Learning Hack of Today: Affirmations

Affirmations give your brain a pep talk. Affirmations are positive sayings that we repeat either aloud or silently.. Affirmations are said in the first person (I) and the present tense (now). For instance, here are some affirmations. "I weigh a healthy 124 pounds." or "I feel great about myself." "I excel." Even if the affirmation does not seem true. Perhaps you are twenty pounds overweight. Despite this, tell yourself that you are at your goal weight now. Your subconscious will believe you and start to make your goal weight a reality. I have cured my insomnia with affirmations. I just kept telling myself that I fall asleep easily and I wake up feeling refreshed. It worked. Sometimes I need an emotional pick up. Then I sing the lyrics to the “Mary Tyler Moor Show” with a few changes in the lyrics. This is how I sing the words. "I can turn the world on with a smile. I can take a nothing day and suddenly make it all seem worthwhile. I am a great one and I know it. With each glance and every little movement, I show it." These lyrics really help me get through the day. Note that I changed them to first person and present tense. That is very important. Super Learning which has helped many people learn faster and easier, includes the use of affirmations The Super Learning books and tapes ask that you repeat: "I think clearly and concentrate easily. Learning and remembering are easy for me." Go ahead and say it again and again. Repetition is important. Say affirmations when you wake up in the morning, while exercising and while eating. Say them before you go to bed each night. Your assignment is to find some affirmations that work for you. Write them down and repeat them over and over until they become reality. When you have mastered on belief and made it a reality work on new affirmations. They are the prayers, your subconscious answers. Amazon Big Game Sweepstakes - Enter Now

Learning Hack of the Day: Facts and Opinions

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Learn the difference between a fact and an opinion. This used to be easy. I would have students bring in a newspaper. We would compare the front page with the opinion page. Today's newspapers have opinion on every page, and many readers have difficulty telling the difference. Learning the difference will serve you in voting, in jury duty, on a job and in life. It is a valuable skill. Don't be afraid to double check facts or to differ in an opinion. Writers are asked to verify their facts with more than one source and to evaluate the source. Know that you are entitled to your opinion, but sometimes you must defend it. You defend an opinion with verifiable facts.

Play Day

Play day. You will need some time to practice chaining, journaling and your other learning hacks. The 15 and the 30th of each month will be play days. Victoria Moran used these dates as play days in her book “Younger by the Day.” I promised you 365 learning hacks, so at the end of the year, you will get 24 bonus hacks. Shop Amazon - TurboTax - Get 10% more on Top of Your Federal Refund

Check out one of last year's blogs on Chaining. Chaining is an ancient memory technique. It is telling a silly story with new items to be memorized in the story. This technique will strengthen your creativity, make all learning easier and more fun. Keep practicing. Memorize the names of the presidents of the United States, ten words in a foreign language or the states in the order they ratified the constitution.

Learning Hack of the Day: 52 Cups of Coffee

Here is an idea from Dale Stephens in his book, “Hacking Your Education, Ditch the Lectures, Save Tens of Thousands, and Learn More Than Your Peers Ever Will.” Stephens is a leader in the Unschooling movement, which shows people how to learn without going to traditional classrooms. Stephens suggests “52 cups of coffee.” Invite someone you don't know, to coffee. Talk with that person for an hour. Learn from him or her. Then ask this person to recommend someone else for next week's coffee. For the price of a cup of coffee you might get a free French lesson, or better yet, a n interesting life story. The world becomes your school. Read his book for more ideas on learning hacks.

Learning Hack of the Day: Bird by Bird

Learning chores might seem overwhelming. If you are a high school or college student you may have to learn a foreign language, advanced math, computer programing and French literature. All in the next twelve months. In her book “Bird by Bird,” Anne Lamott wrote about the time her brother Buddy had to write a school paper on birds. He consulted dozens of books and read about robins, eagles, sparrows and cardinals. When it came time to write his paper, he sat at the table surrounded by all the books. He didn't known where to start. His dad patted him on the back and said, “One bird at a time, Buddy. One bird at a time.” This is the way we learn. One lesson at a time. One fact at a time, one bird at a time.

Learning Hack of the Day: Free Write in Your Journal

Several days ago, we started a journal because we know whatever career we choose, we will have to be good writers. Journals are practice writing and they help us to be more creative and to think through problems. Journals are to written in daily. To begin with, you might make your journal a diary, but more and more, you will want to get into creative thoughts or explore your feelings or devote the journal to dreams or special topics, like your pets or children or hobby. Every journal is individual. A good journaling trick if you are having trouble finding entries is to do some free writing. Free writing is writing as fast as you can. If you can't think of a word, skip over it. If you can't spell a word, spell it the way it sounds. If you can't think of anything to say, just keep repeating, “I don't know what to write,” Eventually something will start coming out, and you will be surprised at your insight. I remember a student who started out, “I don't have anything to say today.” Then he started writing about his feelings and ideas and ended, “I guess I had something to say after all.” Set a time limit or a page limit on your free writes. If you set a time limit, set a timer for five minutes. Ten minutes might be too long for beginners. Journals are a great way to keep in touch with ourselves. They also make great future reading.