15 Ways To Naturally Increase Intelligence & Keep The Mind Sharp

What makes a person smart? Are they simply born that way or does intelligence develop over the course of your life? While it is impossible to reach a genius level overnight, people often argue whether it’s nature or nurture when it comes to high intelligence. There is no denying that certain people are born with a predisposition towards academia. These people are natural learners.

They grasp concepts easier and possibly are gifted with above average memory recall abilities. People like this are born smart, but part of being smart is always seeking to know more and do more. This is where the dividing line lies. So, it’s not necessarily about genetics or neural pathways. A smart person is never content with what they know. In fact, intelligent people know enough to know what they don’t know and strive every day to correct it.

This means if you are interested in increasing your intelligence, there’s no need to research the latest and greatest cognitive enhancing drugs. There are habits and hobbies that people use to make themselves smarter. Here are the top 15 ways to naturally increase your intelligence and keep your mind sharp.

1. Read

Every single genius who has ever lived has been a furious reader. These people would never let their minds lay dormant. They would also not simply stick to their specific field of research. They would branch out into a multitude of topics, picking up countless bits of information along the way. Reading, however, is not only reserved for geniuses.

Ask any successful person, and they can rattle off a long list of books they have read in the last year. Most interviews with CEOs and multi-millionaires includes a question regarding the last book they read. These people don’t just read to pass the time. Granted, there is an enjoyment factor there. After all, everything you read doesn’t have to be facts and figures.

There is nothing wrong with settling down with a good fiction or fantasy novel. Even books such as these succeed in broadening your mind. They activate your imagination and force you to ponder things and people that are far from reality. They stretch the boundaries of your mind, enabling you to think in ever more interesting, unique ways.

On the other side of the spectrum lies non-fiction books. These books hold information, and they can provide one with an impressive knowledge base. By reading these books, a person knows more. They are more aware of the world around them, be it in the past, present or future.

Reading is the single most effective way to boost intelligence. There is simply no replacement for it on this list. Along with the cognitive advantages, reading enhances your vocabulary. It provides you with succinct, appropriate ways to express yourself.

Adopt These 15 ‘Alpha Woman’ Traits To Stand Out From The Crowd

A strong woman is not a joke, fallacy or an aberration. She is a force of nature. A tough woman has the capacity to love and the ability to change the world. But she doesn’t do it with coercion or seduction, but rather through sheer force of will. There are certain traits of strong alpha women that makes them stand out, too.

Most confident, secure women have been blessed with examples to follow. Whether it is a mother, grandmother, aunt or even a beloved teacher, that person has inspired and enabled them to be strong. But tough women often meet resistance in this world.

Strong women don’t conform, they are being themselves. Being tough is how they survive, but it is also who they choose to be. And this is how you recognize them and can be a strong person, too.

1. Embrace Confidence and Strength of Character

There are times when people mistake strength with arrogance. There is a certain confidence that exudes from strength of character. Self-confidence is one of the top traits of strong alpha women that allows them to walk into a room with their shoulders squared and their head held high. They make eye contact and gesticulate. Alpha women don’t blend into the crowd.

Strong women know and accept their strengths and weaknesses but are not blind to their faults. They do not live in a rose-tinted world where their perception of themselves is remarkably flawless. They are fully aware of where they fall short. The difference is they accept their flaws. They aren’t happy with their shortcomings, so alpha women constantly strive to correct them.

Alpha women also know their strengths. They know their worth and they are not ashamed of that. Strong women are not in the business of downplaying their strengths simply to placate the masses. They will shine as bright and for as long as they possibly can. This may even at times border on overbearing, but you can bet this will not stop them.

A strong woman will not apologize for being who she is, either. You may not have to accept them, but you can’t stop them, either. They exude confidence, which demands respect from everyone around them.

18 Simple Ways To Figure Out If Someone Is Telling A Lie

Sadly, people probably lie to you far more often than you realize. Plenty of people lie constantly, and many times a day. People tend to wear masks for a variety of reasons. A lot of it has to do with being accepted in society. A study conducted in 2002 found that 60 percent of people will lie during a 10-minute conversation. The average number of lies they tell in that brief conversation is two or three.

Doesn’t it drive you crazy when you can’t tell if someone is being honest? Liars work hard to avoid detection, so how can you tell if they’re duping you? While you can’t fight every battle of dishonesty, you probably would like to know if those closest to you are lying. Knowing the signs can help you get rid of the people in your life who aren’t being real.

