The Simplicity of Mental Fitness: Reading, Writing, and Showing Up

One of the key foundations of health and physical fitness is consistency. Even if you aren't working out the hardest or longest every day, there is a lot to be said for just showing up. Showing up with a plan, going through the motions when you have to, but ultimately getting it done.

I think the same can be true for mental fitness. However, identifying which mental exercises are worth doing is the harder part. With muscles, it's easier to see which chest-building exercises are the best because you can measure muscle growth over time. But with mental fitness, it's more difficult because growth is harder to quantify. Even if you improve one aspect of intelligence, it's hard to measure whether that actually translates to improved cognitive function overall.

This is the issue with "brain training" games that were so popular in the last decade. They seem like a path to brain health, but they're actually just an overly complicated way to accomplish nothing.

This is where brain training actually is more similar to physical training: the basics are often the most effective. And with mental acuity, the basics really come down to reading and writing.

Reading is how you expand the ceiling of what your mind knows is possible. Writing is how you raise the floor of your daily mental operations. Writing clarifies and organizes your thoughts. And it really seems to be a physical activity as much as a mental one: the mere act of turning words into sentences is something that improves the more you do it.

And it's not just my perception of it. I've heard Jerry Seinfeld talk about setting reasonable creative goals and approaching it like a daily workout. You set the timer for 30 minutes every day, and at the end of the allotted time, your reward is that you are done. You did it! You don't have to write any more.

I now have a goal of setting dedicated time to write 2-3 times per week. I might end up repeating myself, and not everything I write will be of value. But just showing up is the practice. If nothing else, I know I'll have a stronger brain because of it.