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Your life will change forever when you understand how to learn quickly and retain information. You’ll ask better questions, you’ll always be coming up with new ideas, you’ll be innovative, develop strategic thinking, you’ll be involved in better conversations, and be an interesting person to talk with. Simply said — people will think you’re a genius.

Also, learning new things can open up new opportunities in your life and career.

Your brain is an adaptive mechanism. The more you use the, the better it becomes. For many years people have believed that with aging we’re losing our ability to think. However recent studies showed that Brain plasticity, also known as neuroplasticity, refers to the brain’s ability to change and adapt its structure and function throughout life in response to experiences. This allows us to learn new skills and information at any age.

What stops you from becoming a genius

One of the greatest enemies of learning is being distracted and unfocused.

Concentrating on studying or learning something new is hard when everyone is fighting for your attention. The notifications that pop up on our phones and computers — texts, emails, social media alerts, news updates. It’s like a constant stream of interruptions that pull our focus away from what we’re trying to learn. And once we get distracted, it can be hard to get back on track.

Multitasking makes it even worse. Many people think they can study while also keeping an eye on their messages or watching TV in the background. But our brains aren’t really wired to handle multiple things at once. When we try to do too many things simultaneously, we end up not giving our full attention to any of them.

The environment is another big distraction. If we’re trying to study in a noisy or chaotic place, like a coffee shop or a room where other people are talking, it can be really hard to concentrate. Our brains naturally tune into all that background noise and activity, and it takes a lot of effort to block it out and focus on what we’re learning.

Even our thoughts can be a distraction sometimes. If we’re worried about something or excited about upcoming plans, our minds might keep wandering away from our studies. Daydreaming and getting lost in our own heads can eat up a lot of time and make it hard to engage with the material we’re trying to learn.

Negative learning experiences can have a big impact on how we feel about learning in general. Bad experiences with teachers, boring classes, or a history of struggling in school, can make us dread or even fear learning new things.

Imagine having a teacher who was always critical or made you feel stupid when you asked questions. Or sitting through classes that were so dull and unengaging that you couldn’t wait for them to be over. Over time, those negative experiences can start to shape how we see ourselves as learners. We might start to believe that we’re just not good at learning, or that school is always going to be a frustrating and unpleasant experience.

Negative beliefs can hold us back. If we don’t think we’re capable of learning, we might not try as hard or take on new challenges. And then when we do struggle, it just reinforces the idea that we’re not good learners. It’s a vicious cycle that can be hard to break out of.

You might be wrong. To become an innovative and clear thinker you have to admit it. You need to realize your own stupidity to become smarter. It’s controversial but it works.

Thinking that you know everything will ruin your path to becoming a genius, and will be destructive in learning new things. You have to adapt your brain to the constant change. The realization of your own stupidity is one of the best things that you can apply to make your brain retain new information and keep learning every day, even if things seem too hard now.

Now we know what holds us back and what we shouldn’t do. Time to learn how actually to learn new things fast.

Being happy leads to better memory.

The frontal lobe, especially the prefrontal cortex, is like the boss of your brain. It handles big thinking jobs like making decisions and solving problems. It also works with other brain parts to help you think creatively and logically.

The limbic system, which has parts like the hippocampus and amygdala, is important for creativity and emotions. The hippocampus is like a storage place for memories, helping you come up with new ideas based on past experiences. The amygdala deals with feelings, making stories or ideas more interesting and relatable.

The cingulate cortex, another part of the limbic system, helps with scientific thinking and problem-solving. It’s basically the brain’s problem-solving hub.

Dopamine is a key neurotransmitter in the frontal lobe, particularly for executive functions and reward-motivated behavior. Norepinephrine and serotonin also play important roles in frontal lobe functioning related to attention, impulse control, and mood regulation.

Dopamine activates the brain’s reward system and provides pleasure, motivating you to learn and achieve goals. Serotonin helps maintain a stable mood and optimism. Norepinephrine increases alertness and attention.

The right balance of these neurotransmitters creates effective learning.

Let me explain more simply.

Being happy can boost your creativity and ability to think outside the box, making it easier to solve complex problems and come up with innovative ideas.

