How do you make yourself smarter? 17 ways to make yourself smarter and maximize your own potential based on what has worked for me.
Back during school, most kids are on a relatively similar playing field.
For the most part, they share the same interests and talk about the same things.
But twenty years later, that same group of kids who grew up together are not similar at all.
They will have different jobs, interests, and lives.
Of course, you could argue some of it is nature and that is probably true. Some of it could be nurture from parents and a result of a better education. That’s part of it too.
But the main reason that people become so different is because some people never stop learning.
On the other hand, some people stop learning immediately once they are no longer forced by school to learn.
Sure, they might learn what they have to in order to keep their job. But that type of learning hardly improves cognitive abilities or anything besides what they do at work.
In short, if you want to become smarter, you must never stop learning. The moment you stop is when your mind starts deteriorating.
In this post, I will share my opinion on how to make yourself smarter everyday.
Let’s dive in.
How Do You Make Yourself Smarter?
As a preface, I do not consider myself smart and I am not attempting to compare my intelligence to others.
I am merely comparing myself to myself.
During school, I was an average student. I did just enough to get decent grades. But it was mostly because I wanted to hang out with my friends and play sports.
Years later, I am suddenly considered smart by employers, colleagues, and people who are considered smart.
To put it bluntly, I am not actually smart. I just constantly work at things that make me smarter.
So how do you make yourself smarter?
Here are 17 ways to make yourself smarter and maximize your own potential.
How Do You Make Yourself Smarter?
How Do You Make Yourself Smarter? (17 Ways)
1. Read Everyday
The most important thing you can do to make yourself smarter is to read everyday.
In my own experience, reading everyday helps tremendously with writing, improving my vocabulary, and even allows me to think faster.
I’ve noticed that it even helps me with my day job. Simply put, I can handle my job easier and faster than normal if I read everyday.
As such, I try to read every day before bed.
Even if I am extremely tired, I will still force myself to read a few pages.
If I fail to do this, I honestly worry about my mind becoming more dull the next day.
Related: Best Investing Books To Read — 11 Books To Be A Better Investor
2. Write Often
In my opinion, writing is almost as important as reading for improving intelligence.
Frankly, I can tell right away if someone writes just by speaking to them. If they don’t write often, people tend to use run-on sentences and have a more difficult time explaining things.
I say this because I’ve noticed the improvement in myself over the past 5 years. My early writing was horrendous. It’s still not the greatest, but it’s much more concise and to the point now.
People who write often gain practice at organizing and structuring their thoughts. They become better at determining what is worth saying and what is better off left out.
3. Learn From People Smarter Than You
Rather than learning from a small circle, it’s better to expand your circle and learn from the top minds in the world.
For example, if you want to learn more about investing, don’t just listen to a family member. Expand your circle and learn from Warren Buffett or someone like him.
Regardless of what your area of interest is, you should learn from the best.
Related: Best Investors Of All Time — The Greatest Investors Ever (Historically and Modern)
4. Listen To Podcasts
I mentioned that I read every night before I go to bed.
But even after I finish reading, I usually put on a podcast to fall asleep to as well.
This way, I am constantly learning, even when I am sleeping.
Of course, listening to podcasts doesn’t have to be done before you sleep. It’s a great way to make use of time during a commute.
Related: Podcasts On Money And Personal Finance To Get Your Money Right
5. Question Everything
Frankly, I find it shocking how easily the general narrative changes.
People will believe anything on the news without even stopping to question it for a second.
Most people seem hackable or programmable like computers.
First off, you have to remember that the news and media are for entertainment.
They can’t be fully relied on. It’s important to maintain a healthy level of skepticism.
Of course, it’s also not a good idea to completely disregard things either.
The best thing to do is find a healthy balance of skepticism and optimism.
Question everything and think about it logically.
6. Become Self Aware
Understanding yourself is a large part of becoming smarter in my view.
The more you understand yourself, the easier it is to assess strengths and weaknesses.
In turn, it becomes easier to avoid mistakes.
The problem is that it often takes time, experience, and making mistakes to understand yourself.
To become more self aware, I would suggest studying psychology and philosophy.
In this day and age, you can learn from the greatest psychologists and philosophers of all time on Youtube.
7. Reflect
Although it can be painful in some cases, reflection is another way to become smarter and more self aware.
In short, reflecting on your mistakes is the best way to avoid making the same ones again in the future.
So rather than pretending to be “good vibes only,” perhaps it’s better to look back on the bad times to better understand what caused you to make the mistakes you regret.
