How To Make Your Life Better By Sending Five Simple Emails
w to make your life better? All you need is email. I've covered a lot of research on how to make your life better but many people struggle with implementing changes because it seems like a major undertaking. It doesn't have to be. You can make strides in 5 fundamental areas by just sending 5 emails. HAPPINESS Every morning send a friend, family member or co-worker an email to say thanks for something. Might sound silly but it's actually…
4 minutes
Which books can teach you how to be the best you?
at will teach you how to be the best you? There's been an explosion in social psychology and neuroscience books. That's great -- but many of them are too focused on theory, trivia, or are too general to be useful. And many that are legitimate just aren't an easy read for the average person. Which books can really teach you how to be the best you? What if you're an introvert? What to read: Quiet by Susan Cain What…
2 minutes
Does nearly being murdered change your life forever?
being stabbed in the throat doesn't change your life forever, what will? The knife sunk in two millimeters from his carotid artery -- which he describes as the difference between being "flown home in the cargo hold instead of in coach." Writer and cartoonist Tim Kreider had been stabbed in the throat. What is life like after it comes so close to ending? It's wonderful. Via We Learn Nothing: Essays: Except for the ten or fifteen minutes during which it…
4 minutes
How to find your passion
w to find your passion has been an eternal question. First it's important to ask "What is a passion?" Researchers found there are two types of passion: harmonious and obsessive. The latter is a bad thing, more like an addiction or being a stalker. We'll focus on the former, thanks. So what defines harmonious passion? Robert Vallerand and colleagues came up with a "Passion Scale." How many of these are true of an activity you engage in? Via Ungifted: Intelligence Redefined:…
6 minutes
Is writing the best way to reduce worry and keep staying positive?
iting down a few things every day is the secret to staying positive Staying positive isn't always easy but more and more research is showing that just a little writing can make a big difference. Here are three quick, research-backed ways that just jotting a few words down can make a big difference in your mood and perspective. 1) Write down your worries Research shows writing about your worries can calm you and even increase performance: …for students given the…
3 minutes
Harvard professor Francesca Gino explains how to be a better person
Francesca Gino For this interview I spoke with Francesca Gino. She's a professor at Harvard Business School and the author of Sidetracked: Why Our Decisions Get Derailed, and How We Can Stick to the Plan. We discussed being a better person, giving good gifts, smart decision making, the power of introverted leaders and how rituals can improve our lives. ———–——— Reminders are the secret to being a better person Francesca Gino: Even good people can end up doing the wrong thing. We…
5 minutes
How to easily increase willpower and improve self-control:
at's it take to increase willpower? Roy F. Baumeister is the Frances Eppes Professor of Psychology at Florida State University and author of the New York Times bestseller Willpower: Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength. I spoke with him about how self-control works, what makes New Year's resolutions succeed and how to increase willpower. My conversation with Roy was over an hour long, so for brevity’s sake I’m only going to post edited highlights here. If you want the extended interview…
6 minutes
What should you do with your life?
uldn’t it be so much easier if you got a letter in the mail when you were seventeen, signed by someone who had a direct pipeline to Ultimate Meaning, telling you exactly who you are and what your true destiny is? Then you could carry this letter around in your pocket, and when you got confused or distracted and suddenly melted down, you’d reach for your wallet and grab the letter and read it again and go, “Oh, right.” That's…
6 minutes
