Many would assume if you work or live on a university campus you would have a leading edge on intellectual wellness. Conversely, employees and students are often engaging in the same intellectual activities on a weekly basis in parallel to the daily tasks of life management. Part of intellectual wellness is stepping away from the mundane patterns of doing and being curious by exploring the unexplored.
Finding the spark
There are opportunities to ignite the spark of curiosity all over a university campus, as well as in the surrounding or outlying communities, or even at home. Below are ideas helping you to explore and discover what may spark your curiosity.
Mini-road trips: Take to the road and see what is around the next corner. You might be missing out on a great experience. Pick a spot on the map and click your way to Trip Advisor and find out the highly rated activities or places to see for that area.
Read for pleasure: Pick up a fiction book, noted to be beneficial for brain health, and read your way into a different world than your own.
Express your creativity: Everyone has the capacity to be creative. Find your creative groove and express yourself! Creativity can sharpen the brain and support emotional wellness.
Ditch the rut: Do something different, whether it’s taking a different way to work or school, ordering something different to drink or eat. You might see or experience something new that you enjoy and would have not known otherwise.
Set aside bias: Preconceived judgments about a person, place, event, etc. prevents us from experiencing something that can actually help us gain knowledge and enrich our lives for the better.
Open the events calendar: Our campus has an amazing number of diversified events available for employees and students. We are fortunate to have these opportunities at our doorstep. Open the door and see what’s outside.
Start a project you are excited about: What have you been putting off for that perfect time in the future? Why put off something that could bring enjoyment? Start learning the how to, planning, strategizing, and putting the action into the project.
Volunteer in our community: Giving of ourselves can be both gratifying and help you stretch as a person by gaining new experiences, skills, perspectives, and meeting new people. The Center for Community Engagement and Service Learning is a great place to get started.
Travel abroad: Is there a place you have always wanted to go, a place you are curious about? Start researching, planning, saving money to go, and get excited! If you are a student or faculty, consider taking part in a study abroad program.
If you are looking for any other ideas, a familiar childhood character to many, Curious George knows nothing but being curious. Maybe that is why Curious George is still around today! Find your yellow hat, or any hat will do, and follow in George’s footsteps and be curious!
Where do you currently stand in your intellectual wellness? Take the intellectual assessment and find out.
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Join SEVEN
Challenge yourself to make YOU a priority! SEVEN is a free program from Health Promotion and Wellness for students, faculty, and staff that focuses on the importance of the seven dimensions of wellness: emotional, environmental, intellectual, physical, social, spiritual, and vocational. SEVEN runs from September to the end of April, and you can join at any time. Participants log wellness activities to earn points toward monthly prize drawings and compete toward end of the year overall point totals. Participants also receive the SEVEN e-newsletter and information on campus wellness events.