8. Listen To Feedback
In addition to self reflection and becoming self aware, you must develop thicker skin and listen to feedback.
Rather than letting your ego get in the way, it’s better to openly consider the opinions and feedback of others, even if it’s not what you want to hear.
Of course, you also have to consider who the feedback is coming from and what they are trying to accomplish by providing it.
If it is coming from a constructive place, then feedback is worth listening to.
9. Exercise
I think everyone can agree that exercise is important.
Studies have shown that 30 to 60 minutes of exercise per day can:
- Keep thinking, reasoning, and learning skills sharp
- Improve memory
- Delay Alzheimer’s for people at risk
- Increase the size of that part of the brain that is associated with memory
Based on the data, it’s clear that exercise is one of the best ways to make yourself smarter.
10. Hang Out With Smarter People
There is a popular quote by Jim Rohn that goes like this:
“We are the average of the five people we spend the most time with.” – Jim Rohn
If that’s true, it would be wise to choose the people you spend time with carefully.
11. Focus Intensely On A Few Topics
In my humble opinion, it’s better to be an expert on a few topics than it is to know a little about everything.
The only advantage of knowing a little about everything is that it helps with small talk.
But in reality, knowing a little about everything means you are average at everything and excel at nothing.
Furthermore, every human on earth only has so much time. There isn’t enough time to be great at everything.
Alternatively, if you focus intensely on a few subjects, you will have enough time to become the best at them.
12. Focus On Strengths And Discard Weaknesses
I’ve often heard employers tell employees to focus on improving weaknesses.
Personally, I think this is terrible advice.
Rather than improving weaknesses, I believe it’s better to emphasize strengths.
Simply put, you are not going to improve your weaknesses to the point where they are superior to the person with natural talent.
For example, I am never going to be able to paint like a painter who has natural talent. I’m never going to have the athleticism of Lebron James. I’m never going to be an amazing public speaker like an extrovert.
But at the same time, a painter might not be able to write business style writing as well as I can. Lebron James probably can’t analyze stocks like I can. And an extrovert won’t be able to work alone with as much focus as I can.
Ultimately, you stand out by focussing on your strengths. If you spend your limited time trying to work on weaknesses, you will remain average.
13. Avoid Assumptions
Without researching anything, people will base their entire frame of thought on social media post they saw.
They will proceed to speak boldly and loudly about their opinion, as if they know what they are talking about.
Just remember, there are always people out there that actually do the research.
Hence why people tend to become quieter and more humble when they learn more.
The people with the biggest mouths usually know the least.
14. Listen To Both Sides
Rather than blindly believing one side of an argument, you should be willing to listen to both sides.
This way, you will be able to make properly informed decisions on the information.
If your way of thinking is truly best way, then you should be willing to put it to the test.
Listen to both sides, including the side you disagree with to become more informed.
15. Sleep Well
As someone who has struggled with sleeping my entire life, I hate to admit it, but sleeping is very important to intelligence.
It doesn’t seem to affect you as much when you are younger. But once you get to a certain age, it’s really obvious how much better you can perform with a good night’s sleep.
Although it can be challenging with life’s busy schedules, aim for at least 8 hours of sleep a night.
16. Limit Things That Dull Your Mind
It’s important to have fun and maintain a balanced life to be happy.
Trust me, I partied a lot in college.
But if you view life as a competition, someone is pulling ahead of you every time you dull your mind with a substance.
My suggestion is to aim for moderation.
17. Study History
With everything that has happened since 2020, it’s safe to say that humanity is going through a period of history.
Just like it’s important to maintain a long-term view with investing, it’s important to maintain a long-term view during historic times like this.
The more you understand how the current situation has parallels to the past, the calmer you can remain.
The history of the world is littered with periods of controversy, high inflation, wars, and recessions.
Recognize that there is nothing new under the sun.
How Do You Make Yourself Smarter?
So how do you make yourself smarter?
The main three things you can do is read, write, and exercise.
Otherwise, surround yourself with smart people and they will eventually rub off on you.
As long as you focus on the main things, everything else will fall into place.
In turn, you will start to notice the effects of these habits in your work and life.
Similar Personal Development Articles To Check Out
How To Find Purpose & Passion (And Make Money From It)
Best Investing Books To Read — 11 Books To Be A Better Investor
Best Books On Financial Independence Retire Early (F. I. R. E)
I am not a licensed investment or tax adviser. All opinions are my own. This post may contain advertisements by Monumetric. This post may also contain internal links, affiliate links to BizBudding, Amazon, Bluehost, and Questrade, links to trusted external sites, and links to RTC social media accounts.
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