After I decided that it was not the right time to leave my family to study abroad back in 2015, I actually never stop looking for courses that I can enroll locally. Annually, I would screen through the courses that is offered whenever the HLP is opened for application. However, none of them appealed to me.
All of us has our own preference. I'm the type who is very particular with fruitful outcome thus I set the intention that if I were to pursue my study it must not be because of trend; like when you reach a certain level of seniority you are expected to hold a master's degree. Or because I need a year off from work. Or because I have nothing else to do in life. Or because my heart got broken; like I did in 2015 kahkahkah perhaps it was the wrong intention that made Allah fated that I should stay to settle far more important matters.
The thing is, now that I have left university for almost a decade, my brain has forgotten how to study!!!!!!!! I noticed this when I started attending Japanese class; how I struggled retaining new vocabularies inside my brain and God... I can't remember kanji when the character is more than what... 6 strokes.. Urgh~ I also think partly it's because now we have the advantage for quick references so our brain has become lazy.. okay it's MY brain that has become lazy... Since I'm not going to back off from my decision to sit for my professional exam, I've been desperately looking for ways to improve my memory hahaha like reading websites like this one and this one.
So here goes what works for me so far hahaha
FISH OIL
For a period of time, this was an obsession hahaha I started taking it for my memory but then as I read more and more, I got excited with its other health benefits. For instance its benefit on skin and how it is said to help boost metabolism thus helps with losing weight. I'm not sure whether it particularly helped me with my memory or not because when I started taking it regularly I already started doing other things that also might. But one thing that I noticed is that my skin allergy problems has now disappeared. I used to have frequent rash and itchiness whenever I'm in dusty environment that I have to do frequent dusting in my room. But now, Alhamdulillah it's completely resolved!
WORD SEARCH
To keep your brain active and sharp, mind games helps. That's not new information for me and I am actually guilty of letting my Sudoku and super thick Brain Puzzle book left untouched on my shelf. But, they are currently not for my aging lazy brain yet, so to avoid frustration I started with this word search book that my cousin left for years on my shelf hahaha
I think what most of us also struggle with is maintaining our attention on one particular task without having to reach for our phones and check what else is going on in this world. While I have significantly reduced my time on social media, when I first started doing the word search, although it is super easy and require minimal brain power, it took time for me to finish because of my short attention span. Over time I manage to improve on that and then I started to notice that my attention on my reading materials has also improved.
READ!
As responsibilities increased in number, I read lesser and lesser. I always wonder how Oprah manage to finish her books; or perhaps I'm just a slow reader hahaha Recently, I tried to always make time to read my books and as you can see on my bookshelf there are books stacked on the properly arranged ones. Its best to try reading different authors and books that discuss different topics because the variations will stimulate different 'circuits' in our brain.
In addition, I also make sure I never skip my workout regardless how's the weather like outside. If I can't go out for a jog, my yoga mat is always there spread on my room floor for me to do some tabata. Not having the right mood, or too tired is again another excuse. I also make sure that I make time to play sports that require strategies because it does improve my focus. I think, except for the fish oil, all of the aforementioned has always been part of my life. It's just I've never realize their value until I stopped and had to start all over again.
I actually don't know what to put as this post's title so I made it like a sequel to an old post.
I still have a long way to go and it won't be an easy one. This is just a small part that might help with the entire journey. I'm still struggling with busy schedule, self discipline because it is very very tempting to just sit back and do nothing rather than start opening my reading materials and making notes.
I hope we can all now move on to a new chapter as the new year is approaching...
Career-wise, for me was mentally and emotionally challenging this year but I'm grateful that with Allah's guide and His will, the fire in me is never entirely abated despite the difficulties.
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