4 ways to keep your brain fit and combat-ready. 

Never Stop Learning

Neuroplasticity is your brain’s ability to modify, change, and adapt to new scenarios. In other words, it’s the measure of how open your brain is to learning new things and coming up with solutions on the fly. The reason young children can learn languages so quickly compared to adults is that their neuroplasticity is incredibly high – their brains are primed for maximal learning. Unfortunately, high neuroplasticity doesn't last forever. Studies have shown that neuroplasticity development slows down in the late teen years and starts decreasing by the mid-20s. 

Luckily, there is a way to preserve your brain power and stay sharp even as you age. The solution: constant learning. When you learn a new concept, skill, or movement, your brain forges and reinforces new neural pathways (these are literal physical changes to the structure of your brain). The more you learn, the more neural paths are created, thus increasing your brain’s ability to perform and access information. If you’re over the age of 25, consider learning a new language or musical instrument. You might not become a professional at your newly chosen hobby, but your brain will thank you.

Train Your Brain

Your brain isn’t a muscle, but it can still benefit from daily training. Like every other part of your body, the more activation your mind gets, the stronger it becomes. Challenge your brain regularly by learning new skills, completing puzzles, and reading. Get out of your comfort zone and force your brain to activate in new ways. Consistent brain training can improve your memory, increase your attention span, decrease reaction time, and lower your risk of developing dementia or Alzheimer's as you get older.

Seek Physical Challenge

In Tactic 1, we discussed how learning new things makes your neural network forge new links. Now, it’s time to take that a step further by engaging your entire nervous system and not just your brain. 

Learning a new mental skill is excellent, but you can make your entire body reinforce its neural networks by challenging yourself physically. When you take the time to learn a new sport or craft, your brain forges neural networks, just like we explained in Tactic 1. But now, the rest of your nervous system also builds links as it learns a new movement concept. This building of neural pathways is also the concept behind developing “old man strength'' (click the link to learn how you can unlock your grandfather’s strength while you’re still a young guy!)

If you want to supercharge your mental agility and get stronger along the way, look for a physical challenge, not just a mental one.

Have Conversations

Conversations and interactions are so commonplace in society that people often take them for granted. Despite their ubiquity, interacting with another person through dialogue or debate is an incredibly sophisticated and complex process. Your brain must juggle dozens of tasks simultaneously. Within a fraction of a second, you must listen to your partner, understand what they are saying, internalize their perspectives, form views about those perspectives, find the words to explain your opinions, and share those ideas with your partner in return.

What does this mean for your brain? It means that you can improve your mental sharpness by simply having more discussions. As you go about your day or hang out with friends, look for opportunities to have conversations or even small informal debates. Not sure how to have productive interactions and arguments that prove a point while preserving your friendships? Read our guide about the 5 Conversation Skills You Must Master!

Your physical strength will get your foot into the door at selection. But proving you belong there requires having the skills, tactics, and knowledge to adapt to changing scenarios and overcome unexpected obstacles. There’s only one problem: with the special forces lifestyle gaining so much popularity in the past few years, it can get challenging to discern what information is useful to your success. How can you ensure that you’re learning the skills you need and getting real answers to your questions? By becoming an OA Aspiring Operator. 

When you join the Operators Association, you get instant access to a community of hundreds of future, current, and retired special forces operators who can answer your questions and help you stay on the path. You also get access to many more exclusive features like OA livestreams, hundreds of episodes of the Operators Association Podcast, and invites to in-person OA events! If you’re ready to make a change and get started on the special forces pathway, it’s time to join the Operators Association. Click here to visit our memberships page and get started now!