At this time of year many of us are preparing our bodies for the rigours of the summer season : getting into last year’s beachware, increasing stamina for all that air travel, looking good in public.

We sometimes neglect our minds though, forgetful that they need a bit of routine maintenance and TLC as well as the physical envelope.

Here’s an excellent checklist of how we might go about it :

1. Choose your direction
2. Make it happen
3. Slow down
4. Lose the negativity
5. Break your routine
6. Play to your strengths
7. Get out of your comfort zone
8. Surround yourself with inspiring people
9. Take control
10. Keep it fresh.

Number 8 might also include reading inspiring authors, watching inspiring films etcetera.

The list was compiled by Lizz Brocklesbury of www.themindgym.com

If you believe you can get smarter, you will. Studies have previously shown that IQ is not fixed but can be influenced by many factors. Home environment, community and education all affect IQ.

Findings of a study on how students views of their intelligence affected their math grades showed that those who believed that intelligence can be developed did in fact improve their math performance.

One study monitored 12 year olds over two years of school. The students who believed that their intelligence could be expanded outperformed those who believed that intelligence is fixed. Over the two years, the difference in performance levels widened, even though both groups had started out on an equal achievement level.

A second study concentrated on students whose math grades were declining. One group was taught that intelligence is not fixed, but expandable. Another group was not told that intelligence could be developed. Both groups went through an 8-session workshop on study skills. The students who were taught that their intelligence could be expanded reversed the decline in their grades in contrast to the second group, whose math grades continued on a downward slope.

Researchers believe that when students believe they are capable of achieving more, they concentrate more on learning and the power of their own effort. The results of the studies indicate that what students believe about intelligence can affect their academic progress and motivation.

The two studies were conducted by researchers at Columbia University and Stanford University, and are published in the January/February 2007 issue of the journal Child Development.

Society for Research in Child Development

Three crows jockeyed for the highest perch in an oak tree outside my window yesterday for the better part of the afternoon. Two screamed at a contender who positioned on higher limbs, and the three yelled back relentless caws, to stake their claim on a top branch.

Then this morning, on my drive home a Rotary breakfast meeting,  I heard NPR’s Morning Edition announcer speak of the power of power to alter moods. Studies, for instance, show a marked increased in serotonin, when people gain power.  Good or bad?  You’d likely be interested  to make people drunk.

Have you noticed power’s ability to anger crows or inebriate people?Coincidentally, I dropped into Starbucks for a latte and a New York Times, only to read another “power story.”  Pankaja Mishra’s article titled … “Gaining Power, Losing Values,” claimed that “India, like China, is putting growth ahead of morality.”

What are the benefits or drawbacks of power in your life? Has it changed the way you think or act?

Seems quite a coincidence that within one morning two very different sources pointed to power’s effect in the brain and in people’s lives. What do you think? 

New DNA tests show that we all came from African ancestors who, 60,000 years ago – began a remarkable journey. Follow your personal path from this unique group through mapping your genes.

Dr. Spencer Wells shows the new DNA analysis which includes a description of your ancient ancestors.  You also get an interactive map with genetic lineage around the globe and back through history which might surprise you.

Your blood samples can be processed in one of this DNA Project’s ten regional centers. Analysis is completed through a standardized set of scientific criteria. All data is uploaded into the central database, at the University of Arizona via Family Tree DNA, the leading genetic genealogy company which has been selected to perform the public participant testing for the Project.

The whole project sounds cool and since it’s a collaboration with National Geographic and IBM – it’s likely reliable. You can see sample results on their web site, if you are into looking deeper into roots – with a mind for checking into adventures of your ancestors.

You may well find be a few surprises that could even alter who you think you are - into who you’d like to become.