Do you need a “to-do” list or a “not-to-do” list?
m Collins, author of Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap... and Others Don't, makes an interesting suggestion -- you may need to worry less about your to-do list and focus on a "stop doing" list: Rochelle's lesson came back to me a number of years later while puzzling over the research data on 11 companies that turned themselves from mediocrity to excellence, from good to great. In cataloguing the key steps that ignited the transformations, my research…
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Top Five Regrets Of The Dying — And How To Avoid Them
ving with regret scares us all. Bronnie Ware worked in palliative care for many years, tending to people during the last three to twelve weeks of their lives. A handful of themes cropped up in the things they regretted during their final days: Via The Top Five Regrets of the Dying: 1. I wish I'd had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me. 2. I wish I didn't work so hard. 3.…
1 min read
Have we got it all wrong about what it takes to live a long life?
J Ideas Market points to an interesting interview over at APA with Howard Friedman, author of The Longevity Project: Surprising Discoveries for Health and Long Life from the Landmark Eight-Decade Study. Here are some highlights: On stress: There is a terrible misunderstanding about stress. Chronic physiological disturbance is not at all the same thing as hard work, social challenges or demanding careers. People are being given rotten advice to slow down, take it easy, stop worrying and retire to Florida.…
2 minutes
Sex Might Improve Your Ability To Deal With Stress
ybe: Penile-vaginal intercourse (PVI) but not other sexual behavior is associated with better psychological and physiological function. I examined the relationship of sexual behavior patterns to blood pressure (BP) and its reactivity to stress (public speaking and verbal arithmetic). For a fortnight, 24 women and 22 men used daily diaries to record PVI, masturbation, and partnered sexual behavior in the absence of PVI. Persons who reported PVI (but no other sexual activities) had better stress response (less reactivity and/or lower…
1 min read
How You Can Quickly And Easily Increase Confidence And Reduce Anxiety
lk to yourself: Objectives The present study examined the effects of motivational self-talk on self-confidence, anxiety, and task performance in young athletes. Methods Participants were 72 tennis players. The experiment was conducted in five sessions: baseline assessment, three training sessions, and final assessment. After the baseline assessment participants were divided and assigned randomly into experimental and control groups. The two groups followed the same training program with the experimental group practicing the use of self-talk. In the last session, the…
1 min read
Do you underestimate the power of touching?
a the New York Times: Studies show touching has the power to encourage, reduce pain and communicate: Students who received a supportive touch on the back or arm from a teacher were nearly twice as likely to volunteer in class as those who did not, studies have found. A sympathetic touch from a doctor leaves people with the impression that the visit lasted twice as long, compared with estimates from people who were untouched. Research by Tiffany Field of the…
2 minutes
Here’s What Science Says Is The Secret To A Merry Christmas
ke sure to spend time with family, go to church, and don't focus on spending money or getting gifts. Being environmentally conscious can help and, if possible, be old and male: Despite the importance of Christmas within many cultures, research has not examined the types of experiences and activities that are associated with holiday well-being. Thus, we asked 117 individuals, ranging in age from 18 to 80, to answer questions about their satisfaction, stress, and emotional state during the Christmas…
2 minutes
Are there easy ways to improve your next vacation?
ristian Jarrett has a long interesting piece on vacations in The Psychologist. There are a number of interesting highlights, including the optimal length of a trip: ...people on mid-length holidays of between three to six days tended to report more positive mood than those on shorter or longer trips. ‘Possibly a two- to six-day holiday trip is long enough to enjoy (unlike a two-day trip),’ Nawijn surmised, ‘but short enough to minimise arguments with partner, family or friends.’ There's often…
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