Maximize Your Potential

But we have the mind of Christ. 1 Corinthians 2:16

Human beings have amazing potential since we are created in the image of God.

However, we have to place a demand on our potential in order to develop it and benefit from it.

The human brain consists of approximately 100 billion neurons, or brain cells – that is as many brain cells as there are stars in our galaxy.

Each neuron has somewhere between 1,000 and 10,000 synapses (connections between brain cells), equaling about 1 quadrillion synapses. If all the neurons in the human brain were lined up, they would stretch 600 miles.

Almost ¾ of the brain develops outside the womb in response to the physical and social environment.

Connections are created between brain cells in response to sensory experiences – hearing, seeing, smelling, touching, tasting.

For instance, when a mother speaks frequently to her infant, by the age of 2 her child knows about 300 more words than other children whose mothers rarely speak to them. And children who learn more than one language before the age of 5 have denser gray matter when they are adults.

A 3-year-old’s brain is 2 and ½ times more active than an adult’s brain. In a child’s brain, every new experience and thought creates a connection between neurons. A child’s brain remains super-dense with synaptic connections until the age of about 10 – 11 years, when the brain begins to rapidly prune connections.

The connections that remain are the ones used most often.

Those that are not used are lost.

The remaining pathways are more powerful and efficient.

As an adult, one of the simplest ways to maximize your potential is to keep on learning.

Learning boosts your brain function. The size and structure of your neurons and the connections between them actually change as you learn.

So make personal growth and learning a key area of focus in 2013.

Learning is about more than reading a book. Learn how to play a musical instrument, or speak a foreign language, or take a course in motor vehicle mechanics and learn the basics about maintaining your car. Expand your mind with activities such as travelling or participating in social and community activities.

Challenge your brain with cross word puzzles, Sudoku, or board games that get you thinking. Memorize Bible verses. Make up games to play with the kids on those long road trips in the car, such as thinking of famous people whose first names begin with the letter A and go all the way through the alphabet!

I will be conducting coaching and training programs to help you maximize your potential in 2013 so get in touch through my websites here and here and keep challenging your brain!

Wishing you every success in life and work in 2013 and beyond.