Feel Younger Than You Are? Here's Why You're On To Something Good
It seems that to some extent, we really are as young as we feel. But how do we know which is the chicken and the egg? Are people who feel younger simply healthier to start with or are they so keen on being young that they actually take better care of themselves and therefore live longer?
Being Busy All The Time Is A Habit You Made. You Can Unmake It.
The current approach today is essentially we’ve entered into a culture of freneticism—that’s a Big Think word, and that means we’re really busy. But I believe we’ve created the business on ourselves.
Here's What Happens After The Clocks Change: Sleep Desynchronosis
At this time of year, many of us delight in the extra hour of sleep that comes with turning the clocks back. However, when spring rolls around, we invariably curse the loss of sleep that accompanies setting the clocks forward.
On Experiencing Shame and the Inner Critic
Everyone knows what it’s like to be knocked off center, to lose their inner sense of balance and groundedness, at least temporarily, when faced with life’s unwanted curve balls. Whether it’s a troubling health diagnosis, the death of a loved one, a serious car accident, a layoff, or a natural disaster, life can intensely challenge our resilience.
When You Hit A Limit, Learn To Ask Different Questions
Talk to high-school students preparing for their science exams, and you’ll probably hear two things: that they’re scared of physics, and relatively comfortable with biology. Strangely, this is contrary to the view of most researchers.
Standing Up and Stepping In: Taking Personal Responsibility for Your Life
Being passive developed as a pattern for a really good reason -- we were avoiding feeling our emotions (especially sadness) and had to find some place to channel the sensations we were experiencing. Maybe dad was a tyrant and we felt like we had no choice but to be quiet and duck. Maybe our classmates laughed at us when we made a mistake, and we decided being shy was safer.
How Your Birth Date Influences How Well You Do In School, And Later In Life
Whether you were born in December, January, August or September can have a significant and long-lasting impact on your life. Our new research shows your birthday month may also contribute to shaping your personality. In particular, we found people’s self-confidence can significantly differ because of their month of birth.
Going From Conflict to Resolution: Using Aikido Principles to Resolve Conflict
Roger Fisher (1922–2012) served as a reconnaissance pilot in World War II and then graduated from Harvard Law School, becoming a professor there in 1958. Witnessing maiming and death firsthand during the war and then seeing the destructive effects of costly, protracted litigation as a partner in a major law firm, Fisher was passionate about finding more creative alternatives to resolve conflict.
Research Finds That 40% Of People Over 50 Drink Too Much
Mention hazardous drinking and most of us imagine teenagers or students getting drunk, causing havoc and filling our emergency departments on a Friday night. But what if I told you that we should be just as worried about how much our parents and grandparents are drinking?
5 Things You Didn't Know About Psychopaths
Most people think they know what a psychopath is: someone who has no feelings. Someone who probably tortured animals for fun when they were little. But here are five things you probably didn’t know about psychopaths.
Give-Up-Itis: When People Just Give Up And Die
The term give-up-itis was coined by medical officers during the Korean War (1950-1953). They described it as a condition where a person develops extreme apathy, gives up hope, relinquishes the will to live and dies, despite the lack of an obvious physical cause.
How Measuring Performance By Numbers Backfires
More and more companies, government agencies, educational institutions and philanthropic organisations are today in the grip of a new phenomenon. I’ve termed it ‘metric fixation’. The key components of metric fixation are the belief that it is possible – and desirable – to replace professional judgment (acquired through personal experience and talent) with numerical indicators of comparative performance based upon standardised data (metrics); and that the best way to motivate people within these organisations is by attaching rewards and penalties to their measured performance.
Men And Women Process Motion At Different Speeds
On average, men pick up on visual motion significantly faster than women do, according to a new study. Humans’ ability to notice moving objects has always been a useful skill, good for avoiding an animal predator in ancient times and crossing a busy street in the modern world.
