�Who Says You Can�t Teach an Old Dog a New Trick or Two�

Looking to break the monotony of lying on a couch watching the same TV plot with different actors? Well here’s an idea – learn a foreign language. Sure it’ll take of few months to get into the swing of it, but the benefits far outweigh the loss of a few re-runs.

Now you don’t have to be perfect at this, have some fun – in fact people in foreign countries are actually quite excited and impressed that you’re even trying to speak their language.

The key keep it simple and keep at it, be patient with yourself and don’t compare yourself to native speakers – why – because you aren’t and you certainly don’t need to give yourself any more reasons why it would be better to just head back to the couch.

So here are the four good reasons to learn a second language:

#1 – More money and better job opportunities

#2 – Increased perception of intelligence

#3 – More social opportunities

#4 – More rewarding travel opportunities

In addition you might like to know that the plasticity of the brain allows it to continually adapt even in old age. Severe mental decline is more likely a result of disease, whereas most age-related loss in memory is a result of inactivity and a lack of mental stimulation. As the saying goes – Use it or lose it. As well learning a new language has been proven to increase grey matter! (That’s grey matter – not grey hair – just look at my photo)

So how do you get started – explore the internet as there are hundreds of free courses on pretty much any language that fits your fancy. Good Luck!

I don’t believe one grows older. I think that what happens early on in life is that at a certain age one stands still and stagnates.

T.S. Eliot

The Seattle Longitudinal Study states for some people their intellectual abilities begin to decline around their thirties, whereas for some there is no decline until their seventies and approximately one-third of people over seventy score higher than the average young adult and even in their eighties more than half are maintaining their competence in at least four of five primary areas.

They have also found out that people who have high scores in old age tend to be flexible and seem to have been satisfied with their accomplishments at midlife, not to have cardiovascular or other chronic diseases; to be relatively affluent and well-educated; to have stable marriages to intellectually keen spouses; to have done complex nonroutine work and led active, stimulating lives; and have maintained high perceptual processing speed.  

So if you are one of those people going around stating “well I’m getting older, things are just bound to slow down.” Truth be told it doesn’t have to be that way – because plasticity of the mind is a reality and with improved training and practice your mind can in a very short time be firing again on all cylinders.

In fact because training can improve performance or even reverse losses associated with aging implies that some degree of normally observed decline may be due to disuse and that older adult decline is partly because we no longer engage in intellectually stimulating activities.

So what do you do? Take up a musical instrument – you don’t need to join the Beatles you just need to learn. Take up a new hobby – build something you have never built before. Point being old age need not be a point of intellectual decline if you are willing to take steps to improve your mental powers.

And TV – doesn’t fit the bill

I could not, at any age, be content to take my place by the fireside and simply look on. Life was meant to be lived. Curiosity must be kept alive. One must never, for whatever reason, turn his back on life.

Eleanor Roosevelt