Is the “20 second rule” the key to being your best?
what's the "20 Second Rule"? Look at the good habits you want to develop and see if there's a way you can make them easier to begin by 20 seconds. Want to stop a bad habit? Increase the time it takes to initiate it by 20 seconds. Harvard happiness expert Shawn Achor recounts a story of how just moving his guitar to the living room increased how often he practiced. Via The Happiness Advantage: The Seven Principles of Positive…
2 minutes
5 things you didn’t know about office romances:
men are far more likely than men to have had a sexual relationship with a co-worker. Guys who flirt at the office are more likely to hate their job. About 50% of people who cheat on their spouse meet their lover at work. Long commutes can kill a marriage. Women are more attracted to men who are attached. Bosses expect their employees to be more sexually attracted to them. If men didn't have to impress women, frankly, they wouldn't even…
1 min read
Was “The Godfather” right? Should you keep “friends close and enemies closer”?
bsp; Dominant leaders heed the words of Don Corleone and do exactly that. (Hat tip: PRBMN) Throughout history, humans have had to detect and deflect myriad threats from their social and physical environment in order to survive and flourish. When people detect a threat, the most common response is avoidance. In the present research, the authors provide evidence that ingroup power threats elicit a very different response. Three experiments supported the hypothesis that dominant leaders seek proximity to ingroup members…
2 minutes
What brings more happiness: money or power?
bsp; Money doesn't increase happiness much, but power does: Dozens of studies in different nations have revealed that socioeconomic status only weakly predicts an individual’s subjective well-being (SWB). These results imply that although the pursuit of social status is a fundamental human motivation, achieving high status has little impact on one’s SWB. However, we propose that sociometric status—the respect and admiration one has in face-to-face groups (e.g., among friends or coworkers)—has a stronger effect on SWB than does socioeconomic status.…
1 min read
Is music the key to compassion?
aching kids to play music notably increased their levels of empathy. Via psmag.com: In a year-long program focused on group music-making, 8- to 11-year old children became markedly more compassionate, according to a just-published study from the University of Cambridge. The finding suggests kids who make music together aren’t just having fun: they’re absorbing a key component of emotional intelligence. And: While not definitive, researchers note that the findings provide “more than tentative support” to their theory that intelligently structured…
1 min read
You just committed murder. What should you do now?
in 25K+ readers. No spam, ever. Enter your email here: You may want to know how long it takes to dissolve a body. Some insight on how to reduce that aggression level of yours could be useful and along those lines, guys, you should definitely stay away from guns -- unless you use them a lot, that is. (Honestly, there may not be much you can do; you and your family may all have serious brain problems. I'm guessing…
4 minutes
Why do you watch your favorite movie or listen to your favorite song over and over again?
bsp; The three main reasons are: The guaranteed outcome. We know it will make us happy. The enhanced viewing that results from the repeated action. (If you haven't watched Fight Club twice, you are so so so missing out.) The rediscovery of subtle details. We love to study and understand the things we love. Via Science Daily: It's one of the biggest moneymakers for Hollywood and its media empire: reruns. Reruns of television shows and movies allow for people to…
1 min read
10 things you should be utterly terrified of… or not.
bsp; Fear is pretty fascinating: Fear can increase romantic attraction. Women who are afraid of crime prefer to date big, aggressive men. Talking about horror movies after you see them can reduce nightmares. People believe in conspiracy theories because they provide a sense of control. If you are afraid of voodoo curses then, yes, they can kill you. Afraid you're going to lose your job? Then you should be afraid. Yes, fear that big, drunk guy at the bar. "Sore…
1 min read
