Mental Exertion And How Re-wiring your Self Concept and Knowledge Takes Calories

Mental and physical exertion both take a lot of energy, but we often forget how much learning costs our energy reserves.

Back in 2008, I went to the first Illustration Master Class for a week in June, and it upleveled my artwork forever.

Being in that environment was inspiring and kept my brain working hard not only during that week but for the following two weeks, too. I would close my eyes and still be processing ideas and practicing new techniques in my mind. My dreams were filled with these processes, and all of that made me ravenous!

Mental exertion takes a lot of physical effort in our brains, but until I experienced that week, this reality hadn’t even occurred to me. Creating new neural connections takes an enormous amount of energy.

One way to take advantage of all the hard work your mind does when learning a new skill is to surround yourself with others who are equally excited about the topic you’re learning about. 

There is something energetically strong about immersing yourself in an environment with others who possess the attitude and skill you desire, and who are able to see you and hold you as one of them. This helps you recreate your identity more quickly because you have that image reflected back to you by a community of others who have gone on the journey with you. It’s also super motivating.