One of the games that Santa left under our tree this year was Mad Gab. Perhaps he was generous and left it for you as well. It’s a fun game, and my family and I had many laughs as we played it over the holiday.
The game is played by reading the nonsense words on the card, listening to the sounds you are reading, and coming up with the phrase that it represents. For example, on one card, the words read “Dish Harp Her Rim Edge.” As you say those words phonetically, listen to the sounds you are saying and come up with the phrase that it sounds like. The answer is “The Sharper Image.”
The interesting thing about the game is that it forced me, a visual learner, to have to close my eyes and listen to what was being said. Rather than use my eyes to read, I was forced to use my ears to hear. It was a fun challenge, but it made me think about how we rely on our senses, and that we are not tuned into them nearly enough.
Psychologists agree that there are basically 3 learning styles – visual learners, auditory learners and kinesthetic learners. Visual learners make up approximately 65% of the population. Visual learners primarily collect information with their eyes. They prefer images, media, graphics, illustrations and charts. They tend to remember details in picture form.
Auditory learners make up about 30% of our population. Auditory learners primarily collect information with their ears. They learn by hearing sounds and often repeat things over and over out loud or silently, in order to remember them.
About 5% of the population are kinesthetic learners. These people learn through touch and movement. They learn by doing something, practicing it and through the physical interaction that requires.
As you read these descriptions, which one seems to fit you the best? Some people use more than one style, and some are fortunate enough to use all three. However, most of us primarily use one learning style.
The game made me recall how strongly visual I am. Hearing the sounds was difficult for me, and I had to close my eyes in order to figure out the phrases. It left me wondering what I have been missing when I rely mainly on my eyes. What haven’t I heard or tasted because I was only ’seeing’? I realized that I need to challenge myself to use the other senses. I need to reach out and touch, as well as close my eyes and hear. I need to pay more attention to tastes and stop and smell more frequently.
What about you? When was the last time you really tasted a food rather than just swallowing it? What was the last scent you smelled or the last noise you heard? Did you notice any of those things, or did they just pass you by?
This week, I am challenging you to use your senses. Pay more attention to the world around you by focusing on all five of them. During the week, stop from time to time and smell. Close your eyes and hear. Eat slowly so you can enjoy the taste of the food on your tongue. Touch something and pay attention to how it feels. Or look at something more closely to see what you might have passed by before. By stepping outside of your norm, you might discover something you hadn’t known before.
Enjoy your week – fully!
Love, Kelli
*Statistics gathered from http://www.ldpride.net/learningstyles.MI.htm