There are many reasons people lie, but at the core, they are hiding a part of themselves. It might be that they are ashamed about certain aspects of themselves. In a way, it’s kind of sad. Telling the truth even when it’s not something to be proud of sets one free. In the end, you can’t argue with an honest man. Liars may be hiding important information. Read on to determine whether someone is being dishonest with you.

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18. They Give Vague Answers

If you ask someone a question and they hem and haw without giving a straight answer, you may want to pursue further questioning. Often a sign of telling lies, vague answers indicate they are trying to dodge your questioning. It isn’t hard to tell the truth. It’s creating the story in one’s head that causes someone to spew a bizarre bunch of dialogue with no real answers. Getting a yes or no answer might be challenging, but anything other than that is just dancing around the truth.

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When someone makes excuses without answering the question, they’re likely trying to pull the wool over your eyes. They aren’t necessarily telling you a lie, they’re just avoiding the truth. They are hiding something from you. Isn’t that the same thing, though? If these vague answers are like run-on sentences, this is also a clue they are scrambling to find words you will believe. You should feel satisfied with an answer when you walk away from a conversation, not confused.

20 Perfect Texts To Send When A Ghoster Magically Reappears

Ever have a bad breakup? Perhaps you and a friend had a falling out. Maybe you needed closure but didn’t get any. No one likes being ghosted. Not replying to texts can leave people with a sense of regret as well as emptiness. Some hold out for hope that they’ll return, while others decide to move on with their lives and forget about that person.

But what do you do when that person suddenly comes back into your life? The shock of the return can leave you feeling confused. What is the best way to respond to a ghost text months later? Maybe you want to ghost someone in return so they leave you alone. Here are 20 expert-approved text messages you can send to get the answers and the closure you finally need.

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20. “So you didn’t lose your phone?”

This is an interesting way to respond because it puts the onus on the other person for not answering you. It’s you haven’t gotten a reply, the only reasonable explanation is that that person lost their phone; the fact that they didn’t lose their phone forces them to explain why they’ve left you on read for so long.

Ghosting is always rude no matter what your reasons are. But if you’re willing to give the other person a second chance, this kind of message will keep things light and fun if you want to rekindle where you left off. Don’t hold out hope, though. If they ghost you again, it’s probably time to move on.

These Everyday Hacks Save So Much Time It’s Shocking

When we think of life hacks, we think of ways to make money, travel better, or even work less. But there are other, more genius life hacks that’ll save you time and make things a lot easier for you. We’ve collected some of the best life hacks out there, that include ways to do things that you never thought of before.

So next time you’re struggling with a mundane task, there might just be an easier way around the problem. Cutting corners isn’t always a bad thing, especially when it saves you money and time. It’s safe to say that after reading this article, your life will get a whole lot easier.

Kueez

Purse Clip

Next time you’re shopping, you don’t have to worry about someone running up to your cart and grabbing your purse. There’s nothing worse than glancing at the rows of canned tomatoes, only to turn around and see your bag is gone. That creates a hassle that’s hard to come back from. So that’s why this is one of the smartest life hacks out there. Clip your bag to the cart itself. It’s a lot harder for someone to run up to your cart and steal the entire cart, or have enough time to open your bag and rummage through the inside. If a theft ever did try to steal your bag, they’ll look pretty stupid once they realize it’s clipped to the cart. Hopefully, they won’t rip the strap in the process (via Kueez).

40 Unintentionally Hilarious Designs That Became Embarrassing Mistakes

Designers and creatives constantly try to come up with fresh ideas. That’s their job, after all. They want to produce exciting advertisements and unique products that grab people’s attention. But sometimes, they unintentionally create hilarious designs with embarrassing mistakes.

They successfully get people to stop and look but not for a good reason. However, we will enshrine some of these items in history. Today we’ll look at 40 unintentionally hilarious designs that are just so bad. But they’ll make readers smile. So check them out via Bored Panda right here.

40. Crusti Chocolate

This chocolate bar’s name already triggered alarm bells. After all, nobody wants to eat crusty chocolate because it just sounds nasty. But there’s an even bigger problem with this dubious product. A glance at the image above shows the design flaw.

Usually, chocolate bars have an even design that enables people to break them easily. But they’ve unintentionally made it impossible for consumers to snap it. German retail giant Lidl sells these bars so it’s easy to avoid them (via Reddit).