This Body Clock Trick Makes Us More Patient
Seeing time tick down quickly on a countdown clock may give people more patience than seeing time pass slowly would. In a series of experiments, the speed of a countdown clock affected the patience and decision-making of video game players, both during and after the game, according to David Reitter, associate professor of information sciences and technology at Penn State.
How Our Brains Predict Where Speedy Objects Will Go
New research may explain why some people—like sports stars—anticipate and react to fast-moving objects much quicker than others. When Serena Williams returns a lightning-quick tennis serve—most of us marvel at her skill and speed. Considering what the human brain overcomes to make it happen, these kinds of feats are nothing short of miraculous.
Where Healing Really Lives
My friend Mark has been a physician for over 40 years. Recently he told me a story that helped me understand what real healing is.
Why Life Is Not a Race You'd Want To Win
Before I met my wife I was always rushing; rushing to get to the store, rushing to reach my goals, rushing through life hoping to get there faster.
Attaining Balance Between The Two Halves Of The Brain
We feel good when both the rational and emotional parts of our brain interact perfectly and are in balance. Things to do with our feelings and emotions are dealt with by the right side, while the left side handles analytical thinking.
Each One Of Us Can Be A Miracle For Someone Else
Miracles happen all the time. You probably know someone who has had a miracle happen to them, or maybe a miracle has happened to you.
The Leaders of the Future and The Evolution of Leadership Consciousness
How will the evolution of humanity’s consciousness be reflected in leadership practice? How will the aims of leadership evolve, and what will leadership look like in the new “global” world?
Habit Hacking: Optimizing Your Settings
While healthy eating, regular physical exercise, stress management, and getting enough sleep constitute advice that our grandparents might have provided, we all need the tools to move from knowing to doing, from thought to belief to massive action.
Giving Busy the Boot: Kicking Your Busy Habits
The busy habit is just like any other habit — breaking it takes practice. You may be accustomed to rushing from place to place, saying yes when you really need and want to say no, or being the go-to person all the time, and it’s exhausting! I’m sure you know far too well what that feels like...
Should You Shield Yourself From Others’ Abhorrent Beliefs?
Many of our choices have the potential to change how we think about the world. Often the choices taken are for some kind of betterment: to teach us something, to increase understanding or to improve ways of thinking. What happens, though, when a choice...
Dancing with Life: Being Flexible, Making Adjustments, and Going with the Flow
Human beings have essentially two modes or mind-sets that we operate or live in, with, of course, some shades of gray in between. We have what you might call a healthy mode, and another, which you can think of as reactive. When we are in our healthiest state of mind, we 'dance' with life. We're...
Young Drivers Don't Know How To Be Safe Around Trucks - Here's How To Teach Them
Transport experts have warned that rising inner city populations and demand for new infrastructure could lead to more collisions, serious injuries, and possibly fatalities involving heavy vehicles, such as trucks.
Are Stereotypes About The Millennial Generation True?
Writer Michael Hobbes says there are too many stereotypes about millennials. So, there are three things that every millennial should know. The first one is that there is no evidence for any of the stereotypes about us.
Where Is This Coming From? And What's The Bottom Line?
When something is taking place and you don't feel in harmony within yourself, ask yourself one simple question: "Where is this coming from?" Keep repeating the question and take it step by step until you get to the "bottom line" -- a basic belief you hold which is instrumental in creating your reactions (and your reality).
The Law of Least Effort is the Fourth Spiritual Law of Success
Least effort is expended when your actions are motivated by love, because nature is held together by the energy of love. When you seek power and control over other people, you waste energy. But when your actions are motivated by love, there is no waste of energy, your energy multiplies and accumulates.
Awareness is Power in the School of Life
Life is a great school, and nature is the ultimate teacher, but without awareness, or free attention, we miss life's teachings. Awareness transforms life experience into wisdom, and confusion into clarity. Awareness is the beginning of all growth.
10 Ways To Get On Top Of Your Overloaded Email Inbox
Most of us are addicted to email. Some estimates say we spend nearly five and a half hours each weekday checking it.
