In today's society, we find ourselves immersed in a culture where "let them live their lives" has become the norm, allowing individuals to evade accountability for their actions. Moreover, the prevalent practice of instantly clicking the share button without delving deeper into the complexities of each story exacerbates this problem. This essay explores the implications of this phenomenon and argues that it is crucial for us to cultivate a mindset of genuine accountability and critical thinking to address the challenges of our times.

The Age of Superficial Accountability: Challenging the Culture of Apathy

In an era where individualism and personal freedom are highly valued, the concept of accountability seems to be fading away. The pervasive mindset of "let them live their lives" creates a breeding ground for apathy, as people absolve themselves of responsibility for the consequences of their actions. This lack of accountability not only affects individuals on a personal level but also permeates societal structures, hampering progress and hindering efforts to address pressing issues such as inequality, climate change, and social justice.

The Erosion of Accountability

One manifestation of this culture of apathy is the tendency to click the share button without thoroughly understanding the depth of the stories we encounter. Social media platforms have provided us with a powerful tool to express opinions and raise awareness, but they have also inadvertently fostered a superficial approach to activism. Sharing a post or retweeting may give the illusion of taking a stand, but true change requires more than just a fleeting online gesture. The ease of sharing often comes at the expense of genuine engagement, critical thinking, and tangible action.

The Illusion of Social Media Activism

To counter apathy, we must reevaluate accountability and actively cultivate a responsible and informed society. Recognizing the consequences of our actions, we can't settle for letting others "live their lives." Taking ownership, we must contribute positively by critically examining information, conducting thorough research, and engaging in meaningful dialogue to understand complex issues deeply.

Cultivating Genuine Accountability

Living in a society where the default response is to avoid accountability and where the share button often takes precedence over genuine understanding is a challenge we must confront. By recognizing the erosion of accountability and the limitations of superficial activism, we can begin to foster a culture of genuine accountability and critical thinking. It is only through active engagement, thorough research, and a commitment to understanding the complexities of the world that we can address the pressing issues of our time and truly make a difference.

philosophy

Philosophy

mentalhealth

Mental Health

Let them live their lives

Care with no reason, Love with no expectation.

When we hold onto rigid expectations, we leave ourselves vulnerable to getting hurt when reality doesn't align with our desires.

Best Rule For A Simple Life 

It's like giving someone a gift just because you want them to give something back in return.

What People Actually Do

Care and love are the essence of beautiful connections. When we genuinely care for someone, we extend kindness, support, and understanding without the expectation to get something in return.

Actual Meaning 

Caring and loving others is important for you because it brings happiness, fosters meaningful connections, and adds purpose to your life. But one should know the right way to care and love.

mindfulness

Mindfulness

motivationandinspiration

Motivation & Inspiration

loveandrelationships

Love & Relationships

books

Books

Do you need a reason to care?

𝐄𝐠𝐨 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐬 𝐚 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐰𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐢𝐭𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐧𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐫. 𝟖𝟎% 𝐨𝐟 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟-𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞, 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝟑𝟎-𝟒𝟎% 𝐨𝐟 𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬. 𝐖𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 ‘𝐌𝐞’ 𝐬𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐭𝐲 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐧 𝐨𝐛𝐬𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 ‘𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟’ 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐮𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐮𝐩𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐚𝐠 𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐩𝐡𝐨𝐭𝐨𝐬(𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐰𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐢𝐧).

𝐀𝐦𝐚𝐳𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐅𝐚𝐜𝐭

A Perfect Blend: Ego Needs a Platform to Showcase Itself and Social Networks are the Perfect Answer.

personaldevelopment

Personal Development

communication

Communication

leadershipandmanagement

Leadership & Management

Ego's Playground: Social Networks as Self-Display Platforms

Happiness is hard to put into words, but science has uncovered some interesting facts about it. Here are a few to keep in mind:<ul><li class="ql-align-justify">Language cannot fully capture the feeling of happiness, so just enjoy it when you feel it.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">Hormones called dopamine and serotonin play a big role in making us happy.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">Engaging in creative activities, exercising and getting enough sleep can all boost happiness levels.</li></ul>

Some Facts About Happiness

A study by Harvard showed that income doesn't relate to happiness. Money cannot buy happiness but it can buffer stress!Social interactions that don't aquire that much money are better than high cost social interactions.Happiness is also not generated by working to gain money, but meaningful work surely makes us happy.

