If we repeat these small behaviors day after day, our choices compound into major results. Eat pizza every day, and you will likely have gained considerable weight after a year. Go jogging for 20 minutes every day, and you'll eventually be leaner and fitter, even though you won't notice the change happening. You've probably worked out the main insight here: it's that small habits can have a surprisingly powerful impact on your life – and you won't necessarily see this impact happening in real-time. You'll only see the results of your habits after a while.

Small Habits Have Powerful Impact On Your Life 

Now, we know that not seeing the impact of your efforts can be dispiriting. If this is happening to you – if you're feeling discouraged by the lack of immediate positive change – then it's important to try to focus on your current trajectory rather than your current results.

Let's say you have little money in the bank. But you are saving something each month. Your current results might not be that great – your nest egg is still pretty small. But you can be confident that your trajectory is right. Keep going in this direction and, in a few months or a few years, you will notice a major improvement. When the lack of perceived progress gets you down, remember that you're doing the right things and that you're moving in the right direction.But how do you get yourself on the right trajectory? You need to develop habits. I

"Every action you take is a vote for the type of person you wish to become. No single instance will transform your beliefs, but as the votes build up, so does the evidence of your new identity. "

When you walk into a dark room, you don't think about what to do next; you instinctively reach for a light switch. Reaching for a light switch is a habit – it's a behavior that you've repeated so many times that it now happens automatically. Habits like this dominate our lives, from brushing our teeth to driving our car. They are immensely powerful.

Habits are automated behaviors, we’ve learned from experienc

In the nineteenth century, a psychologist named Edward Thorndike tried to answer this question. First, he placed some cats inside a black box. Then, he timed how long it took them to escape. To start with, each cat behaved exactly as you'd expect when placed inside a box. It desperately looked for a way of escape. It sniffed and pawed at the corners; it clawed at the walls. Eventually, the cat would find a lever that, when pressed, would open a door, enabling it to escape.

With his experiment, Thorndike had discovered something important: behaviors that give satisfying consequences – in this case, gaining freedom – tend to be repeated until they become automatic.Every habit follows the same process. Do you drink coffee every morning? Waking up is your cue, triggering a craving to feel alert. Your response is to drag yourself out of bed and make a cup of joe. Your reward is feeling wide awake and ready to face the world.OK, now that you have an idea of how habits work, let's look at how you can develop good habits that can change your life for the better.

So, we have just discovered how habits are formed. Let's briefly recap. A habit consists of four things: a cue – a trigger that gets you to act; a craving – a desire you want to achieve; a response – the action of the habit itself; and a reward – the positive feeling you get from completing the habit.  Once you know how they work, you can start to hack the habit-forming process to get good, productive habits to stick.

Building new habits requires hard-to-miss cues and a plan. 

Let's say you're desperate to learn the guitar. You've got your instrument, you've picked up the basics, but you struggle to keep up with practice. Each morning, you tell yourself that you'll play later on, but the end of the day soon comes, and you haven't picked up your guitar once.

But now that you know the secrets to building a habit, you can use it to your advantage. In this case, you want to make the cue to pick up your guitar impossible to miss. Instead of keeping your instrument in the cupboard or in the corner of your spare room, leave it right in the middle of your living room – in full view. Make your cue visible and unmissable; this will make it easier to turn your desire to practice into a habit. Changing your environment to put your cues front and center will help, but if you want to perfect your triggers even more, you can use as implementation intentions.

When it comes to setting good habits, most of us tend to be too vague about our intentions. We say, "I'm going to eat better," or "I'm going to learn guitar." And we simply hope that we'll follow through. An implementation intention can help us move beyond the vague intention. Implementation intentions introduce a clear plan of action; they help you set out when and where you'll carry out the habit you'd like to cultivate.

So you might be wondering, this all sounds quite plausible, but does it really work? Can I actually tweak my environment and make it easy to form positive habits? Sounds good on paper, right? But in practice?

Anne Thorndike and her colleagues designed a test. As part of the experiment, she had the hospital cafeteria rearranged. The soda in the refrigerators next to the cash registers was replaced with bottled water, and baskets of bottled water were placed all around the cafeteria. Dr. Thorndike and the team then watched to see what would happen.

And what do you think happened? Well, over three months, soda sales fell by 11 percent, and water sales shot up by over 25 percent. Simply by creating more cues for people to drink water, Dr. Thorndike and her team were able to get people to make the healthier choice. In other words, they were able to help people build better habits, without forcing them to make a conscious decision to do so. Clear evidence that altering your environment can help you adopt better habits.

Well, we don't actually have to do the pleasurable activity to get the hit of dopamine. The mere anticipation of doing something pleasurable is enough to get the dopamine flowing. In the brain's reward system, desiring something is on par with getting something! We can turn this to our advantage. When building our new habit, if we make it something we look forward to, we'll be much more likely to follow through and actually do it.

Here's where I'd like to introduce you to the concept of temptation bundling. Temptation bundling is where you take a behavior that you think of as important but unappealing and link it to a behavior that you're drawn to. This is how you can use dopamine to your advantage when building a new habit. Just find a way of making those unattractive but important tasks enjoyable, and you'll be surfing a wave of dopamine, and creating positive habits, at the same time.