How Setting A Schedule Can Make You Less Productive
It can seem like there’s never enough time – not enough for sleep and not enough for play, not enough for cooking and not enough for exercise.
When Possessions Are Poor Substitutes For People: Hoarding Disorder And Loneliness
A decomposed, mummified body of a man was recently found by forensic cleaners in a Sydney apartment. The apartment’s owner is thought to have suffered from hoarding disorder, and police believe the decomposed body had been there for more than ten years.
Why You Don’t Have A Right To Believe Whatever You Want To
Do we have the right to believe whatever we want to believe? This supposed right is often claimed as the last resort of the wilfully ignorant, the person who is cornered by evidence and mounting opinion
Why Medicine Leads The Professions In Suicide, And What We Can Do About It
Earlier this year, one of us visited a prominent U.S. medical school to give a lecture on the topic of burnout and how physicians can find more fulfillment in the practice of medicine.
Where Do Our Stressful Thoughts And Beliefs Come From?
The moment we can ask ourselves “Does this thought have anything to do with reality?” “Is this thought true?” we are starting to wake up. This understanding breaks the bondage, which is our total identification with thoughts, and empowers us to wake up from the dream state.
Some People With Synaesthesia Feel Other People's Sensations Of Touch
Your brain is a fascinating piece of machinery. It has remarkable capacity for development. Very subtle changes in how the brain develops, or in how it responds, can lead to us experiencing the world in vastly different ways.
Can Self-Control Be Learned, and Why Does It Matter?
Is self-control something you can acquire, like a new language or a taste for opera? Or is it one of those things you either have or don’t, like fashion sense or a knack for telling a good joke?
How Positions Of Power Fuel Narcissism
Endowing people with social power inflates the socially-toxic component of narcissism called exploitation and entitlement, according to new research.
Our Centuries-Long Quest For A Quiet Place
The history of this quest for quietness, which I’ve explored by digging through archives, reveals something of a paradox: The more time and money people spend trying to keep unwanted sound out, the more sensitive to it they become.
Why That Cigarette, Chocolate Bar, Or New Handbag Feels So Good
Problems with our ability to manage or maintain our pursuit of pleasure often lie at the root of many neuropsychiatric disorders such as addiction and depression.
Why Stock Investors On Higher Floors Take More Risks
Stocks have been on a bumpy ride lately as concerns over a trade war prompt investors to rethink their appetite for risk. But what prompts people to take risks in the first place? A desire for wealth? Fear of failure? Personality? Gender? Age? Education? Race?
Outsmarting Your Doubting Voices and Valuing Your Natural Abilities
Women have long had the self-destructive habit of discounting themselves and their natural abilities. This is a common gremlin, assuming that what comes easily to us is not valuable or unique. It's all part of our training to push others into the limelight and be a support person rather than...
Why You Stink At Fact Checking
Research from cognitive psychology shows that people are naturally poor fact-checkers and it is very difficult for us to compare things we read or hear to what we already know about a topic. In what’s been called an era of “fake news,” this reality has important implications for how people consume journalism, social media and other public information.
Creating A Life Of Positive Meaning
Granny was satisfied with life. Despite adversity, she did not dwell on or run from the disappointments of life; she courageously faced hardship by grieving, accepting, forgiving, and moving on. She made mistakes. But instead of living with regret, she made the effort to make a better choice the next time she faced a similar situation.
Tattoos Through The Lens Of Consciousness
Believe it or not, your tattoo, and what it represents, is captured in your consciousness. It is immortally etched into your cellular memory and will either enhance or lower your vibration, based on the intention and emotions imbued at its creation.
How To Ensure That "Luck" Is On Your Side
"He's so lucky! She always wins! I'm just not lucky!" Do these statements sound familiar? Have they come out of your mouth at times? Do you believe that luck is something that happens to some and not to others? ...
Changing...Instantly: It's A Lot Easier Than You Think
Mechanical behaviors are old ways of doing things that once worked, or appeared to have worked, in situations that were stressful or in situations that were actual or perceived as potentially endangering your survival.