Money, Work And Happiness

<ul><li class="ql-align-justify">People who opt to have no children are happier or as happy as people who have children (which might be the case because they have more time for themselves etc.).</li><li class="ql-align-justify">Smokers, people that are in a smoking environment or people that drink alcohol are less happy.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">One year after experiencing trauma, people are often just as happy as they were before the traumatic event took place.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">The same is the case with one year after winning the lottery.</li></ul>

Happiness And Special Conditions

Natural happiness: It requires no effort, as it is the case when receiving a gift.Synthesized happiness: It requires some special effort.This shows us that our environment can be modified to increase our happiness:<ul><li class="ql-align-justify">It can be modified using plants, windows, music etc.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">Music with uptones can increase happiness.</li></ul>

Types Of Happiness

Social interactions and connections are essential for happiness.<ul><li class="ql-align-justify">Seeing faces, even with no talking, gives us a sense of connection; daily interactions help us stay present and happy.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">Giving and receiving something increases happiness for both of the people involved, especially if the other person benefits from it.</li></ul>

Social Connections

Presence & eye contact: We take turns when talking, we share information and look at each other. This makes our attention peak. When we look away, our attention decreases again. Therefore, social interaction is a series of focusing on and off, of ramping attention and breaking attention.Physical touch & allogrooming: Light touch increases oxytocin and therefore bonds the people involved. When taking care of a pet it is also considered as allogrooming which as a result increases happiness.

The Components Of Connection

<ul><li class="ql-align-justify">An ongoing set of choices decreases happiness. Less choices are better.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">When we are forced to stick to the choices, we are happier than if we were able change them (this can be explained with Leon Festinger's theory of cognitive dissonance).</li><li class="ql-align-justify">The prefrontal cortex is responsable for decision making, creating meaning, evaluating choices and focusing intensively. It impacts the reward circutry of the brain.</li></ul>

Decision Making And Happiness

<ul><li class="ql-align-justify">No single chemical is associated with happiness.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">Meaning and connection are important.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">Be present and fully focused. The ability to attend and focus equates to happiness.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">By sticking to the choices you made, you increase your happiness.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">Meditation can be extremely helpful.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">Sleeping good is essential.</li></ul>

The Happiness Toolkit - Summary

Dr. Andrew Huberman shares a toolkit for increasing happiness and talks about the science of happiness.

I explain the science of happiness, including the different types of happiness and how our actions, circumstances and mindset control them. While it is difficult to standardize happiness from one person to the next, I outline a structured framework of what is critical to increasing your innate “natural happiness,” including financial security, purposeful work and relationships, and I explain specific tools to increase internal happiness (so-called “synthetic happiness”). I review how specific types of human connection and attention to our choices (or lack thereof) can increase or undermine our level of happiness. I also discuss the importance of certain types of physical contact, gratitude, financial choices and volunteer contributions that research shows can maximize happiness. And I discuss how factors such as children, pets, physical well-being, substance use, prior traumas and life-phase milestones affect our quest for and depth of happiness. #HubermanLab #Science Thank you to our sponsors Athletic Greens: https://athleticgreens.com/huberman Thesis: https://takethesis.com/huberman InsideTracker: https://insidetracker.com/huberman Helix Sleep: https://helixsleep.com/huberman Supplements from Momentous https://www.livemomentous.com/huberman Huberman Lab Premium https://hubermanlab.com/premium Social & Website Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hubermanlab Twitter: https://twitter.com/hubermanlab Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hubermanlab TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@hubermanlab LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-huberman Website: https://hubermanlab.com Newsletter: https://hubermanlab.com/neural-network Articles Spending Money on Others Promotes Happiness: http://bit.ly/3X3k71V A Wandering Mind Is an Unhappy Mind: https://bit.ly/3sMP64B Eye contact marks the rise and fall of shared attention in conversation: http://bit.ly/3hy04IF The Influence of Interactions with Dogs on Affect, Anxiety, and Arousal in Children: http://bit.ly/3htjBdh Books Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence: https://amzn.to/3A9S4UY The Molecule of More: How a Single Chemical in Your Brain Drives Love, Sex, and Creativity―and Will Determine the Fate of the Human Race: https://amzn.to/3E3Und5 Timestamps 00:00:00 Happiness 00:06:27 Tool: Light Exposure Timing & Brightness Timing 00:14:14 Thesis, InsideTracker, Helix Sleep 00:17:51 Imprecise Language for Happiness 00:20:26 Happiness: Neuromodulators & Neurotransmitters 00:26:32 Harvard Happiness Project 00:29:22 Income & Happiness; Social Interactions & Peer Group 00:37:20 Work, Sense of Meaning & Happiness 00:40:13 Toolkit for General Wellbeing 00:43:06 Happiness Across the Lifespan, Does Having Children Make Us Happier? 00:47:33 AG1 (Athletic Greens) 00:50:20 Birthdays & Evaluated Happiness 00:52:45 Smoking, Alcohol & Happiness 00:54:23 Trauma & Happiness, Lottery Winner vs. Paraplegic Accident 01:05:05 Synthesizing Happiness 01:09:18 Natural Happiness & Synthetic Happiness; Music 01:13:45 Tool: Synthesizing Happiness: Effort, Environment & Gratitude 01:24:50 Tool: Pro-Social Spending/Effort, Happiness 01:31:55 Tool: Focus, Wandering Mind & Meditation 01:39:40 Tool: Quality Social Connection 01:41:28 Brief Social Connection, Facial Recognition & Predictability 01:46:33 Deep Social Connection, Presence & Eye Contact 01:54:00 Physical Contact & Social Connection, Allogrooming, Pets 02:03:00 Freedom & Choice; Synthetic Happiness 02:11:57 Happiness Toolkit 02:22:00 Zero-Cost Support, YouTube Feedback, Spotify & Apple Reviews, Sponsors, Neural Network Newsletter, Social Media Huberman Lab is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute the practice of medicine, nursing or other professional health care services, including the giving of medical advice, and no doctor/patient relationship is formed. The use of information on this podcast or materials linked from this podcast is at the user’s own risk. The content of this podcast is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Users should not disregard or delay in obtaining medical advice for any medical condition they may have and should seek the assistance of their health care professionals for any such conditions. Title Card Photo Credit: Mike Blabac - https://www.blabacphoto.com

