Is a happy day a creative day?
verall, the more positive a person’s mood on a given day, the more creative thinking he did that day." There was even a carryover effect for the next two days after. Want to be more creative? Get happy. Via The Progress Principle: Using Small Wins to Ignite Joy, Engagement, and Creativity at Work: Our diary study revealed a definitive connection between positive emotion and creativity. We looked at specific emotions as well as overall mood (the aggregate of a person’s…
2 minutes
How Your iPhone Can Increase Your Happiness
ted happiness researcher and author of The How of Happiness, Sonja Lyubomirsky, has created an iPhone app to help you widen that smile. It leverages iPhone features to assist users in engaging a number of happiness-boosting principles I've posted about in the past. I'll describe the app's five functions and link to more information on the techniques employed: "Thank": This encourages users to keep a gratitude journal and to email others to express gratitude. "Optimism": Here users have a place…
1 min read
The Simple Thing That Can Dramatically Improve Your Life
end more time outdoors. Nature has a myriad of incredible positive effects that have demonstrated by research: Being out in nature reduces stress. Nature walks or even looking at pictures of nature improves memory. Flowers increase romantic feelings. Nature can even make you a better person. Can't be bothered to step outside? Even a potted plant has been shown to improve attention span and increase creativity in an office environment. You might be inclined to discount this. I know that…
1 min read
These Are The Two Most Common Tricks Advertisers Are Using To Manipulate You
bsp; 1) Your "feared self." Via Brandwashed: Tricks Companies Use to Manipulate Our Minds and Persuade Us to Buy: In a surprising 2008 study, researchers at the University of Bath, UK, found that the fear of failure drives consumers far more than the promise of success; the latter oddly tends to paralyze us, while the former spurs us on (and pries open our wallets). In fact, as the study found, the most powerful persuader of all was giving consumers a…
2 minutes
10 Keys To Job Satisfaction, Backed By Research
ght now most people are unhappy with their jobs. A boring job can give you a heart attack. And those with no job are happier than those with a lousy one. Most people want to leave their jobs because they don't trust their employer. Know what the happiest and unhappiest jobs are and what motivates you. "...the strongest determinants of job satisfaction are relations with colleagues and supervisors, task diversity and job security." Job satisfaction isn't just about your job.…
2 minutes
This is the easiest route to self-improvement and a long, healthy life
's your friends. The people around you affect you far more than you believe. The Longevity Project, which studied over 1000 people from youth to death had this to say: The groups you associate with often determine the type of person you become. For people who want improved health, association with other healthy people is usually the strongest and most direct path of change. In The Start-up of You: Adapt to the Future, Invest in Yourself, and Transform Your Career,…
2 minutes
This is Why Women Live Longer Than Men
isn't biology so much as behavior. Acting masculine predicted a shorter life for men and women while being more feminine predicted a longer life for both. Masculine men tend to take more risks and pay less attention to their health and relationships. Via The Longevity Project: Surprising Discoveries for Health and Long Life from the Landmark Eight-Decade Study: The eye-opener in our findings was that the more masculine men and the more masculine women had an increased mortality risk,…
1 min read
Why You Spend Too Much Money And How To Stop
at our neighbors buy affects what we buy, as does our names, the weather, and the type of floor a store has. Music manipulates us into spending in flower shops and restaurants. Which products are next to each other on the shelf influences what we buy. In fact, one product can catch "cooties" from another. Attractive salespeople mess with our heads too, especially if they touch the products. Truth is, we're more satisfied after buying from good-looking people. Stores use…
1 min read