The Role Women Played In Getting Dyslexia Recognized
Dyslexia affects up to 10% of the population and is widely accepted as a learning difficulty that can cause problems with (among other things) reading, writing and spelling. But it hasn’t always been this way.
What Can We Do To Curtail Anxiety And Depression Among College Students?
Many of us think of college as a wondrous time of new experiences and great freedom to explore new ideas and find one’s true self. In recent years, however, depression and anxiety have afflicted college students at alarming rates.
Mind Over Mountain
My first time hiking I was in physical distress just walking uphill. Resting briefly, I recovered and continued. I began imagining a string at the top of my head connected to the top of the mountain. The peak was pulling me to it. I also imagined myself standing on the summit.
Why Having A Tattoo Of Your Lover's Name Has Been A Bad Idea
Every Valentine’s Day we are reminded about the importance of showing our commitment to our lovers – whether we are married to them or not. For some people this might mean getting a tattoo of their lover’s name or initials.
Are You Soul Conscious...or in Trance?
Any moment in which we are unaware and out of balance and harmony, then we are in trance. When we are feeling superior and feel justified in our judgments, we are in trance. When we feel inferior or unworthy, we are in trance. Streams of past, future, or worrisome thoughts that surface...
Learning Our Lessons Through Crisis and Life Stories
Sad but true, we all grow out of the soil of pain....The crises that arise in our lives are here to serve us, not to hurt us. As counterintuitive as this sounds, crisis is nothing more than your own soul trying to get your attention, to show you your path. The soul uses pain, crisis, and trauma to wake us up.
Trying To Give Up A Bad Habit?
Let me set you a task. For the next minute, I want you to not think about Donald Trump. You must block all thoughts of Trump from your mind.
Why The Difficult Person At Work Probably Isn't A Psychopath
As workplaces become increasingly difficult and damaging environments, there are plenty of articles and books on dealing with “psychopaths” among your colleagues.
Of Horseshoe Crabs and Empathy
The crabs and kelp and eels are all gone. The mind searches for the cause – to understand, to blame, and then to fix – but in a complex non-linear system, it is often impossible to isolate causes. This quality of complex systems collides with our culture’s general approach to problem-solving, which is first to identify the cause, the culprit, the germ, the pest, the badguy, the disease, the wrong idea, or the bad personal quality, and second to dominate, defeat, or destroy that culprit.
To Better Focus On A New Task, Try This Plan
When you have to switch tasks at work, making a plan to return to and finish the task you’re leaving can help you better focus on the new, interrupting work, according to new research.
Why Your Morals May Be More Flexible Than You Think
Disapproval of qualities people often associate with immorality such as selfishness, dishonesty, sexual infidelity, and mercilessness is conditional, rather than universal, according to a new study.
How Self-Control Helps You Stick With New Year's Resolutions
Many of us have decided that things will be different in 2018. We’ll eat better, get more exercise, save more money or finally get around to decluttering those closets.
The Yaqui Deer Dancer: The Art of Becoming What You Are Doing
To perform, whether surgery or dance, we must practice. We practice doing what we cannot do. By giving ourselves wholly to practicing we may transcend practicing, and find ourselves playing, with mind, body, heart and soul fully surrendered.
The Psychology Of The Clutch Athlete
“I don’t know. It’s unbelievable. It’s amazing,” said Dodgers outfielder Enrique “Kiké” Hernandez after game 5 of the National League Championship Series, when he became the first Dodger in the team’s 134-year history to hit three home runs in a postseason game.
How To Go From Chronic People-Pleasing to Empowered Assertiveness
What if your Inner Compass tells you to do something that goes against the wishes of your family? What then? What do you do? Give up your dream? Don't listen to your Inner Compass? Grit your teeth and get on with your family's plan for you and your life?
Is It Possible To Boost Your Intelligence By Training?
Scientists achieved astonishing results when training a student with a memory training programme in a landmark experiment in 1982.
