He describes a focusing exercise that will get you focused within two minutes. It’s a breathing/meditation exercise. I don’t want to...
The Unschedule asks you to commit to starting for 30 minutes. What you accomplished is less important than the fact that you got...
If you’ve had to go through not being able to solve a problem that others found easy, or if you’ve been criticized often for less than...
One of the worst things about procrastination is that it leads to putting off living. At the end, you didn’t get much work done, nor did...
How you talk to yourself determines the attitudes and beliefs that determine how you feel and act. Statements like “I should do it” or...
Study on people with major depression. Three groups: Exercise 30 minutes a day 3 times a week Take Zoloft Exercise and take Zoloft...
Mind wandering is when our mind is thinking about something other than what we should focus on. Ruminating, jumping around, etc. Studies...
Kindness Finding ways to be more kind improves your happiness. In one study, people were asked to do 5 acts of kindness. They could do...
If you enjoy an activity, you have an intrinsic motivation to do it. Once people give you extrinsic motivations to do it, and then take...
Signature Strengths Martin Seligman made a list of 24 attributes that tend to be correlated with happiness, and that aren’t culture...
Concretely Reexperience Your Reference Points Say you got your dream job, and then a year later it has now become your reference point,...
Savoring Activities that enhance savoring: Talking to others about how good you feel Looking for others to share it with Thinking about...
Because of hedonic adaptation, don’t invest too much in stuff - especially long lasting stuff. Things that stick around and don’t change...
Most people’s happiness is not due to the absolute outcomes, but the relative outcomes. Medvec (1995) showed that the happiness of...
Assume there is a 30 foot plank on the ground, and your task is to walk across it. Not a big problem. Now assume it is 100 ft off the...
Lyubomirsky did some research on the role of genetics and life circumstances on happiness. She found that genetics affects about 50% of...
Material “Stuff” In 1976, they asked 12000 freshmen what material items would make them happy, and then followed up with them 20 years...
Gilbert showed that college students, when rejected for a job, did not become particularly unhappy. For a fair decision, they were very...
Savoring is the act of stepping out of an experience to review it and really appreciate it while it’s happening. Think about why a...
Knowing How You Spend Your Time Start with knowing where your time goes. For the next 3 days, allow yourself to behave as you normally...
The GI Joe Fallacy: People who know what makes us happier (e.g. psychologists) are not necessarily happier or better able to practice...
One view of procrastination is that it is a form of preserving self-worth. There are 3 deep inner fears that cause us to procrastinate...
People are motivated more by the thought of losing something than the thought of gaining something of the same value. Frame something in...
Titles Study: A person is introduced to various groups as either a student, lecturer, professor, etc. After he leaves the room, people...
A common tactic: A salesperson who has completed a sale with you will ask for a list of friends, and call them up and talk about how...
Social proof is also a convenient shortcut for decision making. Kids who are scared to play with dogs become willing to merely by...
We have a deep desire to be/appear consistent. This is why when people bet on a horse, they are more confident it will win after they’ve...
We try to repay, in kind, what someone else has given us - even we didn’t want it or take it! We feel obligated. Society provides a very...
A group of people are waiting in line to use a photocopying machine. Someone says “May I use the machine because I am in a rush?” to...