Visual Things

As a teacher, I am seeing more and more kids who are visual learners. Though I cannot say for sure, I’m almost positive that this comes from a culture of video games, computers, and TV. They have to look at all of those things to learn how they function. In a world where visual aids are flashed before their eyes a million times a day, it would be hard not to be a visual learner in this age. So how do you teach someone who is visual? It’s not so hard for a concrete subject like history. There are countless options for visual students to learn history, but what about math or English? How do you teach the abstract? Well don’t overthink this.

First, anytime you can use an animation or a video or even a virtual lab, this is great way for the kids to learn the material. It keeps them engaged and focused on what they are doing. In the same way video games require that focus and attention to detail, visual learners will benefit from demonstrations like animations, videos, and virtual labs. Even if occasionally the teacher can get up in front of the class and demonstrate a concept, this will help student tremendously.

With the obvious things aside, you can have student create their own visual aids. Newscasts, plays, movies, and other similar projects require the students to think about the material and then translate that into some kind of visual aid. You can also calibrate the assignments, so for example if a video is over their heads then perhaps a poster or a comic book might be a better option. Make sure whatever they do that they present their work to their classmates. The repetitive nature of presentations helps keep the material in their brains longer.

Have you ever noticed that the older you get, the harder managing your time seems to become? If you’re a parent, you can blame part of your time management issues on your kids, it’s hard to be good about getting things accomplished when your teenagers spring things on you at the last second. While you might not be able to get your teenager to give you advanced warning about needing a ride to a band completion on the opposite side of the state, you’ll find that there are some things you can do to help you better manage your time.

Remember how when you were younger you set goals. By the time you graduated from high school you knew what you were going to major in, how long it was going to take you to get through your schooling, and what kind of job you were going to have when graduated. Even though you might not have achieved all of your goals, you were able to use them to keep you focused and moving forward. You need to get back into the habit of setting goals for yourself.

The next time the house is quiet, you need to sit down and make a list of a few long term goals that you have and make a note about when you want to accomplish them. Once you have this list, you can start breaking things down into smaller goals, benchmarks, until you finally have an idea about what you need to do every single day so that you can achieve your long term goals. Every day you need to post your daily goal in a prominent place so that you know what you have to do. Make working towards your daily goals you’re top priority. Don’t relax until they’ve been completed. You’ll be surprised by how much have a few daily goals makes you more focused and better about managing your time.

There is no question that the mind has incredible power over the human body. This is a concept that has been studied, documented, and relied upon for centuries. This mind-body connection can greatly benefit or hinder you in the journey towards your goals, depending on which way you choose to visualize yourself and the progression towards these goals.

Visualizing yourself as you would choose to be can help you bring this goal into reality. The success of visualization can be attributed to the power of the subconscious mind, which doesn’t know the difference between that which is imagined and something that is real.

Our brains naturally process information visually, using pictures and images. To get started visualizing yourself thin, follow these steps:

1- Relax- Take a few deep breaths and close your eyes.

2- Try to imagine the image of yourself in your mind of the body that you desire to have. Picture yourself already thin. Feel yourself thin. Visualize what it looks like, feels like, sounds like, and seems like.

3- Imprint this picture in your mind. Spend a few minutes intensely sensing and experiencing what it feels like to be thing in this moment, to fully have reached your desired outcome.

4- Slowly allow yourself to come back to reality. Take a few deep breaths and slowly open your eyes.

5- Hold that vision in your mind. Use it when you’re lying in bed at night trying to go to sleep as well as when you wake up each morning.

You can replay this visual image of a thinner you anytime you need motivation. See yourself looking and feeling wonderful! Your mind CAN influence your body as long as you align your actions with the vision you hold.