Understand yourself and those around you.

psychology

Psychology

podcasts

Podcasts

I explain the science of happiness, including the different types of happiness and how our actions, circumstances and mindset control them. While it is difficult to standardize happiness from one person to the next, I outline a structured framework of what is critical to increasing your innate “natural happiness,” including financial security, purposeful work and relationships, and I explain specific tools to increase internal happiness (so-called “synthetic happiness”). I review how specific types of human connection and attention to our choices (or lack thereof) can increase or undermine our level of happiness. I also discuss the importance of certain types of physical contact, gratitude, financial choices and volunteer contributions that research shows can maximize happiness. And I discuss how factors such as children, pets, physical well-being, substance use, prior traumas and life-phase milestones affect our quest for and depth of happiness.

#HubermanLab #Science 

Thank you to our sponsors
Athletic Greens: https://athleticgreens.com/huberman
Thesis: https://takethesis.com/huberman
InsideTracker: https://insidetracker.com/huberman
Helix Sleep: https://helixsleep.com/huberman

Supplements from Momentous
https://www.livemomentous.com/huberman

Huberman Lab Premium
https://hubermanlab.com/premium

Social & Website
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hubermanlab 
Twitter: https://twitter.com/hubermanlab 
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hubermanlab 
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@hubermanlab 
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-huberman
Website: https://hubermanlab.com 
Newsletter: https://hubermanlab.com/neural-network

Articles
Spending Money on Others Promotes Happiness: http://bit.ly/3X3k71V
A Wandering Mind Is an Unhappy Mind: https://bit.ly/3sMP64B
Eye contact marks the rise and fall of shared attention in conversation: http://bit.ly/3hy04IF
The Influence of Interactions with Dogs on Affect, Anxiety, and Arousal in Children: http://bit.ly/3htjBdh

Books
Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence: https://amzn.to/3A9S4UY
The Molecule of More: How a Single Chemical in Your Brain Drives Love, Sex, and Creativity―and Will Determine the Fate of the Human Race: https://amzn.to/3E3Und5