Making a habit pleasurable is a surefire way to make it stick. Another way we can hack the habit-building process is to make it easy.  Easy behaviors dominate our lives. We scroll through social media or munch through a bag of potato chips because these are easy things to do. On the other hand, doing a hundred push-ups or studying Mandarin are both pretty tough and take a lot of effort. This is why we don't find ourselves drawn to intensive exercise or language learning in our spare time.

By making our desired behaviors as easy as possible, we stand the best chance of turning them into a habit. And the good news is, there are various ways we can make this happen. The first way is by reducing friction.

So that's friction. The second trick for making a habit easier in the long term is what's known as the two-minute rule. This is a way to make any new activity feel manageable. The principle is that any behavior can be distilled into a habit that is doable within two minutes. So, if you want to read more, don't commit to reading one book every week. Instead, make a habit of reading two pages per night.  Or, if you want to run a marathon, commit to simply putting on your running gear every day after work.

The two-minute rule is a way to build easily achievable habits – small accomplishments that can lead you to greater things. Once you've pulled on your running shoes, you'll probably head out for a run. Once you've read two pages, you'll likely continue. Simply getting started is the first and most important step toward doing something.

Making good behaviors satisfying can be difficult. This is due to human evolution. Today, we live in what is known as a delayed-return environment. You turn up at the office today, but the return – a paycheck – doesn't come until the end of the month. You go to the gym in the morning, but you don't lose weight overnight.

Unfortunately, our brains evolved to cope with an immediate-return environment. Our distant ancestors weren't thinking about long-term returns like saving for retirement or sticking to a diet. They were focused on immediate concerns like finding their next meal, seeking shelter, and staying alert enough to escape any nearby saber-toothed tigers.

This focus on immediate returns can encourage bad habits. Smoking may give you lung cancer in 20 years, but, in the moment, it relieves your stress and the craving for nicotine. The immediate hit from your cigarette will likely override the long-term costs to your health. All this means is that when pursuing habits with a delayed return, you need to try to attach some immediate gratification to them.

One simple trick for making new habits stick is called habit tracking.So why not set yourself a habit contract? Even if it isn't as detailed as Bryan Harris's, consider making a commitment to your partner, your best friend, or one of your coworkers. If you agree upon a set of consequences for failing to follow through, you'll be much more likely to stick to your habits. And as we've seen, sticking to a positive habit, however small, is a surefire way to achieve big things in life.

These are not my personal summary, but no summary can be better than this. @blinkist

The #1 New York Times bestseller. Over 4 million copies sold! Tiny Changes, Remarkable Results No matter your goals, Atomic Habits offers a proven framework for improving--every day. James Clear, one of the world's leading experts on habit formation, reveals practical strategies that will teach you exactly how to form good habits, break bad ones, and master the tiny behaviors that lead to remarkable results. If you're having trouble changing your habits, the problem isn't you. The problem is your system. Bad habits repeat themselves again and again not because you don't want to change, but because you have the wrong system for change. You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems. Here, you'll get a proven system that can take you to new heights. Clear is known for his ability to distill complex topics into simple behaviors that can be easily applied to daily life and work. Here, he draws on the most proven ideas from biology, psychology, and neuroscience to create an easy-to-understand guide for making good habits inevitable and bad habits impossible. Along the way, readers will be inspired and entertained with true stories from Olympic gold medalists, award-winning artists, business leaders, life-saving physicians, and star comedians who have used the science of small habits to master their craft and vault to the top of their field. Learn how to: make time for new habits (even when life gets crazy); overcome a lack of motivation and willpower; design your environment to make success easier; get back on track when you fall off course; ...and much more. Atomic Habits will reshape the way you think about progress and success, and give you the tools and strategies you need to transform your habits--whether you are a team looking to win a championship, an organization hoping to redefine an industry, or simply an individual who wishes to quit smoking, lose weight, reduce stress, or achieve any other goal.

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The #1 New York Times bestseller. Over 10 million copies sold! Tiny Changes, Remarkable Results No matter your goals, Atomic Habits offers a proven framework for improving--every day. James Clear, one of the world's leading experts on habit formation, reveals practical strategies that will teach you exactly how to form good habits, break bad ones, and master the tiny behaviors that lead to remarkable results. If you're having trouble changing your habits, the problem isn't you. The problem is your system. Bad habits repeat themselves again and again not because you don't want to change, but because you have the wrong system for change. You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems. Here, you'll get a proven system that can take you to new heights. Clear is known for his ability to distill complex topics into simple behaviors that can be easily applied to daily life and work. Here, he draws on the most proven ideas from biology, psychology, and neuroscience to create an easy-to-understand guide for making good habits inevitable and bad habits impossible. Along the way, readers will be inspired and entertained with true stories from Olympic gold medalists, award-winning artists, business leaders, life-saving physicians, and star comedians who have used the science of small habits to master their craft and vault to the top of their field. Learn how to: <ul><li>make time for new habits (even when life gets crazy);</li></ul><ul><li>overcome a lack of motivation and willpower;</li></ul><ul><li>design your environment to make success easier;</li></ul><ul><li>get back on track when you fall off course;</li></ul>...and much more. Atomic Habits will reshape the way you think about progress and success, and give you the tools and strategies you need to transform your habits--whether you are a team looking to win a championship, an organization hoping to redefine an industry, or simply an individual who wishes to quit smoking, lose weight, reduce stress, or achieve any other goal.

