Sir Arthur Conan Doyle regards the brain as an “empty attic”. He recognized the need to supply it with metaphorical furniture, the choices of which are left to each individual. Two important cognitive functions that occur in that attic of yours are listening and creativity. Here are some tips for polishing these two metaphorical pieces of furniture.

LISTENING
“The essence of genius,” according to William James, “is knowing what to overlook.” And author Mitchell Posner urges us to be “green” when it comes to information. Here are exercises to help you be “when it comes to listening, to help you avoid verbal contamination.”

In the center of a clean sheet of paper, draw a circle. Ask a friend to find a dense paragraph in an article. (Or just go ahead and talk about something for a few minutes.) Next, extract three keywords from the verbally inflated paragraph he or she said out loud. Write those words in the circle. Now that you have the gist of what you heard, use the three words to remind yourself of the most important things you heard. Check with your friend to see if you have captured the main points.

This exercise not only sharpens your listening skills, but also your verbal fluency skills. Ask a friend to talk about a pleasant experience and to stop unexpectedly after a few minutes. You should take a word from the last sentence spoken and use it to start talking about something you enjoy doing. Stop unexpectedly and have the other person continue the conversation using a word from the last sentence you said.

Next, think about the barriers that can impede the listening process. Can you list 20 of them? Then consider which of these you can control. Finally, engage in a dialogue that refutes Dr. Leo Buscagli, who said, “Most of the conversations are just alternate monologues; the question is, is there any real listening?”

CREATIVITY
Creativity is the result, to a large extent, of the belief that we are creative. To develop the muscles of your creativity, periodically ask yourself, “What if …?” and “What could this be used for?” Questions.

Convergent responses are typical, expected, logical. For example, if you were asked how to get to heaven, you would probably say something like “Follow the golden rule.” However, if you ask a divergent-oriented child this question, you might hear, “Go to hell and turn left!” Now, “You need God’s elevator.” Now, “You need to buy a really big trampoline.”

Think divergent about these questions:

What number does not belong to the others?
3810 6024 4816 1452

Which letter belongs in the blank space? GEFJJASO ____

Which letter belongs in the blank space? OTTFFSSE ____

What national holiday do these letters represent?
ABCDEFGHIJKMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

CHALLENGE YOURSELF
Think about the symbolism associated with causes and colors. For example, we tie yellow ribbons to trees to show our support for the hostages in Iran. If the manager of your organization asked you to create a new tape layout, what would it look like? What message would it express? What initials would be significant? What color?

One of the best ways to generate creative possibilities is to put together things that are not normally aligned. (Anne Geddes made this with babies and vegetables.) List ten different items: “peacock” and “eraser,” for example. Then look through these items for a solution to a workplace problem or an improvement to an existing situation.

Remember that Einstein considered imagination more important than knowledge. Try creating some unique metaphors to describe your workplace, your neighborhood, or your life.

A PLACE FOR THE MEANINGLESS
Building those brain cells can be hard work. To counteract the burns of cognitive development, it’s okay to indulge in mental “junk food” now and then. Be encouraged by Dr. Seuss, who admits this indulgence. “I like nonsense,” he admitted. “Wake up the brain cells.”

Answer: 1-, 4816, (if you add the digits of the other three numbers, they add up to 12. 4816 adds up to 19.) 2-N. (The other letters are the first letters in the twelve months of the year.), 3-N, again. (The other letters represent the first letters in a counting sequence from One to Eight.), 4- Christmas, because there is no “L” in the list.