Timestamps
00:00:00 Happiness
00:06:27 Tool: Light Exposure Timing & Brightness Timing
00:14:14 Thesis, InsideTracker, Helix Sleep
00:17:51 Imprecise Language for Happiness
00:20:26 Happiness: Neuromodulators & Neurotransmitters 
00:26:32 Harvard Happiness Project 
00:29:22 Income & Happiness; Social Interactions & Peer Group 
00:37:20 Work, Sense of Meaning & Happiness
00:40:13 Toolkit for General Wellbeing
00:43:06 Happiness Across the Lifespan, Does Having Children Make Us Happier?
00:47:33 AG1 (Athletic Greens)
00:50:20 Birthdays & Evaluated Happiness
00:52:45 Smoking, Alcohol & Happiness
00:54:23 Trauma & Happiness, Lottery Winner vs. Paraplegic Accident
01:05:05 Synthesizing Happiness
01:09:18 Natural Happiness & Synthetic Happiness; Music
01:13:45 Tool: Synthesizing Happiness: Effort, Environment & Gratitude
01:24:50 Tool: Pro-Social Spending/Effort, Happiness
01:31:55 Tool: Focus, Wandering Mind & Meditation 
01:39:40 Tool: Quality Social Connection
01:41:28 Brief Social Connection, Facial Recognition & Predictability
01:46:33 Deep Social Connection, Presence & Eye Contact
01:54:00 Physical Contact & Social Connection, Allogrooming, Pets
02:03:00 Freedom & Choice; Synthetic Happiness
02:11:57 Happiness Toolkit
02:22:00 Zero-Cost Support, YouTube Feedback, Spotify & Apple Reviews, Sponsors, Neural Network Newsletter, Social Media

Huberman Lab is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute the practice of medicine, nursing or other professional health care services, including the giving of medical advice, and no doctor/patient relationship is formed. The use of information on this podcast or materials linked from this podcast is at the user’s own risk. The content of this podcast is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Users should not disregard or delay in obtaining medical advice for any medical condition they may have and should seek the assistance of their health care professionals for any such conditions.

Title Card Photo Credit: Mike Blabac - https://www.blabacphoto.com

Welcome to the official Huberman Lab YouTube channel. 

The Huberman Lab podcast is hosted by Dr. Andrew Huberman, a neuroscientist and tenured professor of neurobiology and ophthalmology at Stanford School of Medicine. The podcast discusses neuroscience and science-based tools, including how our brain and its connections with the organs of our body control our perceptions, our behaviors, and our health, as well as existing and emerging tools for measuring and changing how our nervous system works.

Huberman Lab is frequently ranked in the Top 15 of all podcasts globally and is often ranked #1 in the categories of science, education, and health and fitness.


Andrew Huberman

Science-Based Tools for Increasing Happiness | Huberman Lab Podcast #98

When you hold on to the need for control, you start to feel responsible for all outcomes of your life. But can you really control what people think of you, or who does or doesn't give you a chance, or who you'll date, or where you'll get a job?You might have some say in these things, but so much of life is unpredictable — and that's part of what makes it beautiful. Unpredictability connects us all.

Struggling For Control Won't Make You Happier

We can't control everything that happens to us, but we can control how we treat ourselves. Allowing ourselves to feel happy, no matter what our life looks like, is the key to real happiness.

1. Stop and reflect.2. Redefine unrealistic expectations you set for yourself.3. Allow yourself to be happy in the present moment.

How To Let Go Of The Desire To Control

Think about all the ways you're focusing on an imaginary future instead of the present.Ask yourself:<ul><li>Do you sometimes let your need to control the future get in the way of you enjoying the present moment? When do you tend to do that, and why?</li><li>It is essential to honor your dreams, but how can you put some of that energy into the most important things in your life today?</li><li>What can you be grateful for right now?</li></ul>

1. Stop and Reflect

Find that voice in your head that keeps reminding you of the need for control. Tell that voice, in no uncertain terms, that you are not living to impress it.Can you imagine living a life where that inner voice is irrelevant? Instead, can you direct that energy towards something that will give you a sense of joy or peace?

2. Redefine Unrealistic Expectations You Set or Yourself

Close your eyes, take three slow breaths, and give yourself permission to feel happy.If you find yourself struggling, think about why that is. I've found that when people think about giving up control and letting life guide them, fear can get in their way. There will always be stressful situations that need your attention, like taking care of the people in your life. But you can let happiness in by shifting your focus from future-oriented fears to the present.You deserve to roll with the life you've got. You deserve to flow with the unexpected and not "have it all together."

3. Allow Yourself to be Happy in the Present Moment

My worst critic is usually the one inside my head. I tend to be happier when I am mindful of it and realize that I don't have to listen.