James Clear is the author of "Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones" He writes about habits, decision-making, and continuous improvement at jamesclear.com. His website receives millions of visitors each month and hundreds of thousands subscribe to his popular email newsletter.His work has appeared in the New York Times, Entrepreneur, Time, and on CBS This Morning. He is a regular speaker at Fortune 500 companies and his work is used by teams in the NFL, NBA, and MLB. Learn more at jamesclear.com

James Clear

Atomic Habits

3 yrs ago I wanted to shift my biz to cover digital.Got scammed 5 digits because I signed on too early before COVID happened, from a bullshit coaching program who didn't deliver.However this didn't stop me from (paying) & learning more. When COVID happened, I pushed myself harder.. it was super tough.And then suddenly EVERYTHING CLICKED into place!Now when I looked back, the dots are connected finally!I am now in digital business and expanding. Which also means I'm going to try and get uncomfortable AGAIN!BUILDING my NFT business from scratch with my team.

Why You Should Keep Going

Misalignment happens when you want something different BUT yet you keep thinking and working in the same way you've always done. 🤷‍♀️ Before you miss out on this wave, start digging and doing researchBecause this is the space where SMALL is the NEW BIG. And this is the space where anything you can imagine, is POSSIBLE

Anything Is Possible 

Web3 is the possibility of freedom and growth. Nfts are the digital asset that represents these values.Viktor Frankl explains Between stimulus and response that is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response, lies our growth in our freedom. Web3 is the space of possibilities and potential. Nfts are about creatorship and ownership. You get to decide what it means. They represent the space & tools where you claim back your power.

Why NFTS?

In this space of chance, possibilities and abundance, we get to change old ways of leadership . Instead of waiting passively, we actively work with diverse leaders to uncover each other's natural strengths to create more rapid individual and organizational growth. As the saying goes, it takes a village to raise a kid, it also takes a village to raise a business. We do it together with common objectives, creating the life and work we enjoy and are proud to flaunt.As we focus and grow as a strengths- based organisation. Seek less for permission. Let your creative imagination come to life

Investing In Strengths

THE web3 NFT space IS made for No right or wrong. This space is about THE WORK; ON THE FRONTIER. It's entrepreneurship, leadership and innovation. This is where you become creative and deliver ideas into action.You will not worry about saying the wrong things in a meeting where you'll get fired. This is the world you want that doesn't exist yet and it has no right answers. Because if you knew how to do this, you would have done it already.

Uncertainty Is Our Advantage 

Uncertainty is the point of being in the web3 space because if not then you might as well not do it. So then go invent the next big thing!With principles or universal laws that can guide us but which there will be no fixed instruction manuals or rules to be a stickler for.This is not a space for certainty because certainty will be your block.Failing is the foundation of the work.- This actually means: To be prepared to be wrong on our way to being right."Where we learn new excuse explore new audiences and find new magic for our existing audiences."Excerpt from Seth Godin

Certainty Is Your BLOCK

Things happen for a reason . it will feel like punishment. But it had to happen to give you that breakthrough 

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Whether it’s a past mistake, a misunderstanding, or simply <a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/90356572/how-to-recover-from-a-negative-first-impression">getting off on the wrong foot </a>, not everyone will have a high opinion of you. Unfortunately, that negative perception can impact your ability to work together, lead, or get ahead. If it’s a first impression, it can be hard to undo, says Dr. Theresa DiDonato, professor of psychology at Loyola University Maryland.

“Once formed, they create people’s future expectations, and these expectations shape subsequent interactions,” she says. “In other words, what people think of us can—through self-fulfilling prophesies—make us behave in ways aligned with their first impression of us.”

While it may be tempting, don’t write off a relationship, says Dr. Anisha Patel-Dunn, practicing psychiatrist and chief medical officer of LifeStance Health, a virtual and in-person outpatient mental health care provider. “Some people assume the worst about the future of a relationship when it doesn’t get off on the best foot and stop trying to further it altogether,” she says.

Fortunately, there are some things you can do. “Negative first impressions can be moved if new information undercuts the initial evaluation, not only offering positive impression info but, critically, offering new explanations for what was previously interpreted as evidence for a negative judgment,” says DiDonato.

Before trying to rectify what you think was a bad first impression, take a moment to reflect on the information and signals you’ve received from others, says Michaela Simpson, Ph.D., senior researcher at <a href="https://neuroleadership.com/">NeuroLeadership Institute </a>, global neuroscience-backed consultancy firm. “If have indeed made a negative first impression, decide whether it’s something that needs repairing,” she says. “In other words, will it negatively impact your ability to perform your job and to work collaboratively with others?”

