Intellectual Health

Intellectual health comes from mental stimulation and what we get out of our work, school and other hobbies that we take part of. To begin an intellectually healthy life we must first have the desire to learn more and have an overall interest in what is going on around us. Every human being has the desire to know, but what's more important is how we go about that.

At a young age school teaches us that we must gain all the knowledge we can in order to be successful, therefore making school the first step in how to begin an intellectually healthy lifestyle. Higher education as in college is not always needed to be considered "intellectually healthy", but getting the most out of the education level u do reach is key. As long as our minds are constantly being challenged and stimulated we are on the right track. Our work plays a key role in developing an intellectual healthy life as well. We do not want our work to be too stressful; we want it to be stimulating and enjoyable. Too much mental stimulation can lead to being stressed out and affect other parts of one's life in a negative way. The way we go about work should be something challenging and yet enjoyable and leave us with an overall good feeling about what we are doing at the end of the day. Religion plays a large role in being intellectually healthy. Religion keeps our minds thinking about GOD and trying to add him into our everyday lives, which is a challenge and goal for most if not all of us. GOD is more prevalent in some lives than in others but having some sort of belief in a higher power is good for the human desire to want to know more. We all want answers. Making an effort to find them is what makes us intellectually healthy. Hobbies such as playing a sport are very much part of being intellectually healthy. Athletics make us think things through in and out and really challenge not only our minds, but our bodies as well. For example: The football team is losing by 7 points with 5 seconds left in the game and they have one last shot to tie or win the game. The quarterback has a million things going through his mind all at once and can ultimately make only one decision that will win his team the game, or blow it for them. He must worry about 4 guys running at him trying to tackle him all while looking the field side to side trying to determine which receiver will be open and then have to make a perfect lead throw through defenders in order to complete the pass. This makes us intellectually healthy and is more than often overlooked for this category.

Here are a few things we can do to further increase our chance at having an healthy intellectual life: (craighospital.org)

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