Many of us believe that we need to be in perfect control of our lives in order to be successful. But that mindset can lead to unhappiness. Jeffrey Marsh, who spent 20 years studying Zen Buddhism, shares how they broke this toxic mental habit.

meditation

Meditation

I lived as a monk and studied Zen for 20 years—here’s the No. 1 thing people miss when they talk about happiness

In prolonged times of stress, have you ever experienced thoughts telling yourself that your are...not happy enough?...not successful enough?...not rich enough?...not worth enough?...not pretty enough?...not lovable enough?...just not enough in anything?Even though you have family, friends, a home, work, are physically healthy and have no reason to be rationally unhappy?

Self-Sabotage

So where do these self-destructing thoughts come from, when overall you try to live a decent life?Have you ever experienced really bad things in your past (e.g. destructive criticism, disappointment, relationship, childhood), where deep inside you the seed of not being enough could have been sowed?In these particular moments, did you just swallow the seed or did you try to get it out?

The Origin

In case you have not used self-reflecting methods to practise self-love, there's a high chance that the swallowed seed found the right soil to grow into a limiting conviction likeI don't deserve to be happy / loved / succesful / ...

The seed of a limiting conviction

Your perception is limited. Some convictions are obvious, while others are hidden in the maze of your subconscious.Some come up everyday and others just in stressful situations.The obvious and the hidden, the self-loving and self-sabotaging convictions, all have in common to have an deeming impact on your life-perception, thus wellbeing.

The maze of limiting convictions

Limits are subjective. Your limits are the horizon of your imagination. Imagination is depending on the interaction of perception and experiences (current life-knowledge).So in order to challenge your own limiting convictions which reveal themselves in destructive thoughts, you could shift and expand your perception with new perspectives.

Where there's a Limit, there's a Challenge

<ol><li class="ql-align-justify">Fold an empty piece of paper.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">On the left side - list your limiting thoughts briefly, beginning with the most destrucive one. Leave enough space between each thought, no details and no more than there's space.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">On the (b)right side - pretend to be someone you really trust. List parallelly how these chosen person perceives you and argue reasonably from her/his perspective, why your limiting thoughts are inadequate.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">Tear the paper into its two halfes. Keep the right and the left you crush into a paper ball, burn it safely or fold a paperplane and let it fly from your favourite lookout.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">Let it go.</li></ol>

A Letter for Self-Love

The left side - is sent back to its origin, your past.The right side just arrived its destination, your consciousness.

The Love is sent on its way

You can't rip out a limiting conviction in the garden of your mind without planting a better one. The chance of limiting regrowth is too high. So how to take care of that hole?Right before bed-time<ol><li>Write down one thing - why you are grateful to be yourself. How would it feel, if that one thing was missing in your life? Focus on the feeling, when you overcome the challenge of getting this one thing back.</li><li>Write down - what the happiest thing was, you experienced today. How did you feel in that moment, when it happened? Remember what you saw, heard, smelled, touched and tasted?</li></ol>

Plant Gratitude & water it everyday

The more destructive your past experiences have been, the bigger the seed of self-sabotage has grown, because it was fed with every information aligning its origin/cause (confirmation bias).Currently there're no broadly available quick-fixes for self-sabotage. So be compassionate with yourself (like with someone you love), if your mind has set-back-thoughts. These thoughts occure progressively less over the time of your self-compassionate practice.

Growth takes Time

My partner and me have experienced a lot of hardships in the past. In stressful situations our minds can bring up self-sabotaging thoughts originating subconsciously from bad experiences. To change that, I tried to create an exercise debunking these thoughts rationally with arguments from another perspective and emotionally by the bond of trust with that loved person. I wanted that anyone is able to do it independently on their own.The goal is to become more self-compassionate to increase self-worth and self-love, because - We all deserve Wellbeing.

Background

#self-perception #growth #change #convictions #habits

habits

Habits

Procrastination is the process of ignoring or putting off undesirable activities, in order to avoid unpleasant feelings. Often these undesirable activities are replaced with something more engaging and enjoyable.

Procrastination: What Is It And How to Manage It

For example, procrastination is associated with ADHD, OCD, Anxiety and Depression.

Procrastination Can Be A Sign Of Underlying Health Conditions 

If you are briefly delaying a task for a more important task - then you might not be procrastinating. However, if you are avoiding a task because of unpleasant feelings and are putting it off indefinitely, then you might be procrastinating. Procrastination can look like:- Leaving an item on your To-Do list- Continuous reviews of written information before responding, sometimes with hours to days in between responses.- Filling time with unimportant tasks- Waiting for the 'right time' to do something

Recognising Procrastination 

Is the task boring or unpleasant?Do you have doubts about your ability or worried you will fail?Do you have challenges with knowing what to do or say?

