help him become smarter and stronger in the future. A detailed analysis of failures helps to avoid their repetition.
- Focusing on the most important things, the ability to distinguish the main thing from the secondary. If you do not highlight the main points for yourself, then you can not take out absolutely anything useful from one or even several books. But if you can distinguish the essence, what is the core, then you can learn new and useful material from just one publication.
- Take various IQ tests. In fact, this is not for testing, but for the process, because in these tests there are often interesting trick questions that are interesting to think about.
- A conversation with yourself. Talking to the inner self is not necessarily a sign of mental illness, this method allows you to better assimilate and process information. In the process of such a conversation, it is possible to systematize data faster and get an answer to a question or a solution to a problem. But it is best to do this at home, talking aloud to yourself in public is still not worth it. In addition, it helps to develop a beautiful conversational speech.
- A brief statement of your thoughts. This will help you learn to separate the essence, choose the most important thing and express it in just a few words. You can use a simple method for training, draw an average circle on paper and try to write your thought without leaving its limits.
- The ability to listen and respect the opinions of others. This is one of the ways to become an intelligent person, you must be able to listen to the point of view of others and conduct a dialogue. With this approach, a person can always get new information, change his mind if there are grounds for it, or, conversely, convince the interlocutor by giving arguments and explanations.
- If the time is spent watching TV, then the choice should be made in favor of educational channels, for example, BBC, Discovery.
- Setting goals and achieving them. It is important to persistently move towards what is planned to be done, but you should not demand too much from yourself. It is best to set one goal, if it is not possible to achieve the result in one way, then it is worth changing tactics. After completing the task, you should encourage yourself with something, and then move on.
- Allocating time to learn a new language. It is not necessary to start learning several at once, it is better to choose one and bring his knowledge to perfection. For training, you can use special applications or books to become smarter.
- Traveling, visiting new cities and countries, unforgettable impressions. All this perfectly broadens the horizons and gives a person a lot of new and interesting information. You should not just sit at exercises and books, you need to bring variety to life more often and do your favorite things outside the house.
- The use of training for the development of intelligence. You can find many free options and sign up for them. It is not necessary to do everything only on your own, you can also turn to the help of specialists.
- Reflections on global things. As Eleanor Roosevelt said, “Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people.” It is better to think about new discoveries, achievements in various fields, historical events, and so on.
- Getting rid of the desire to be lazy and do nothing. Of course, a timely rest is exactly what you need to become smarter, but do not confuse it with ordinary laziness. Giving yourself the opportunity to get enough sleep or take breaks during the day is very important, but it’s often not worth wasting time or delaying interrupting the workflow too much.