Assess the Situation

For example, if you inadvertently made an insensitive comment to a team member, Simpson recommends reaching out to let them know you were nervous and acknowledge that you put your foot in your mouth.

Patel-Dunn suggest finding a way to reconnect and demonstrate more of your character. For example, if the bad first impression was made meeting a new client or on a job interview, follow up with a letter or email. “Thank them for their time, show more of your personality and authenticity so that you’re more comfortable with how the interaction ended,” she says. “That way, you can focus on the way you remedied the situation, rather than the uncomfortable encounter itself.”

Look for a Second Chance

It helps to get out of your own head, says Kindra Hall, president and chief storytelling officer at Steller Collective, a communications consulting firm, and author of the forthcoming book <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/1400228409?tag=wwwfccom-20">Choose Your Story, Change Your Life </a>. “Chances are, you’re making it seem worse than it actually is,” she says. “The key to keeping it cool when you get a second chance is to change the story you have in your head.”

Focus on the Other Person

Hall recommends asking questions and moving the focus from you to them. “The best questions will encourage the individual to tell a story about themselves,” she says. “For example, if the next time you see them is at an industry event reception, ask, ‘Do you remember your first time at this event?’ We like people more who seem interested in us and we feel more connected to those with whom we exchange stories.”

Making sure your actions match how you want to be perceived is also important, says Roberta Matuson, author of <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Can-Talk-Principles-Difficult-Conversations/dp/1398601330?tag=wwwfccom-20">Can We Talk? Seven Principles for Managing Difficult Conversations at Work </a>. “Our behaviors matter, not our intention,” says Matuson. “I may like you to think of me in a certain way, but if my behaviors are in direct opposition of that I won’t change how you think.”

Pay Attention to Your Actions

Avoid trying to overcompensate or making too much of an effort to change their perception, says Hall. “While this is only natural, it will likely make things worse,” she says.

Don’t Try Too Hard

Whether you work in an office or interact with your colleagues online, you will very likely have frequent interactions with them, adds Simpson. “When you bring your authentic self to work and show your colleagues that you are competent, a team player, and that they can rely on you, the multiple interactions they have with you every day will eventually override that one moment they met you,” she says. “Be patient; these things take time.”

If you believe that someone’s opinion is harming your career, don’t be afraid to confront someone who may be harboring ill thoughts of you, says Matuson. “I don’t believe in going around the block to go next door; I believe in direct communication,” she says. “I believe in saying, ‘Here’s what I heard. Is that what you were told? If so, I’d like to present my side of the story.'”

But Know When to Address the Issue

While you may not care what others think, perception is important if you want to move up in an organization, says Matuson. “You may think you’re the greatest leader in the world, but if nobody else thinks that, it doesn’t matter what you think,” she says. “You have to work really hard and manage those relationships.”

How To Change Someone's Perception Of You

Don’t write off a relationship just because it got off to a bad start.


Understand yourself and those around you.

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How to change someone’s perception of you

Projection is a <a href="https://www.verywellmind.com/defense-mechanisms-2795960">defense mechanism</a> in which an individual recognizes their unacceptable traits or impulses in someone else to avoid recognizing those traits or impulses in themselves subconsciously.People protect their self-esteem by denying characteristics, impulses, or feelings they find threatening while seeing those same characteristics in someone else.

Projection as a Defense Mechanism

<ul><li>A wife is attracted to a male co-worker but can't admit her feelings, so when her husband talks about a female co-worker, she becomes jealous and accuses him of being attracted to the other woman.</li><li>A man who feels insecure about his masculinity mocks other men for acting like women.</li><li>Someone feels guilty for feeling the urge to steal, leading them to suspect that others are planning to take their wallet or other valuables.</li><li>A young man ignores his own aggressive impulses and instead inaccurately believes his friend has aggressive tendencies.</li></ul>

Examples of Projection

We always see our own unavowed mistakes in our opponent.

Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves.

In the short term, projection can be helpful. By denying uncomfortable truths about themselves, people can better cope with their anxieties and maintain their self-esteem.However, projection can ultimately become harmful because it can disrupt interpersonal relationships and lead to issues like bullying, jealousy, and victim-blaming.

Impact of Defensive Projection

<ul><li>The first step is self-reflection. Try to be honest with yourself about what makes you insecure and anxious, and examine the traits and impulses you have that you may least like about yourself.</li><li>Then, attempt to view your behavior objectively to see if you may be projecting any of the anxieties you have about yourself onto someone else. Try not to judge yourself during this exploration; observe and honestly assess without dwelling on anything you uncover.</li></ul>

How to Recognize and Overcome Projection

Don't Take Anything Personally. Nothing others do is because of you. What others say and do is a projection of their own reality, their own dream. When you are immune to the opinions and actions of others, you won't be the victim of needless suffering.

Projection is when one sees the traits that they find unacceptable in themselves in others. Learn about the origin and impact of the defense mechanism projection.

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What Is a Projection Defense Mechanism?