Why Are You Procrastinating 

A deeply ingrained pattern of behavior that often cannot be broken overnight.A habit only stops being a habit once you stop practicing them.

Procrastination Is A Habit

- Forgive yourself for procrastinating in the past- Commit to the task- Promise yourself a reward- Ask someone to check up on you- Rephrase your internal dialogue- Minimize distractions

Strategies To Succeed 

- Keep a to-do list and prioritize the tasks- Utilize a schedule - Tackle the hardest tasks at your peak time (when you are most motivated)- Set yourself time bound goals- Utilize apps or phone reminders

Getting More Organized To Build Better Habits 

education

Learning & Education

Procrastination | MindTools

A mental model is a general idea that can be used to explain many different phenomena. Supply and demand in economics, natural selection in biology, recursion in computer science, or proof by induction in mathematics — these models are everywhere once you know to look for them.

10 Mental Models For Learning Anything

Unfortunately, learning is rarely taught as a class on its own — meaning most of these mental models are known only to specialists. In this essay, I’d like to share the ten that have influenced me the most, along with references to dig deeper in case you’d like to know more.

Herbert Simon and Allen Newell launched the study of problem solving with their landmark book, Human Problem Solving. In it, they argued that people solve problems by searching through a problem space.A problem space is like a maze: you know where you are now, you’d know if you’ve reached the exit, but you don’t know how to get there. One implication of this model is that, without prior knowledge, most problems are really difficult to solve. Learning is the process of acquiring patterns and methods to cut down on brute-force searching.

1. Problem solving is search.

Retrieving knowledge strengthens memory more than seeing something for a second time does. Testing knowledge isn’t just a way of measuring what you know — it actively improves your memory. In fact, testing is one of the best study techniques researchers have discovered. Retrieval only works if there is something to retrieve. This is why we need books, teachers and classes. When memory fails, we fall back on problem-solving search which, depending on the size of the problem space, may fail utterly to give us a correct answer.

2. Memory strengthens by retrieval.

How much you’re able to learn depends on what you already know. Research finds that the amount of knowledge retained from a text depends on prior knowledge of the topic. This effect can even outweigh general intelligence in some situations. This process has limits, of course, or knowledge would accelerate indefinitely. Still, it’s good to keep in mind because the early phases of learning are often the hardest and can give a misleading impression of future difficulty within a field.

3. Knowledge grows exponentially.

Few subjects are so misunderstood as creativity. We tend to imbue creative individuals with a near-magical aura, but creativity is much more mundane in practice. Even in fine art, the importance of copying has been neglected. Yes, many revolutions in art were explicit rejections of past trends. But the revolutionaries themselves were, almost without exception, steeped in the tradition they rebelled against. Rebelling against any convention requires awareness of that convention.

4. Creativity is mostly copying.

Transfer refers to enhanced abilities in one task after practice or training in a different task. In research on transfer, a typical pattern shows up: Practice at a task makes you better at it.Practice at a task helps with similar tasks (usually ones that overlap in procedures or knowledge).Practice at one task helps little with unrelated tasks, even if they seem to require the same broad abilities like “memory,” “critical thinking” or “intelligence.”

5. Skills are specific.

Since the 1980s, cognitive load theory has been used to explain how interventions optimize (or limit) learning based on our limited mental bandwidth. This research finds: Problem solving may be counterproductive for beginners. Novices do better when shown worked examples (solutions) instead.Materials should be designed to avoid needing to flip between pages or parts of a diagram to understand the material.Redundant information impedes learning.Complex ideas can be learned more easily when presented first in parts.

6. Mental bandwidth is extremely limited.

A good rule is to aim for a roughly 85% success rate when learning. You can do this by calibrating the difficulty of your practice (open vs. closed book, with vs. without a tutor, simple vs. complex problems) or by seeking extra training and assistance when falling below this threshold. If you succeed above this threshold, you’re probably not seeking hard enough problems — and are practicing routines instead of learning new skills.

