Brain Power

 

In adopting a healthier lifestyle I had to of course include my brain. One would have to be out of their right mind not to want healthy brain. I’m saying who would repair the body of a car and not tuneup the engine? There are many ways to keep your brain healthy and to make it stronger. Research shows that the brain is like a muscle. It changes and it gets stronger when you use it. Scientists have been able to show how the brain grows and gets stronger when you learn. Everyone knows that when you lift weights, your muscles get bigger and you get stronger, well so does your brain when you read and learn. Granted the brain isn’t actually a muscle but it has been proven that it acts as one. 

 Eating healthy and regular exercise help to keep your brain healthy as with the rest of your body. If you feed your brain junk, just as your body and health it will deteriorate. As I have mentioned I have always been an avid reader mostly reading non fiction throughout my life. When I made the conscious decision to adopt a healthier lifestyle I decided I would read more than I already was at the moment. I had a number of half read books laying around. At times it would take me weeks to get through an entire book allowing everything possible to distract me. I made a commitment to finish every book I picked up from now on and I would keep a good stock of books like I planned on keeping my refrigerator stocked with good, healthy, fresh foods. 

 For the better part of the last two decades I mainly read books on criminal justice, law and penology. I would also read a good self help book occasionally as well as some biographies of successful individuals I admired. It comes to no surprise that just about every successful individual I chose to read about, was an avid reader. I was intrigued by The Story of Frederick Douglass and to what great lengths he went to learn how to read. After reading the story of Frederick Douglass I never took my ability to read for granted ever again. I thought it would be good to highlight what books I am reading along this journey of mine in hopes that some of you may be inspired to not only pick up the weights and healthy food plates but also pick up a good book. 

 I never liked the feeling of not knowing. It’s just as bad if not worse than say, being to weak to lift something you need to lift and carry. It is an unfortunate fact that in this world we live in the weak in all fashion are preyed upon. I was blessed to be introduced to reading at young age by my sister who would gift me books for my birthday and holidays. I was reading the likes  Napoleon Hill’s “Think and Grow Rich” and Dr. M. Scott Peck “The Road Less Traveled” at age 14 while my peers were struggling through comic books. To often people go through life assuming things when it is so easy to just learn of the actual facts by easily picking up a book. In this day and age with the internet there just isn’t any excuse to not learn something new daily. Learning strengthens your brain and a strong healthy brain in turn helps you to maintain a strong healthy body and spirit. Using an old quote a bit out of context but it works, “if you don’t use it you lose it”. Use your brain! 

 I have limited watching television for the last 15 years of my life. I looked at life as being short as is so why waste countless hours of it watching mindless television shows. I of course love watching movies and do enjoy an occasional series but all in moderation. I find junk television to be just as detrimental to our health as consuming junk foods. It is just important to watch what you feed your brain as what you feed your body.  Reading daily is just as important as exercising daily in my book! 

 Going onto my new chosen life path I didn’t stray from my preferred subject at first. The first book I picked up was The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by: Michelle Alexander. I have a very strong interest in this area of criminal justice because it is a social issue that effects us all in so many ways though the average citizen knows next to nothing about. Most people think they know enough by what they see on television, or read in the news papers but believe me there is much much more to it. I have been studying this topic for over two decades and still consider myself to be somewhat ignorant to the facts. 

 

 Michelle Alexander did a superb job on this incredible book. I highly recommend this book to everyone. She literally covered over 15 years of research that I have done, reading countless books and articles all in this one book. This book gives the reader a very clear view of what has been been and continues to happen within the criminal justice system in the US. She even touched upon how the food industry changed for ever endangering all of us. I didn’t just read this book cover to cover I studied it page by page for nearly two months. Yes it was quite the workout.