<ul><li>Many people who are drawn to psychology are also drawn to psychological-sounding woo. </li><li>Astrology, homeopathy, the Myers-Briggs, & the ideas in The Secret all lack evidentiary support -- and can be harmful. </li><li>If you're interested in psychology, you should know why these ideas are bunk. </li> </ul>

Key points

‘“You needn’t go on making remarks like that,” Humpty Dumpty said: “they’re not sensible, and they put me out.”’ – Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking Glass

Quote 

Psychology is the science of mind and behavior. It has nothing to do with astrology, The Secret , or other New Age twaddle. But many smart people who are drawn to psychology are sometimes also drawn to psychological-sounding woo. Should we be concerned?

Maybe it doesn’t matter. Some people think these beliefs are fringe and mostly harmless – and besides, most people don’t believe this stuff anyway. But polls suggest the opposite: most of us aren’t completely tethered to reality. <a href="https://news.gallup.com/poll/16915/three-four-americans-believe-paranormal.aspx">73% of Americans have at least one paranormal belief </a>. A variety of pseudosciences enjoy <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130131050627/http:/www.nsf.gov/statistics/seind06/c7/c7s2.htm#c7s2l3">wide appeal </a>in public society. Woo literally <a href="http://whatstheharm.net/">kills people </a>. Carl Sagan’s <a href="https://www.azquotes.com/quote/1069554">famous foreboding </a>? Gone and boded already, damn it. The point of this post is to offer readers some information about five attractive-but-empty ideas and have a bit of fun in the process.

So What?

Penny : “I’m a Sagittarius, which probably tells you way more than you need to know.” Sheldon : “Yes, it tells us that you participate in the mass cultural delusion that the sun’s apparent position relative to arbitrarily defined constellations at the time of your birth somehow affects your <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/personality">personality </a>.” – The Big Bang Theory

1. Astrology

Astrology is the belief that the position of celestial bodies at the time of your birth influences your personality and life course.Here’s why this is nonsense.First, empirical tests of astrological predictions show that they don’t work. <a href="https://www.ingentaconnect.com/contentone/imp/jcs/2003/00000010/F0020006/art00010?crawler=true&mimetype=application/pdf&casa_token=-nXLyQBUeM4AAAAA:IuotCr7MNS2EfvHrfYkpKKNmK5rNY1NUXI3dk3C6Smj3qHb22_N_o99dMEKIBYilYOA1w__azUvh4an24Ac">A meta-analysis of more than 40 controlled studies shows that expert astrologers perform no better than chance </a>, even at predicting basic personality traits such as <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/extroversion">extraversion </a>. <a href="https://muller.lbl.gov/papers/Astrology-Carlson.pdf">Double-blind tests show that astrological predictions are not supported by the evidence </a>. Second, there is no known mechanism by which the planets could influence your personality.

Third, in case you’re thinking it has to do with gravity, it doesn’t – the gravitational pull of the doctor in the room at the time of your birth was stronger than the gravitational pull exerted on you by the planets in our solar system at that same moment. Fourth, for astrology to be correct, it would have to negate pretty much everything we know about physics and psychology. Fifth and finally, there are good reasons to think that belief in astrology is driven by a combination of cognitive biases (such as <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/258127972_Myside_Bias_Rational_Thinking_and_Intelligence">myside bias </a>) and ambiguous writing (such as <a href="https://nesslabs.com/barnum-effect#:~:text=According%20to%20the%20Encyclopedia%20Britannica,information%20that%20applies%20to%20everyone.%E2%80%9D">Barnum statements </a>).

There’s no bona fide connection between the planets and our personality – there’s just no <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXIWyYtq85E">special Szechuan sauce </a>there.

On a more serious note: it’s helpful to keep in mind that as humans, we have a <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4141622/">tendency to see patterns </a>even where there aren’t any. This can be understood through mathematical insights from <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=88_C-fogY40">Ramsey Theory </a>combined with evidence that our minds are <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/patternicity-finding-meaningful-patterns/">promiscuous pattern detectors </a>.

By the way, these cognitive biases are a <a href="https://areomagazine.com/2021/09/15/a-multicultural-psychologists-take-on-free-speech/">human universal </a>, and we all struggle with them. Nobody is immune! So don’t feel bad if you, like the rest of us, sometimes fall prey to these human foibles. The hope is that learning how these cognitive biases lead us astray will help us become more vigilant when we hear claims about how the world works.

For a dystopian take on the dangers of taking astrology too seriously, check out Season 2 Episode 5 of science fiction series <a href="https://www.hulu.com/series/the-orville-21e70fbf-6a51-41b3-88e9-f111830b046c">The Orville </a>.

The <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/myers-briggs">Myers-Briggs Type Indicator </a> is the most popular personality test in the world – but alas, it’s mostly bullshit. It offers inconsistent results, doesn’t predict life outcomes, ignores key personality variables, and is based on empirically unsubstantiated ideas. The Myers-Briggs Company contends that "the MBTI assessment is designed to be descriptive, not predictive," but it is widely used to predict workplace behavior.. Check out <a href="https://areomagazine.com/2021/03/09/should-you-trust-the-myers-briggs-personality-test/">this essay </a>for a deeper look at the Myers-Briggs.

2. The Myers-Briggs Personality Test

As the famous quip goes, it’s good to have an open mind, but <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFO6ZhUW38w">if you open your mind too much, your brain might fall out </a>[1].

