We all know that when you feed junk food to your body, it responds by slowing down, gaining weight, getting sick and generally feeling bad. In the end.. Your end will come quicker (death.) The same thing goes when it comes to feeding your mind.

When you give junk to your brain, it slows down, gets sick and generally feels bad. So, what is junk food for your brain?

Most of what is on TV, the cinema or the internet is junk. Sure, there are some great things there too, but most is pretty much brain candy. YouTube has over 24hours of video uploaded every minute and you can bet that more than 95% of it is garbage.  While it may be funny, it isn’t very useful. Most of the shows on television are sarcastic comedies or trashy dramas. Don’t even get me started on video games!

So what is good for your brain? Most everything educational. I’m not talking about textbooks unless that is your thing.  I’m referring to just deciding what you want to learn about and going for it.

There is more information at our fingertips now than at any time in history. I am continually amazed at just how easy it is to find good brain food.

Whether you want to learn about nuclear fission, baking cupcakes or the ins and outs of barefoot running, learning is what makes us uniquely human.  It is why we are here.  It is what moves us forward.

I’m not suggesting that everything you put into your brain must be educational. I am a huge fan of entertainment and enjoying yourself.  I am just cautioning against negative entertainment.  Things like humor at someone’s expense or stuff that makes you feel bad or dirty when watching can’t be good for you.

Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.

Gandhi summed up my view on the subject in that quote.  If all goes right, we’re going to be here for a good amount of time so we may as well use our time wisely.

Chris Doelle