‘Guilty’ pleasures

Phones take over many duties in our day-to-day lives and so they occupy portions of our attentional capacity.

Studies indicate that regular phone and computer users that physically get away from devices, theirs or not, have an increase in available cognitive capacity and that doing so is the best way to make sure you won’t have anxiety over whatever you might be missing on it.

Your M.F.D. is the minimum outcome you’re willing to accept for a decision.

It’s the outcome you’d be fine with, even if it’s not the absolute best possibility.

Repeated rituals seem to gain in strength, but even one-time rituals can be effective (for example, burning pictures in the place where you met your ex).

Being alone is uncomfortable at times. But when it comes to creative work and thinking, it’s important to take a long-term view on those moments of discomfort. 

Being alone has a kind of a rebound effect. It’s like bitter medicine, creating more positive emotions and less self-reported depression down the line.

Things that are rare and dwindling become more attractive and are perceived as more valuable. The less we write, the more valuable our writing becomes. 

Refrain from responding immediately. If another recipient should answer, give the person the right of first response. Ask yourself:

• Do I need to send this now?
• If not, do I need to send it at all?
• If so, does more than one person really need it?

We long for clarity and for other people to say what they mean in as few words as possible.

Making wordy sentences that lose their fluency due to needless complexity in a text negatively affects the receiver of your message. In short: big is bad.

With stress, the mind and the body are intrinsically linked. You can view stress as something that is wreaking havoc on your body (and it can) or as something that is giving you the strength and energy to overcome adversity.

Regular exposure to stress in small quantities can prepare us to handle a big stressful event in our lives. Prepare yourself for stress by self-education about the stressful event, by doing some physically stressful activities like completing a marathon, or something you dread, like giving a speech.

Repeated exposure to mildly stressful conditions can alter your body’s biological response to stress, making you manage stress in a better way.

Our cause of sadness is often related to the fact that we compare our lives with the lives o the people we follow and that seem to be having loads of fun on social media

Try to avoid social media during holidays and during mandatory social gatherings. Also, avoid gatherings that drain your energy.

Negative emotions can sap us from the inside. Create your happiness by observing and learning from your negativity by using self-awareness

Brighten your day by being generous, providing funds to the needy, holiday gifting to the poor, or doing some volunteer work.

People who volunteer are likely to have higher self-esteem, psychological well-being, and happiness.

Help someone else out who really needs it.

Regularly eating foods that are filled with nutrients can help you feel more positive and energetic. You will feel better mentally too.

You may think it's your judgment deciding that something is dangerous and you should be afraid, but what actually happens is that fear chemicals are flooding into your brain.

Experiments have shown that fear can be induced artificially by injecting certain chemicals. Do the chemicals know what you should and shouldn't be afraid of? They don't. You do.

Even just a few seconds of exposure from a blue light-emitting device an hour before bed can disrupt the melatonin rhythm, a rhythm that is so critical to helping us fall asleep, stay asleep and wake up feeling refreshed.

In our perpetually dieting world, it’s not uncommon to lie in bed hungry, but not wanting to eat in an effort to save calories. However, hunger is stimulating and fragments sleep.

Eating a light carbohydrate or protein snack prior to bedtime will stave off hunger without causing you to crash and awaken later in the night.