40 DIY Storage Solutions That Will Change Your Life

Sometimes our homes are messy and disorganized, especially if we have little ones running around. Unfortunately, items used to organize our houses can be pricey and even set us back hundreds of dollars. That’s where these DIY (do it yourself) projects come in handy.

Not only are these DIY storage solutions cheap, but they can be fun to make, even with your kids. By taking old pieces of junk lying around your house, you can create something beautiful that adds some originality to your otherwise ordinary house decorations.

Apartment Therapy

40. Magnetic Spice Rack

Spice jars create one of the largest organizational problems in the kitchen. Luckily, a DIY magnetic spice rack solves these problems. Stick your spices to a magnetic board inside your cabinet. That way, you can see all of them in front of you and easily pick which one you need. You can even alphabetize your spices. This storage solution will also protect them from the natural wear and tear that spices usually experience from exposure to heat and sunlight. All you need is food-safe metal spice tins, blank sticker labels, scissors, a pen, a stainless-steel wall plate, duct tape, and magnets (via Apartment Therapy).

30 Tasks People Use To Supplement Their Normal Day

Normally, people imagine applying at a local business to earn an income. But finding a job can be difficult for some people if they don’t have the right education or experience on their resume.

Sometimes, if you want to make money, you have to think outside of the box. So we broke are 30 strange things people have done to make money. Some of them are brutal and some are just strange. Enjoy the list below.

Some women choose to sell their virginity to the highest bidder. Credit: Shutterstock

30. Selling Their Virginity

Years ago, women were only seen as valuable if they were virgins when they got married. In some countries, it’s common to find young women auctioning off their virginity to the highest bidder. This is usually a result of living in an incredibly poor family. But even in the United States, some people have decided to give it a go. Nevada is the only state in the US where something like this would actually be legal. Not all of these women have decided to pursue a career in sex work and most are just looking to make money in the short-term.

Sex work is only legal in Nevada. Credit: Shutterstock

In 2014, a 27-year old medical school student going by the name Elizabeth Raine tried to auction off her virginity online as a way to pay for expensive school debt. At first, she was trying to get $400,000 to pay for her education, but the auction actually went all the way up to $801,000 from someone who was eager to take her up. In the end, she backed out of the auction. The Daily Mail did a follow-up article about it. It turned out the winning bidder had cold feet and didn’t pay. This also ruined her reputation at the medical school and damaged her future career.

35 Ways To Profit While You Sleep

Imagine waking up in the morning without an alarm clock. You can take your time to drink your coffee, get ready for the day, and then start work – if you want to. That’s a typical workday for someone who earns a passive income. Whether they are stockbrokers, own a business, or have one of the 35 jobs on this list, they earn their income by doing as little as possible. In fact, people who make a passive income make money while they are sleeping.

There are several benefits to earning a passive income. Other than taking it easy throughout the day, you also gain more time to do what you want to or need to do. For example, you can take your kids to their extracurricular activities, go on vacation, play golf, or have a spa day. You will have more time in your day than you know what to do with and you don’t have to worry about not making enough money.

A hobby often turns into a way to make a passive income. Pixabay.

Feeling Down? These 30 Inspiring Quotes From Leaders Can Change That

One of the essential ingredients to achieving your dreams is motivation. Without motivation, you don’t have the push to continue your bumpy climb. But where can you get your motivation? In general, there are many ways to improve your motivation physically, psychologically, and emotionally but one of the strongest ways is through people you admire.

You might look at your parents, siblings, grandparents, or other family members. You might also have friends and celebrities on your inspirational lists, such as Prince, Oprah Winfrey, J.K Rowling, and Sheryl Sandberg. Whether you are starting college or at the height of your career, you always need the motivation to reach success, and one way to do this is by reading inspirational quotes from some of the world’s most influential leaders.

Barack Obama became the 44th President of the United States in 2008. Shutterstock.

30. “Progress will come in fits and starts. It’s not always a straight line. It’s not always a smooth path.” – Barack Obama

You know Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States. One of the few presidents to come into the White House with his family and leave without too much controversy. During his 2012 victory speech, Obama stated one of the most inspirational quotes with the above statement.

Obama spoke these words from his heart as he knows them as truth. As an African-American man, the odds of him reaching the White House remained against him, but he made it. He wanted his fellow Americans to realize that while the path they are on often seems bumpy, positive progress continues.