7. Success is the best teacher.

How people can think logically is an age-old puzzle. Since Kant, we’ve known that logic can’t be acquired from experience. Somehow, we must already know the rules of logic, or an illogical mind could never have invented them. In 1983, Philip Johnson-Laird proposed a solution: we reason by constructing a mental model of the situation.To test a syllogism like “All men are mortal. Socrates is a man. Therefore, Socrates is mortal,” we imagine a collection of men, all of whom are mortal, and imagine that Socrates is one of them. We deduce the syllogism is true through this examination.

8. We reason through examples.

Skills become increasingly automated through practice. This reduces our conscious awareness of the skill, making it require less of our precious working memory capacity to perform. Think of driving a car: at first, using the blinkers and the brakes was painfully deliberate. After years of driving, you barely think about it.

9. Knowledge becomes invisible with experience.

Forgetting is the unavoidable fate of any skill we don’t use regularly. Hermann Ebbinghaus found that knowledge tapers off at an exponential rate — most quickly at the beginning, slowing down as time elapses.Relearning is a nuisance, especially since struggling with previously easy problems can be discouraging. Yet it’s no reason not to learn deeply and broadly — even forgotten knowledge can be revived much faster than starting from scratch.

10. Relearning is relatively fast.

problemsolving

Problem Solving

cybersecurity

Cybersecurity

The ultimate goal in life is to be happy.Some people find happiness in external sources such as their job, finances, social status.What happens if any of those sources were to disappear? What if you lose your job, your wealth, your social group...Will your happiness disappear with it?"The fundamental delusion: There is something out there that will make me happy and fulfilled forever." - The Almanack of Naval Ravikant

The Key to Happiness

The Buddha taught that because no physical or mental object is permanent, desires for or attachments to either causes suffering.All things of this world come to an end. There is an impermanence in all things including you, and me.So connecting our source of happiness to things on the outside will only last as long as it lasts.If happiness is not on the outside, where is it?

External Sourced Happiness

" Peace occurs when you don't turn your observations into problems. If you do not desire to act on what you observe then you are at peace."

Finding Peace

"Happiness is simply the absence of desire. Happiness is not about the achievement of pleasure, but the lack of desire. Happiness is the state you enter when you no longer desire to change your state." - Atomic Habits, James Clear. " Desire is a contract you make with yourself to be unhappy until you get what you want." - The Almanack of Naval Ravikant

The Absence of Desire

" Pain or suffering arises through desire or craving and that to be free of pain, we need to cut the bonds with desire."

Craving is about wanting to fix everything. Observation without craving is the realization you do not need to fix anything.Your desires are not running rampant.You do not crave a change in state. Your mind does not generate a problem for you. You are simply observing and existing. - Atomic Habits, James Clear.

Cravings

" All cravings are the mind seeking salvation or fulfillment in the external things and in the future as a substitute for the joy of Being. " - The Power of Now, Eckhart TolleSo, don't seek to be free of desire or seek to achieve enlightenment because that is just another form of fulfillment.

Cravings = External Sourced Happiness

" Become Present. Be there as the observer of the mind. "

What does it mean to present? In the Untethered Soul by Michael A. Singer, the author states to be present is to be aware of who you are.He explains to be aware of who you are, lets make a list of what you're not...<ul><li>You're not simply your age, weight or height because that changes.</li><li>You're not simply you name because that's just a collection of letters. If your name changed it would not change who you are. </li><li>You're not just a summary of your life story, your job title, your relationships(being a wife, being a parent) because if all these things ceased to exist you would still be you.</li></ul>

Becoming Present

Michael A Singer continues with if you're not a collection of these external/outside things... let's look internally. <ul><li>Am I my emotions? Your emotions come and go, there is times when you feel no emotion at all, but you still exist. You notice the different emotions that pass before you.</li><li>Am I my thoughts? The verb " to think" is defined as " to form thoughts, to use the mind to consider ideas and make judgments. Who is using the mind to create thoughts? Who struggles with their thoughts? </li></ul>

Who am I?

A subject-to-object relationship exists in the outer world experiences, you can see that things are separate from you. You can't be something you're aware of. Same goes for your thoughts and emotions, you are aware when you're happy or sad. You're aware when your mind won't stop racing. When your mind is calm, you are still the one noticing these things occur. So seriously..Who are you?