When you’re excited about something, it’s like adding fuel to the fire, making it burn brighter and stronger. This excitement turns into motivation, which helps you do your best work. When you’re excited, you’re more likely to pay attention and focus on what you’re learning. Your brain is actively engaged and interested in the learning material.

Try this. The next time you have something to learn or a problem to solve, you feel it’s hard to think. Try doing something that brings you joy. It could be listening to your favorite song, taking a short walk outside, doing a quick workout, or going to a cafe.

When you return to your work, you’ll likely find it easier to concentrate and come up with new ideas.

Use learning techniques

Develop focus. Put your phone on silent or in another room while you’re studying to avoid getting pulled away by notifications. Find a quiet, peaceful place to study where you won’t be interrupted or distracted by what’s going on around you. Set up a timer that will help you to concentrate on your work for a specific amount of time. I usually set a time for one hour, then take a 5-minute break.

Monitor the process, and your own thoughts. Metacognition is simply thinking about your own thinking. It’s the awareness and understanding of your own thought processes, learning strategies, and mental habits. When you engage in metacognition, you step back and reflect on how you learn, remember, and solve problems. This self-reflection allows you to identify your strengths and weaknesses as a learner, monitor your progress, and adjust your approach as needed. By developing metacognitive skills, you can become a more self-directed, effective, and lifelong learner.

If your mind keeps wandering, try to gently bring your attention back to what you’re learning. It might help to take some deep breaths or do a quick stretch to refocus.

Learn to absorb everything. Combine different senses and learning styles by reading, writing, listening, and doing. Multimodal learning creates more neural connections and cues for retrieval.

Don’t limit yourself to a specific domain. A diverse range of knowledge allows your brain to make unique connections between ideas from separate fields. Let’s say you’re interested in both psychology and economics, reading books and articles from both fields can help you see connections between human behavior and economic trends, which can lead to innovative ideas and insights. Instead of only reading bestselling books on a particular topic, try to find and read academic papers, niche publications, or lesser-known authors who offer different viewpoints and insights on the subject.

Break down complex information into smaller, more manageable “chunks” and review information at increasingly spaced intervals (e.g., 1 day, 3 days, 7 days, etc.).

Test yourself regularly. Sometimes give yourself a hard time and try to solve problems through quizzes or puzzles. Explain key concepts and procedures to yourself as if teaching someone else. if you don’t have anyone around, try explaining the information to yourself, it will help to reveal gaps in understanding and deepen your learning. Instead of just seeking quick answers, take the time to formulate thoughtful, open-ended questions that explore the deeper aspects of a topic. Aim for questions that challenge assumptions, reveal connections, and invite further investigation. By asking better questions, you engage your curiosity, think more critically, and open up new avenues for discovery and growth.

Incubate. The incubation period is a fascinating aspect of the learning process that often goes overlooked. It refers to the time between active periods of learning or problem-solving when you’re not consciously focusing on the task at hand. During this “downtime,” your brain continues to work on the problem or material in the background, even though you’re not aware of it. During the incubation period, your brain engages in a process called unconscious processing or diffuse thinking. This involves making connections between seemingly unrelated ideas, exploring different possibilities, and considering the problem from various angles. By allowing your mind to wander and make these loose associations, you may stumble upon novel solutions or deeper understandings that were previously hidden.

Get enough quality sleep. Sleep plays a crucial role in the learning process by helping your brain consolidate and strengthen new memories. During sleep, especially during the deep sleep and REM stages, your brain processes and integrates new information, transferring it from short-term to long-term memory. This memory consolidation helps you retain what you’ve learned and recall it more easily later on.

When you’re sleep-deprived, you may struggle to absorb and remember new information, as well as to think critically and solve problems effectively. Chronic sleep deprivation can even lead to long-term cognitive deficits and hinder your overall learning potential. To optimize the learning process, it’s important to prioritize getting enough quality sleep regularly. Aim for 7–9 hours of sleep per night, maintain a consistent sleep schedule, and create a sleep-conducive environment that is dark, quiet, and comfortable. By making sleep a key part of your learning routine, you can enhance your memory, understanding, and overall cognitive performance.

— Zaur

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