Playing with Stones for Fun and Focus - Photo By D. Hennessey

At the beach it is always fun to play with stones to see what I can do. In the fun (like what I was doing in the picture) I teach myself more focus and patience. I like mixing games with learning it makes the process less intense.

When I was a teen I used to think playing board games was just for children. Then I found out that some games really make you work on your strategy and help you develop lateral as well as linear thinking – all excellent mental tools to enhance your personal and professional problem solving skills.

Indeed, you can develop mental skills with video games but my personal preference is to be off the computer so I can play games in person with one or more friends around a table, if possible, outside in the fresh air.  It also helps gives my eyes a rest from the computer screen.

Scientifically speaking, games can help keep our minds strong as we grow older by keeping our brains active and they can also help our children learn to use their minds in a new way. So not only is there a learning bonus but a health bonus too. Here is one link to an article in the journal of Neurology about the powerful positive effect of board games.

***

Below you will find a list of some of the games I have enjoyed over the years.

The links under the names are to wikipedia details.

***

Rush Hour – a game of focus and problem solving that can help you enhance your ability (in my opinion) of how you look at problems using visual memory. This game is played alone.

***

Chinese Checkers – a game for building strategic thinking skills where you have to make plans and keep in mind the actions of the person you are playing with.

***

Mastermind – one of the older games that is also about using your mind to figure out patterns like in a code breaking exercise – you use your deducting reason in this game.

***

Many card games like Skip Bo can be nourishing for the mind young and old as it help you work on strategy and counting skills. Finally, although I have little experience with cross word puzzles they are definitely away to work the brain. Soduku is also a great way to work the mind.

If you are interested in feedback other than mine or pricing on one of these games you can visit Amazon without obligation by clicking on one of the links below

Mastermind

Rush Hour Award Winning Game

Chinese Checkers

SKIP BO Card Game

***

What games do you enjoy?

Cheers,

David

As a great believer in the importance of drinking water because of its positive impact on mental and physical fitness I have written several articles like this one on the ten important reasons to drink water.

Personally, to keep hydrated I carry a stainless steel water bottle and I even put together a stainless steel water bottle review to help people match their needs. The water bottle review is here.

After I wrote this review I have read about many more stainless steel water bottles entering the market but the information is scattered all over the internet. So I am in the process of creating an up to date concise review which will be a great help if you are planning on making a purchase.

As a sampler of what is to come I will gather some details on a new water bottle one of my friends says she believes is the most stylish stainless steel water bottle on the market. I am not jumping out to buy it since my own stainless bottle gets bumped around a bit when I am hiking and this stylish item would get damaged. But I have to say since it shows some class it might get more people I know carrying a water bottle since they don’t like the look of many of the current bottles on the market.

Enough said. Check out Amazon they often offer some pricing deals if you look around their site. Click on the following link US canteen Brushed Stainless Steel Double-Walled Canteen or the image below for up to date details.

Note: If you follow one of this posting’s links to the Amazon site for current pricing and you decide to buy an item you do NOT pay anymore than if you went directly to the Amazon site and I do receive a few cents for my time to research and write this.

News Update: The New Stainless Steel Water bottle Review covering TWELVE brands is via this link check it out

Enjoy a wonderful day,

David

Over determined means there is not simply just one cause for any experience in your life. Let us think about this. If your car breaks down on your way to work your late arrival is determined by many factors: how difficult it is for you to find a phone for a tow truck, how long it takes for the tow truck to arrive, how difficult it is to fix the cars problem (is it a battery or a fuel leak), how eager you are to get to work, how willing you are to leave your car behind and take a bus. It is a combination of all these and perhaps, more the outcome can vary a lot.

Now let us consider the factors related to a health issue. Let say you have a runny nose, is it caused by an irritant in the air? Is it caused by the cold air you are out in? Is it caused by a weakened immune system fighting a virus? Is it caused by your low recent intake of vitamin A or C or both and your excess intake of refined sugar? Is the weakened immune system caused by stress you are experiencing since your car broke down on the way to work? Is it all of these? or more.

Every event appears to have many causes and is thereby, over determined. We are not overweight just because we eat too much. We are not over stressed because we don’t practice yoga. We do not have a low income because the economy is struggling.

There are always many causes but a good place to start to help eliminate some of the many common causes of stress and lack of wellness is to read the 19 steps that can help reduce stress and increase success and wellness in your life I write about in my FREE action guide.  This a workbook I created to help seminar attendees put into practice ideas shared in my paid for seminars. You can get a free copy today by completing the form on the top right of this page.

Get a copy, check out the contents and you most likely will learn something that is going to help make your life better today.

My best to you,

David

P.S. I have read a number of Scott Peck’s book. I do recommend you take the time to read The Road Less Travelled: A New Psychology of Love, Traditional Values and Spiritual Growth It has been a National Best Seller for over twenty year with over six million copies are in print. Follow the link The Road Less Travelled to read comments from readers.