How to keep your brain active. The undebatable role of fear and work

The law of thrilling threesome between fear, work and keeping your brain active states; the lesser the work you engage in, the more your brain ignores fear unto it death. And that’s a fact!

Think of that this speed-ish feeling you get when you have a number of items gawking at you from your to-do list. Notice, you never feel it when you have only one assignment due in a gazillion weeks. But when everything crowds the eleventh hour, it shows up and summons some invisible power enabling you bulldoze insane amount of work; the measure you wouldn’t handle on an ordinary day.

Do you wonder how your body is able to mobilize such power, wisdom and seem to manifest extra hands to do the work for you?

“Think fear. It’s the lighthouse that calls you to act and act fast for that matter.”

Magdalene Kamau – Otieno

Some spiced up, sassy and domineering relative of fear. By now, you already know that fear keeps your brain active by shouting one of three strong orders at will. But to make sure we are on the same page, let me clear this fast.

Where Does the Brain Activity Game Begin?

So first, fear could order your brain;

“Hey lift your hands up, scream and fly out of here!”

That’s when you get Spiderman’s ability to fly over sky-high walls and gigantic buildings. If you have ever had to flee from a Brazilian Mastiff, then you know what I mean. Don’t try to jump over the same when fear hasn’t asked for it.

But again, fear can shriek,

“Ok, time to die – ACTION!”

With that, you freeze. No matter what you try to do, your body believes the process of rigor mortis has begun. Every muscle stiffens and you feel like a well ironed starched shirt. Think of as the kind of fear that seizes you when the debt collector visits your office and there’s no one at the reception to slow him down. Even a book falling from your desk seems to obey it. Freeze!

But when fear realizes that your brain is tired of the torment and has decided to man or woman up, it says

“Bring it on M***** F****!”

It rolls up your sleeves and throws a million Mayweather punches at light speed. As much as that sounds disastrous, it saves the day. At the scent of this kind of fear, your brain activity increases producing adequate adrenaline to fight whatever comes your way.

This kind of fear is the sassy relative I’m talking about; it’s generated when you have plenty of assignments that you must get done by dusk. It gathers all energy in your system and commands your brain to distribute it as necessitated. Every organ is instructed to focus; hold the pee, hammer the keyboard fast and read in capital letters; two lines at a time. Go!

Is This Fear Important For Your Brain Activity?

Let’s first look at the leeward side of it.

You go to sleep after completing that huge assignment; the last but one. The next one is due next month and in between there’s nothing scheduled. Your website doesn’t need tweaking, no Facebook page to update, no article to write and no client to call in the morning. So, your brain strides to dreamland where you are chilling at the beach on a hot Sunday afternoon. It orders for you the umpteenth helping of fresh coconut juice from the push cart parked a stone-throw away.

Just when you are about to ask for more, your cruel alarm rings for the first time; 5.05 am. Your brain whispers, “Relax, it’s a whistle from the teens playing beach volleyball over there.”

So you roll to the other side of your Lillian August Bella bed, push the covers off your body and shift your snore a few decibels higher. Since your alarm understands its place in your house, it waits till 6.07 pm and sirens again.

This time, your brain charms, “Isn’t that orange in the sunset cute?”

You roll again. Your leg remembers of the many times it has walked to your client’s office because you ran out of gas and attempts to leave the bed. It fails to reach the floor. It hangs mid-air for the next hour hoping you will ignore the brain and get up. You don’t.

7.35 am; your friend calls fearing the worst.

“Why in the world aren’t you online? Did your house catch fire with you inside?”

Irritated by the question, you thump the phone searching for the ‘shut up’ button and serve him the injustice.

You see, your brain sees no reason to get up. There’s nothing telling it to flee from sleep or fight the Delilah dreams. It can’t tell your body to freeze since the debt collector aka your landlord hasn’t shown up, yet. Don’t blame it for not insisting on waking you up, running to the shower as your kettle boils so you could begin working.

If you went to bed with a song of victory and no enemy pacing around your castle, why should your brain want to wake up and work? Even holiday comes before work in the dictionary, duh?

What if your mental desk’s in-tray is languishing under the pressure of your to-do list?

Even if you set the alarm to chirp after four hours of garlic-influenced deep sleep, your brain would find a way to remind you of the list. The twenty-something unattended clients you have to win; not to mention the possible loss of referrals.

Boy, don’t you want them all!

So, to prove its worth, your brain would fast forward your sleep; the four hours become three and a half with nothing carried forward. The last hour’s sixty minutes would run in parallel; two minutes at a time. Even before your alarm rings, your brain would call off the rest and summon your body to work.

“Fear at its worst sets up a sense of responsibility; the ‘we gotta do something’ atmosphere.”

Magdalene Kamau – Otieno

Does This Fear Keep Your Brain Active and Healthy in anyway?

That depends on your definition of health.

If the simultaneous absence of flu and presence of cash to buy tonight’s dinner spells health to you, behold, you are healthy. But I bet that’s not all you want; is it?

Let me guess; to say the least, health to you means good relationships; with clients, friends and family. It also means a happy bank account serviced by your passive investments and your ability to visit the awe-inspiring destinations once a year in the absence of the flu, right?

This gives the relationship between fear, work and keeping your brain active a brand new meaning; call it the un-partable-with! Where even after completing the urgent assignments, you swear never to let your brain think everything is done.

How To Fire Up The Threesome Affair Between Fear, Work and Keeping Your Brain Active for Your Own Good.

It’s simple; before going to bed, plan to have an active tomorrow. Prepare your to-do list before going to bed in anticipation for a great new day ahead. This allows your brain to carry something juicy to dreamland when you go to sleep.

Remember, there’s always something pending even when everything seems done; in business, employment or in your studies.  You weren’t created for idleness, in fact your first gift in life was a piece of land to till. Work!

Does that mean you shouldn’t take a break?

Six days you shall work and rest on the seventh.

The Holy Bible

Need I say more?

So, it’s time to face that thing you have been shoving aside while you know for sure it can make someone’s life worth living. Sorry to burst your bubble but, life isn’t always about you.

Think about this; when you add content to your website like I have done by creating this article, it’s not about me. You and someone else on the other side of the globe needs the wisdom and encouragement. So, don’t be stingy; write!

Breathe life into that innovation you have been pushing aside waiting for some competition with a reward to pop up from the blues. Someone’s life depends on it, so build it. Remember, your life depends on others too; what you hold back, restrains what’s yours.

Never keep your brain idle while embracing procrastination like a long lost relative. A brain that’s not active deserves to die, and dying it does; gradually and painfully. Don’t sit and watch your memory slugging, your mental-math ability failing and your attitude towards life turn into a rotting garbage dump. Embrace fear, work and keep that brain active!