How Can You Make It Easier To Wake Up In The Morning?
Getting a good sleep can be tough, and this can lead to feeling less than refreshed when you wake up in the morning.
Do Different Drinks Make You Different Drunk?
Reports of a study linking different kinds of alcoholic drinks with different mood states were making the rounds recently.
Some Brain Training Programs Cut Dementia Risk
Certain cognitive training via the computer may reduce the risk of dementia among older adults, researchers report. “…we found that those who received more training also gained a greater protective benefit…”
Why Working With Buddies Can Improve Performance
We routinely work together with other people. Often, we try to achieve shared goals in groups, whether as a team of firefighters or in a scientific collaboration.
On Being Kind and Opening Our Heart In Challenging Situations
I woke up in a pissy mood recently, committed to gloom before I had even rolled out of bed. Still grumpy that afternoon, I went to the supermarket, only to be greeted by the sweetest checkout clerk ever. I couldn’t resist her happy eyes and huge smile.
It's Time To Take A Stand and Lead The Way
“They,” whoever they are, say that if you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for anything. What do you stand for? A handful of courageous activists like Mahatma Gandhi, Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King, Mother Theresa, Gloria Steinem, and Nelson Mandela, have changed the world because of their stand. But the idea of taking a stand...
Sometimes One Head Is Better Than Two When It Comes To Decisions
Decision making is an integral part of our everyday life. When it comes to important decisions, we generally want to work with others – assuming that groups are better than individuals.
Is Truth Overrated? What The Experts Say
Seek the truth and minimize harm. That’s how we instruct young journalists to prepare for the profession. Until recently, factual, objective reporting has been the mantra of modern journalism. But is objectivity a relevant concept in the era of fake news, filter bubbles and alternative facts?
The Real Energy Shortage Lies In Unexpressed Potential
Analysts tell us that the pending collision between humanity's growing energy needs and the energy depletion of our planet will lead to global economic collapse within fifty to one hundred years, unless we make drastic changes in the way we do things.
What We Know, Don’t Know And Suspect Causes Depression
The term and even diagnosis of “depression” can have different meanings and consequences. Depression can be a normal mood state, a clinical disorder, and even a disease.
The Science Of Being Nice: How Politeness Is Different From Compassion
The word “nice” has an unusual history in the English language. Originally a term for “foolish”, its meaning over the centuries has morphed from “wanton” to “reserved” to “fastidious”. These days, it has become...
What Happens To Your Body When You're Stressed
We all feel stressed from time to time – it’s all part of the emotional ups and downs of life. Stress has many sources, it can come from our environment, from our bodies, or our own thoughts and how we view the world around us.
A Limited View of Life: It's Time for a Change in Perception
So many of our problems arise from a fundamental disconnection with our own awareness, our own wisdom, and the natural world. Once we disconnect ourselves from what we know, and what is real, we are free to careen headlong into...
Why Learning Disabilities Do Not Define Who You Are
I am an educator of educators. I teach others how to be the best teachers. But, I’m also different. I have learning challenges.
Can You Solve The Lions And Lambs Classic Game Theory Puzzle?
How many lions does it take to kill a lamb? The answer isn’t as straightforward as you might think. Not, at least, according to game theory
Want To Develop Grit And Perseverance? Take Up Surfing
Grit describes the ability to persevere with long-term goals, sustaining interest and energy over months or years.
Dealing with The Clutter of Becoming a "Better Me"
I’ve noticed that a number of recent self-improvement books use the phrase becoming a better you. The problem with trying to be a “better you” is the implication that you are not okay now. It also presumes that there’s an objective standard of okayness. Often we want to be “better” so that...
How to Live Your Well Life Plan with Greater Efficiency
Feeling chronically overwhelmed, beset by obstacles, and short on time can really get in the way of living a Well Life. Obstacles are unavoidable, but these issues can often be effectively managed by simply improving your efficiency. Here are some of the best approaches we’ve found for becoming more efficient and reclaiming your time.
