Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Lessons from da Vinci

“Iron rusts from disuse; water loses its purity from stagnation ... even so does inaction sap the vigor of the mind.”
~Leonardo da Vinci
Some of my favorite factoids about this man:
  • A vegetarian
  • Bought caged birds just to release them
  • Did daily aerobics and stretching exercises (yoga?!)
  • Kept journals of lists, ideas, drawings
Here is Wikihow’s (love this!) summary of the steps to think more like Leonardo da Vinci:
  1. Be curious: ask questions, cultivate an open mind
  2. Test knowledge: experience, question, learn from mistakes
  3. Refine senses: enhance sight, draw, practice mindfulness
  4. Embrace uncertainty and mystery: practice the Socratic method – ask questions rather than give answers
  5. Balance art and science, combine logic and imagination
  6. Cultivate fitness and poise: physical fitness, body awareness, ambidexterity*
  7. Recognize interconnection of all things: “systems thinking”
*Ambidexterity! This is one I can start practicing… left hand for teeth brushing, unlocking my bike, eating, etc.

4 comments:

  1. a real example of an unrelaxer

    ReplyDelete
  2. I practice ambidexterity all the time. I write and eat left handed, do most other things right handed and I switch them up all the time. It's fun.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Great post Christina. Thanks for sharing those tips on living interestingly. Wow, Leo was definitely a yogi!

    ReplyDelete