Homeopathy is a form of <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/integrative-medicine">alternative medicine </a>based on the idea that “like cures like” and that diluting substances increases their potency. (Yep, this one’s pungent).

3. Homeopathy

A good way to know that this is bullshit is 1) controlled <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/1800-studies-later-scientists-conclude-homeopathy-doesnt-work-180954534/">studies </a>show that homeopathy <a href="https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/homeopathy/#when-used">fails to outperform placebo </a>, 2) it <a href="https://www.statnews.com/2016/02/26/reject-pseudoscience-homeopathy/">contradicts vast swaths </a>of physics, chemistry, biology, and medicine (and you know those sciences work because they cure our infections and give us computers), and 3) <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2291211/">evidence clearly shows </a>that the central tenets of homeopathy – for example, that like cures like and dilution increases potency – are just plain <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.2042-7166.2012.01162.x?casa_token=583NLOgPaR4AAAAA:D0GKzXtg2aiay00ytWlJQtpoyhN-lvWxCDaRR_7ouDg-arrwqPuYGZXmy6snp4RT1WEWMJ8vJ5deer0">wrong </a>. Belief in homeopathy appears to be driven by expectancy effects and the <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/placebo">placebo effect </a>.

Or as Tim Minchin puts it more eloquently in this <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HhGuXCuDb1U">animated beat poem </a>: “Alternative medicine has either not been proved to work, or been proved not to work. Do you know what they call alternative medicine that’s been proved to work?... Medicine !”

Have you ever wondered what a homeopathic emergency room would look like? Comedy duo Mitchell & Webb give us an idea in <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMGIbOGu8q0&t=3s">this brilliant sketch </a>. And in <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7Xvqv6RZV0&t=1s">this </a>video, we learn how “double-blind” studies work in homeopathy: you do the study, and then you don’t look at the results…. twice!

Progress was slow for a long time, but many people now recognize that homeopathy is not innocuous nonsense; it’s <a href="https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s11673-015-9682-0.pdf">dangerous </a>nonsense that <a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamaoncology/fullarticle/2687972">kills </a>people every year by steering them away from real treatments. This has led to positive developments like the <a href="https://pseudoscience-manifesto.apetp.com/">European Manifesto against Pseudo-Therapies </a>, which is worth clicking on and reading.

“This was… the usual New Age nonsense… a mush of psychobabble, <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/self-help">self-help </a>tips, pseudo-scripture, and Chicken Soup for the Soul.” – Connie Willis, Inside Job

4. The Secret

Ah, The Secret : a bowl-you-over-with-bullshit kind of book. It’s founded on the idea that positive <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/fantasies">visualization </a>will make good things appear in your life, and it repeatedly implies that if your life is beset by misfortune and misery, you’re bringing it on yourself by not thinking positively. Like many other brands of woo, it <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-other-secret/">misuses quantum physics </a>to advance its claims (<a href="https://www.smbc-comics.com/comic/pp">classic </a>, I tell you!), and has an <a href="https://skepticalinquirer.org/exclusive/secrets-and-lies/">ugly flipside </a>.

In <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/26/books/review/Chabris-t.html">this piece </a>, two prominent psychologists analyze the dreck peddled in the book, paying special <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/attention">attention </a>to why people are drawn to it. And in a no-holds-barred analysis, <a href="https://markmanson.net/the-secret">this piece </a>explains how the doctrine is founded on a core delusion.

This, ladies and gents and <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/gender">non-binary </a>folks, is the NBA All-Star team of bullshit. Bilking people out of their money in exchange for false hope is nothing new, of course. Debunkers like Harry Houdini and <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/james-randi-obituary-1079316/">The Amazing Randi </a>did an excellent job of unmasking con artists in their day. If you’re a student of psychology, make sure you get to know <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Randi">The Amazing Randi </a>. You can start with <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qk_NAUdVpko&list=PL_krQYPPG4VWJu19BM1j54r3H4bwo2j8U&index=8&t=1s">this great introduction </a>. You should also check out <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Honest-Liar-James-Amazing-Randi/dp/B00Z9QEVVE">this documentary </a>about his stellar <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/career">career </a>and riveting personal life. You can find his books <a href="https://www.amazon.com/James-Randi/e/B000AQ26MO?ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1&qid=1613265738&sr=8-1">here </a>.

( these are a few of my least favorite things  )

– ­Connie Willis, Inside Job If you want a bit of a mind-bender, try <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Inside-Job-Connie-Willis-ebook/dp/B004Q9TFP2">this brilliant Hugo award-winning novella by Connie Willis </a>, the most decorated science fiction author of all time. Willis weaves seances, skepticism, and romance into a superbly crafted, tightly structured tale that revolves around a central paradox and finishes with a satisfying ending. “Spreading her pernicious astral-plane-Higher-<a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/wisdom">Wisdom </a>hokum and bilking her benighted audiences out of their cash.”