And Then What? A Mantra for Inner Peace
I’d like to share a very useful tool for bringing your mind back to the present moment when it is trying to cling to something that hasn’t happened yet. It realigns your perspective of whatever is pulling you into the future and reengages you with the now.
How You Keep Things In Mind Over The Short Term
When you need to remember a phone number, a shopping list or a set of instructions, you rely on what psychologists and neuroscientists refer to as working memory.
Hard Work, Not Confucian Mentality, Underpins Chinese Success
Our study of ethnically Chinese people in Malaysia shows some of the assumptions about what leads to their business success might be wrong.
A Mind is a Terrible Thing to Waste: Five Practices for Greater Mental Health
We are mortal, and a certain amount of deterioration is inevitable with age. Even so, the following Practices will improve your mental processes, while the lack of them contributes to mental deterioration...
Can You Come Out from Under the Influence of Others?
Are you ready to come out from under the influence of others and learn how to listen to your inner wisdom? You can discover your truth and find the confidence to express it through your creativity, relationships – wherever the adventure of life takes you.
The Tyranny Of Competence: Why It Is Bad For Us To Be Good Enough
Our modern working lives are ruled by the concept of competence. Competence based interviews are used to decide if we should get a job. If we do get the job, we are then trained to achieve competency in the workplace.
How To Be A Champion In Your Everyday Life
Anyone can be a champion, whether they are Steph Curry of the Golden State Warriors, the janitor of your child’s elementary school, a grocery store clerk, a local park ranger, or the second-string quarterback on your peewee football team. It happens when one becomes...
How Swearing Can Help You Boost Your Physical Performance
A few years ago my good friend Mark Foulks occupied the rear seat of a tandem on a sponsored long distance cycle ride from Berkshire to Barcelona.
How You Can Say Good-Bye to Rejection Forever
At some point in our lives we all come face to face with feelings of rejection. These feelings can be brought about by many situations. Let’s examine the circumstances related to feeling rejected. First...
Upending The Myth Of The Super Successful College Dropout
When Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg was asked to give this year’s commencement address at Harvard, he asked for advice from Bill Gates.
Is Your Life Filled with Drama? Are You Giving Away Your Power?
Dramas are the unconscious, personal, and emotional conflicts that we create with others, or with life situations. Many human beings spend much time or even their entire lives engaging in drama, for in their disempowered alienation from...
Chimpanzees Hunting For Honey Are Very Very Clever
Chimpanzees are the closest living relatives to humans. Because of this they can offer invaluable insights into understanding the evolutionary roots of how humans developed their cognitive and technological abilities.
Even Students Who Perform Extremely Well On Math Exams Can Suffer From Anxiety
The better a student does at math, the more strongly anxiety will drag his or her performance down, new research shows.
How To Let Go of Guilt, Shame and Failure
Q: You talk about guilt as a great human weakness. I was brought up in a family where I was made to feel guilty for everything, and find it difficult to transcend this deep-seated emotion. How would you suggest I banish guilt from my life...
The Real Work Can Begin When We Allow Uncertainty
Our current political climate is volatile, scary, and uncertain. But maybe the not knowing and the confusion will finally allow us to arrive at a true beginning.
Some Alternatives To The Fantasies That Guide Our Lives
Look, I know you think fantasies are fun, sexy, and cool, whether you dream of being Cinderella or Prince Charming, or that your love will be passionate, available, rich, gorgeous, and lovable.
When It Comes To Love: Raging Waterfalls or Quiet Rivers?
Raging waterfall love is the kind that makes you lose your head, your focus, your center, and pretty much all your roots at the same time. It is the kind of love that gives you such an adrenaline kick each time that you cannot think about anything else...
The Importance of Your Daydreams and Mind Wanderings
Our attention is affected by the ultradian rhythm that alters our attention span every 90 to 120 minutes throughout the day. Mind Wandering naturally occurs at the end of this cycle, as well as after any intense cognitive task. Mind Wandering is our mind’s way of forcing us to give it a rest.