How can one maximize brain potential or improve it

that may be true for you, but from what i found, meditation has very much helped me in being able to concentrate for prolonged periods of time during work and study sessions, i'd say it's worth a try, if it works for you, great, if it does not, just don't do it, as simple as that

just allow time for your mind to wander --
the utility of this practice is wound up in an internal "design thinking"

Progressing oneself....can be qualified by thinking how one would not usually think --- this can be achieved through many different practices

pretty much this guy

This is brianlet

Garlic, vinegar, tea (all three mildly antiseptic)

Getting sunlight. Vitamin D from sun-exposure is longer lasting and better regulated than vitamin D from supplements. It is also directly absorbed in fatty acids so absorption into the bloodstream is better.

Practice working things out in your head. E.g. close your eyes and do the algebra in your mind's eye. Then work on making useful notes when working. That way you maximize your 'sandbox' of short-term memory (physical + mental).

Clearly defining whether a given day is a balls-to-the-walls work day, normal work day, lazy day, or complete recovery day (e.g. due to illness). Having clear goals and not trying to do conflicting things (in general, really) will save you a lot of sorrow.

If you have trouble with self control, go to a cafe or library with just a notebook and pen: no smartphone etc.

Write lists of things you will do on a given day. Even if you don't do all of them, you'll do more than without lists. Also break tasks down into very small sub-components. e.g. 'write paper abstract draft'.

Practice what gymbros call active recovery. Instead of spending your lazy day inside in the same setting you do your work in, get a bunch of friends and go canoeing, or something else where you're not thinking. If you are chilling in the same setting you do work in, the work will still be subconsciously on your mind.

Maybe the way you're doing it.

Don't listen to him. Encouraging the free flow of thought can be useful, but that's not meditation.

Lots of gems in here. Strapping techniques, mindset strategies, etc. This is what advanced executive control looks like.

>close your eyes and do the algebra in your mind's eye
Do you mean that I visualise the numbers or that I shouldn't use a calculator?

Easiest would be just shut off all light sources and sound and then process consciously.
The next step, calibrating your sensations. For example trying to visualize something by will.
Then what people usually refer to as meditation might be shutting off the sensations solely mentally, I think I've never deeply been there.
I only do the first thing when I'm too overloaded and the second I tried, it worked like mental cgi but I don't know, I don't do it.

I'm interested in this thread. I feel like my cognitive ability is severely limited by my focus. I have problems doing arithmetic in my head because I constantly think about something else and I have to restart. However this just doesn't apply to just arithmetic. Anything that requires some chain of logic. I have to do it over and over again.

I feel I have some attention disorder, but I don't really want to try stimulants because I don't want to be hopped up on drugs. Like I constantly play with stuff in my hands. Such as molding putty over and over again, pressing keys on my keyboard that don't do anything, or tapping my thumb on my fingers (from pinky to ring to middle to index back and forth). People
also tell to me that I tend to pace around the room when I'm on the phone.

Is there something I can do to increase my focus? I honestly sucks when read a whole excerpt of something and relize that you didn't pay attention to a single word and just said them out loud in your head.

>Maybe the way you're doing it.
What's the correct way?

t. spiritlet

There are many correct ways, all with unique features and benefits. But I think that if your meditation habits don't require some sort of concentration and relative stillness of thought, then you're probably not going to get much out of it.

Doing certain exercises like kria yoga. Restore bodies balance by doing these excersises increases brain activity and can even help you overcome certain pain and desease. Not so related to this topic but maybe it can enlighten you a little bit. youtube.com/watch?v=m1Xlnudc5GM

>Anki
>Dual n-back
Holy shit why didn't I know these earlier?

You also need exercise, at least, running. Actually running is very good for the cognitive enhancement (i know, “citation required")

I mean, you need at least aerobic exercise. Is yoga enough?

Stimulants is the correct answer.

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Read math lecture notes

Already included.

A lot of activities out there that use outside the box thinking.

When ever you have a inner conflict, good vs evil. Choose good. Dont even think about buying that chocolate bar or that mcD meal. If have a little conflict inside you.. This helped me alot, And being good to your self, working out n stuff

I just started doing dual n-back (20 minutes every morning). Apparently the evidence for any improvements in working memory is lacking, but a lot of people claim to have gained an increased focus, better reading comprehension and better conversational skills. I figured it wouldn't hurt to give it a shot.

And its damn fun

Less internet more sustained focus

Nothing to do with religion and spiritual bullshit but you should read up on the actual research before dismissing it.

Look into focused attention meditation and reduce over-consumption/addiction of/to social and entertainment media.

For focused attention, you basically pick a repeating sensation or concept and focus on it. Exclude all else but don't force or stress yourself into that focus, it's got to be natural and calm. Your mind will wander, just return your focus periodically. You can just use your breath, focus on the rhythm and sensation. You can use anything that repeats though, such as a metronome. This obviously helps with focus but it will do other things too. You are detaching the normal cycles of thought.

Thank you!

I have serious issues with ruminating constantly thinking about past poor social interactions . Feel like it's crippling me

It's impossible to change the past. It's easy to change the future.

Easier said than done

Try awareness medition. If you think about sth. unproductively for more than 10 minutes, you should stop and think sth. else. awareness medition and habbits help you to identify whether you are ruminating and have many other benefits psychologically.

Eat 100 blueberries a day

I thought clutter was shown to improve innovation?

I prefer draconianly cutting people down with rhetorical vitriolic venom; it satiates my inner sadist.

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>just allow time for your mind to wander
that all my mind does, meditation should be the opposite

It depends on what you mean by clutter. I was referring to mental clutter, i.e., having too many psychological investments into too many things that serve as distractions, sources of anxiety, etc. I wasn't referring to physical clutter, such as a messy room, though I honestly don't think that a big mess does much for your happiness. But that's another story.

You have to practical mental hygiene by clearing mental clutter so you can properly devote attention to each and every task. This can be done by either cutting down on crap that adds nothing to your life, tying up loose ends through closure or therapy, or at least adding some organizing principles to your life so you know how to switch attention and understand the greater purpose for your activities.

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It is. You are supposed to focus on your breath and heartbeat.

Eat a breakfast that is rich in protein and fat.

Your brain is like a library.
The more information you store, the more it contains, however...
If you start organizing that in an early stage, it is easier to find later on.
Is the storing capacity limitless?
No, but big enough to last a lifetime.
You don't need to store duplicates, and after a while you start to store more hyperlinks (which use way less space) then new books.

The funny thing is, the more books you store, the more hyperlinks you create and start trowing away duplicate information.

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Nonsense, the brain works nothing like a library. It's more like an academy, with various experts (with more or less actual expertise) who mostly shout over one another and who are as prone as anyone to forgetting or misreading the knowledge they have access to.

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Deductive and inductive reasoning abilities.

You can't really. Very few studies have shown anything like this (assuming you don't have some sort of mental illness)

what