Are you a psychology student who believes in some of this woo-woo? If so, <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/forgiveness">forgive </a>me, but there is a sense in which you’re missing the animating spirit and methodological backbone of your discipline. The progress of psychology – or, one might argue, the point of psychology – is to explain the human mind in a natural way, one that does not rely on entities or forms of causation for which we have no evidence. Psychology succeeds precisely to the extent that it’s able to naturalize the mind and bring it under the purview of science.

Psychology Students: Could You Be Missing the Point of Psychology?

The goal is a grand one: to understand the mind in all of its beautiful weirdness – déjà vu, the placebo effect, nervousness-induced itch, <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/false-memories">false memories </a>, <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/synesthesia">synesthesia </a>, <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/dreaming">lucid dreaming </a>, <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/near-death-experiences">near-death experiences </a>– in a fully natural way that doesn’t violate any known laws of the universe, doesn’t rely on miracles, and doesn’t postulate entities that aren’t needed to explain the phenomena at hand. If you let in spirits or divination or personalities forged by planetary pulls, you’ve given up before the game really got started.

The good news is that it’s never too late to begin thinking of the mind this way. Your brain is a squishy, wet computer that obeys the laws of physics and was shaped by the blind algorithmic process of evolution. Come on over to the dark side! You won’t miss the woo-woo that much, I promise. There’s awe and grandeur in this naturalistic view of the mind. Plus we have <a href="https://theoldvillage.wordpress.com/2004/01/28/douglas-adams-shares-a-true-story/">cookies </a>.

Carl Sagan, who was too much of a gentleman and a scholar to call it “bullshit”, penned <a href="http://hermiene.net/essays-trans/fine_art_of_baloney_detection.html">this well-known essay </a>on how to detect baloney. It is timeless reading for anybody figuring out how to think about the world. Also helpful are Sagan’s book <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Demon-Haunted-World-Science-Candle-Dark/dp/0345409469/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=demon+haunted+world&qid=1603954244&sr=8-1">The Demon-Haunted World </a>and <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Magic-Reality-Know-Whats-Really/dp/1451675046/ref=sxts_sxwds-bia-wc-p13n1_0?cv_ct_cx=magic+of+reality&dchild=1&keywords=magic+of+reality&pd_rd_i=1451675046&pd_rd_r=bc48d44f-9d16-4f46-9155-a0d982dd9f8b&pd_rd_w=afppV&pd_rd_wg=bNhEb&pf_rd_p=5be4970c-0256-4afe-9550-68021bd84e5b&pf_rd_r=K63MGS1Y2F9J1BWSH9S3&psc=1&qid=1603954234&sr=1-1-791c2399-d602-4248-afbb-8a79de2d236f">this young adult book </a>about how we know what’s true.

Sources for Detecting Bovine Stercus

[1] Lewis Carroll’s version was: “If you set to work to believe everything, you will tire out the believing-muscles of your mind, and then you’ll be so weak you won’t be able to believe the simplest true things.” (Letters , vol 1, p. 64)

Quotes

If you're interested in psychology, don't fall for psychology-adjacent woo.

religionandspirituality

Religion & Spirituality

health

Health

Detecting Bull**it

Scars heal on their own on the outside. Then they leave a mark, a reminder of nature's resilience and our ability to overcome painsBut sometimes scars arent on the outside and they also leave a mark. Whatever that mark is, we carry it with us consciously and other times unconsciously.

Healing Scars

Ive always wondered if emotional scars can actually manifest physiologically. Being in the health and fitness field and connecting with friends and clients on that level gave me some insights.For instance posture and body language, are they in any way rooted in our present and past states of mind? Also stress consumers in general, whats their relationship with food like? Does that mental relationship of consumption manifest on physical wellbeing? Social experiences? What about their relationship with themselves? Then i started seeing a pattern emerge.

Scars Healing

An overweight client of mine was bullied in school. It was ugly. He eventually developed a tendency to slouch forward so his tshirt drops over his man boobs. 10 years later he has round shoulders, over developed glutes and tight hamstrings.A year into a fitness program he is slim with tight abs. Eventhough he worked on all the physical misallignments, when not aware of his posture he resorted back to slouching. It took him another 2 years working on his self esteem with a therapist to finally correct his posture.This is one example of the difference between mental and physical healing.

Physical Vs Mental Healing

If u ever went to a life coach session or followed a guru on instagram you probably heard the term ancestral healing. The basic lesson is this; some emotional traumas are pick up as kids subconsciously. Imagine a 2 year old seeing a parent freaking out at the beach and never going for a swim. At that age parents are basically gods to us. How do u think this affects the child growing up?Its very hard recollecting memories from that age, but is it possible that some of our fears have been passed down from our parents or even their parents? Just looking into this is a personal healing process.

Ancestral Healing

The term healing is sometimes misused. From a holistic prespective, the process of healing is natural and healthy. The misuse of it comes when its used as a tool to make u think ur broken and require (place product here) to get fixed.

Warning

Are u breaking inside? Not the sharp edged break, but the resonance of what created it, the sudden magnitude of impact that made no sense to the senses, time feels slower, you became naturally numb, and possibly dumbed down to frozen.. but that was once, now ur left with cracklings, an echo of a distant past where the pain was so strong it created an actual void. The story of a feeling that transcends time, and is physically manifest in your reactions and how you experience the present.

