7 stupid thinking errors you probably make
The brain isn’t a flawless piece of machinery. Although it is powerful and comes in an easy to carry container, it has it’s weaknesses. A field in psychology which studies these errors, known as biases. Although you can’t upgrade your mental hardware, noticing these biases can clue you into possible mistakes.How Bias Hurts You If you were in a canoe, you’d probably want to know about any holes in the boat before you start paddling. Simply noticing these holes isn’t enough; a canoe will fill with water whether you are aware of a hole or not. Biases hurt you in a number of areas: Decision making. Here are some common thinking errors:1) Confirmation Bias The confirmation bias is a tendency to seek information to prove, rather than disprove our theories. Consider a study conducted by Peter Cathcart Wason. From this starting point, most participants picked specific rules such as “goes up by 2“ or “1x, 2x, 3x.” This is the tendency to see patterns where none actually exist.
How to feel better now
What makes you happy? I find directly pursuing happiness is difficult to do. Many times the things we think will make us happy fail to do so. But what about feeling good right now? Hack One: Goals Nothing creates a bigger jolt of enthusiasm than a new inspiring vision of the future. Hack Two: Chores Procrastination sucks. Hack Three: Laugh Don’t take yourself so damn seriously. Hack Four: Aid Help someone who needs it. Hack Five: Socialize One of the leading evolutionary theories for explaining the size of the human brain is our complex social structure. Hack Six: Inspiration Find something to get you inspired, even if just for a short time. Hack Seven: Exercise Exercise releases various chemicals into your brain which leave you feeling good. Hack Eight: Posture Change the way you hold your body to reflect someone who is happier. Hack Nine: Music Music is a fast way to boost your happiness. Hack Ten: Nature Hack Eleven: Hug Hack Twelve: Meditate Hack Thirteen: Flow Hack Fourteen: Game
The Gentle Art of Saying No
It’s a simple fact that you can never be productive if you take on too many commitments — you simply spread yourself too thin and will not be able to get anything done, at least not well or on time. But requests for your time are coming in all the time — through phone, email, IM or in person. To stay productive, and minimize stress, you have to learn the Gentle Art of Saying No — an art that many people have problems with. What’s so hard about saying no? But it doesn’t have to be difficult or hard on your relationship. Value your time. What are your ways of saying “no”?
5 Essential Traits for Community Managers
Stuart Foster is a marketing consultant in the Boston area. He specializes in brand management, social media, and blog outreach. He authors a blog at Thelostjacket.com. Community manager is the new it position in social media. To establish hardcore communities of evangelists around your brand, you need to have one. Some basic tenets and rules apply regardless of the company. 1. This is absolutely essential and cannot be faked with any amount of money, time and effort. Muhammad Saleem, community manager for Tip'd, recommends that you "Be incredibly patient and approachable and never lose your cool, ever. Muhammad is able to put the community's needs ahead of his own and maintain a calm and cool visage. 2. It's great to push content and provide awesome information about your company to your community, but you need to provide more. This goes a long way in promoting more than just your corporate interests and fostering a trusting community in support of your company. 3. This is essential. 4.
Interview with Tim Ferriss of The 4-Hour Workweek (1)
If you heard of a new book called The 4-Hour Workweek, you know who is Timothy Ferriss. Tim speaks six languages, runs a multinational firm from wireless locations worldwide, a national champion in Chinese kickboxing, and has been a popular guest lecturer at Princeton University since 2003. Recently his book caught my attention. In Part 1 I ask Tim about some general questions, including his view on productivity and 20/80 rules. Q: Tim, you have done a lot in your life – you are a kickboxing champion, a world record holder in tango, as well as running a multinational firm. TTT: There are a few fun ones that stand out, like finally training in kendo in Japan, where I killed myself last September and fulfilled a life-long dream, but I’m definitely most “proud” of conquering two fears. Learning to surf in Florianopolis, Brazil, was a huge win for me because I can only use one lung fully (due to being born prematurely), and I’ve always been deathly afraid of drowning.