What Is Emotional Pain

But still... what is this pain you're so used to that you actively seek and sometimes find comfort in its warmth. Is it trully a warm cave of a once cold crack, or are you just numbing the pain by building camp fires in your head.. have you trully healed or are you just accepting the voids. Are they one and the same?

Numbing Pain

The story is in the story line, the role of fire in the plot of a crack becoming a warm cave in your mind, or the more mystical musical scale that forever loops. Which musical notes resonate with those base chords that once defined your world through pain?!You are both the instrument and the musician and some of those pains are just notes along a scale of an emotional past. Serving as a reminder and a contrast from pleasures to help facilitate self-rewarding behavior, to augment self regulation and to enhance cognitive control, reducing rumination and demonstrating virtue.

Your Pains Are Your Own

What is this pain you're so used to that you actively seek and sometimes find comfort in its warmth.

motivationandinspiration

Motivation & Inspiration

meditation

Meditation

Can Emotional Scars Manifest Physically?

Learning is a natural phenomenon that comes out of needs, interests, and desires. Forceful learning without any needs and desires doesn't last long.

WHY LEARNING FAILS

The concept of discipline that we all grew up in doesn't allow students to learn at their natural best. We, the educators, think of their natural abilities, not as a sign of their multiple intelligence, but as a hindrance to our task of completing the syllabus.

INDISCIPLINE LEADS TO LEARNING

Learning fails when studying starts. We teach; students learn; parents motivate their kids for only one visible goal: To perform better in the exam. Even I have come across teachers and parents who say, "Just two more years after 10th and life will be easier." We encourage them to study for the exam, and not to learn for life.

LEARNING FOR TEMPORARY GAINS FAILS

Teachers, under the burden of completing the syllabus, correcting the assignments, and appeasing parents, tend to teach for getting better grades than learning.

UNREALISTIC TASKS FOR TEACHERS

The examination emphasizes 'how much students know' rather than 'how students know'. Students, teachers, and parents know the solution to 'how much students know'. Very few are guided to 'how to know'.

EXAM CENTRED LEARNING FAILS

When the entire process of learning circles around the examination, the real purpose of learning fades."The real purpose of learning is not only knowledge but wisdom."When we realize the answer to 'why most students are eagerly waiting for sports and art period, half of the problems will be solved.

LEARNING TO LOVE TO LEARN

When there is nothing interesting, nothing desirable, then learning fails. 

Some days back, I overheard one of the seniors saying, "Learning is so easy. It is all about consuming the data inside textbooks.

parenting

Parenting

It frees you to pursue your own interests, both personal and professional. To that end, it’ll boost your productivity, improve your relationships, and fill you with a sense of confident calm that may seem alien to you at this moment.

Saying no to people is one of the most important skills you can

Stop Being A People Pleaser! Learn How To Set Boundaries And Say NO - Without Feeling Guilty! Are you fed up with people taking advantage of you? Are you tired of coworkers, friends, and family members demanding your time and expecting you to give it to them?If so, THE ART OF SAYING NO is for you.Imagine being able to turn down requests and decline invitations with confidence and poise. Imagine saying no to people asking you for favors, and inspiring their respect in the process. DOWNLOAD The Art Of Saying NO: How To Stand Your Ground, Reclaim Your Time And Energy, And Refuse To Be Taken For Granted (Without Feeling Guilty!) Amazon bestselling author, Damon Zahariades, provides a step-by-step, strategic guide for setting boundaries and developing the assertiveness you need to maintain them. You'll learn how to say no in every situation, at home and in the workplace, according to your convictions. And best of all, you'll discover how to get your friends, family members, bosses, coworkers, and neighbors to respect your boundaries and recognize your personal authority.In THE ART OF SAYING NO, you'll discover: my personal struggle with being a people pleaser (and how I overcame the habit!) the top 11 reasons we tend to say yes when we know we should say no 10 simple strategies for turning people down with finesse why saying no to people doesn't make you a bad person (the opposite is true!) the best way to develop the habit of setting personal and professional boundaries how to know whether you're a people pleaser (and how to gauge the severity of the problem) PLUS, BONUS MATERIAL: dedicated sections on saying no to your spouse, kids, friends, neighbors, coworkers, clients, bosses, and even strangers!If you're sick and tired of being taken for granted, grab your copy of THE ART OF SAYING NO today! Start taking control of your life by learning how to say that simple, beautiful word: "No."Scroll to the top of the page and click the "BUY NOW" button!

The Art of Saying No

Find  Self Improvement Tips - Curated from popular Books like Atomic Habits, 48 Rules of Power, Deep Work, Rich Dad Poor Dad and way more!

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Atomic Habits

Web3 & NFTS

How to change someone’s perception of you

What Is a Projection Defense Mechanism?

Detecting Bull**it

Can Emotional Scars Manifest Physically?

WHY LEARNING FAILS

The Art of Saying No

10-Minute Toughness Summary

How to Be Yourself and Live a Life of Authenticity - Giovanni Spezia

It's time to Read like a Pro.

It's time to
Read like a Pro.