Subject to Object Relationship

"Consciousness is the highest word you will ever utter. There is nothing higher or deeper than consciousness. Consciousness is full awareness. "

We know who we are not, but what is left once we've cleared the dust? Michael A. Singer explains, if all outside objects disappear you will still exist, if your thoughts and emotions ceased to exist you would still be here." When you look without creating thoughts, your consciousness is effortlessly aware of, and fully comprehend all it sees. " But, what would happen if our awareness did not exist?- Well we would not exist. There would be no sense of self. There would be no awareness of being. No matter how many things are in front of you without consciousness there is nothing there.

Settle the Dust

"If you are conscious, there can be nothing in front of you but you are fully aware there is nothing. "So back to the question. "Who am I?" " ' I am the one who sees. From the back in here somewhere, I look out, and I am aware of the events, thoughts, and emotions that pass before me. ' " - The Untethered Soul" A true spiritual being lives there without effort and without intent."From the very start of your life you've been the conscious receiver of all that was. As you pull back into consciousness, this world ceases to be a problem. It keeps changing but it's just something you are watching.

Consciousness

Do you want to be happy or not? The choice now is in your hands.Things out of your control WILL happen. No matter how much you think about it or suffer behind the fear of something happening. The true question is " Will I be happy regardless of what happens?" <ul><li>You no longer desire to change the world, but you let the world flow and you experience all the journey of life has to offer.</li><li>You let go of identifying with outside experiences and inner emotions. </li><li>You simply are aware you exist and your sense of being is not valued in external sources.</li><li>Understand you were not put on this Earth to suffer.</li></ul>

The Path to Unconditional Happiness

" In the end, enjoying life's experiences is the only rational thing to do. You're floating in empty space in a universe that goes on forever. If you have to be here, at least be happy and enjoy the experiences. " - Michael A. SingerHe explains,When your heart is closed, you aren't happy, you feel no energy inside compared to when you're happy, your heart feels open and the rush of happiness overwhelms you. "Choose to not close your heart, no matter the circumstances. You can chose to go with it, or let go." "Relax your heart when it begins to tighten.""Have fun with all that life unfolds."

Commit to Happiness

" Maybe happiness is not something you inherit or even choose, but a highly personal skill that can be learned like fitness or nutrition. "

In the Almanack of Naval Ravikant, the author cities Naval loosely, But the idea Naval believes is...<ul><li>"These kind of questions have answers, but they are personal ones." </li><li>"Today, I believe happiness is a default state. It is when you remove the sense of something missing in your life. "</li><li>" Nothing is missing, your mind shuts down and stops running into the past or the future to regret something or to plan something. "</li><li>" Nature has no concept of happiness or unhappiness. Everything is perfect exactly the way it is."</li><li>"Happiness is embracing the present moment and reality of what is, and the way it is.</li></ul>

What is Happiness to you?

<ul><li>" One can be very happy if not caught up in their own head."</li><li>" Every second you have on this planet is very precious, and it's your responsibility to make sure you're happy and interpreting everything in the best way possible."</li><li>"A rational person can find peace by cultivating indifference to things outside of their control." </li></ul>

continued...

So Naval Ravikant believes, " You can very slowly but steadily and methodically improve your happiness baseline, just like you improve your fitness."Examples he used:<ul><li>I have lowered my identity </li><li>I have lowered the chattering of my mind</li><li>I don't care about things that don't really matter</li><li>I don't get involved in politics </li><li>I don't hang around unhappy people</li><li>I really value my time here on Earth</li><li>I read philosophy</li><li>I meditate</li></ul>Michael A Singer from the Untethered Soul says " Work with it. Use affirmations, or do whatever you need to do to stay open." " Just question if you're willing to give up your happiness."

Learning the Skill of Happiness

" The power for creating a better future is contained in the present moment. You create a good future by creating a good present. "

Living in the Now

" The only thing that is ultimately real about your journey is the step you are taking at this moment. That's all there ever is. " - Eckhart TolleLiving in the past creates depression and guilt for what already happened. Something that no longer exist in present time effects you in the present. Stop living in the past.Living in the future creates anxiety about what if's, the future is ultimately out of your control. So, stop living in fear of something that has never happened.

“All negativity is caused by an accumulation of psychological time and denial of the present.""Unease, anxiety, tension, stress, worry - all forms of fear - are caused by too much future, and not enough presence.""Guilt, regret, resentment, grievances, sadness, bitterness, and all formsof nonforgiveness are caused by too much past, and not enough presence.”" As soon as you honor the present moment, all unhappiness and struggle dissolve, and life begins to flow with joy and ease. " - Eckhart Tolle, the Power of Now

"Whatever the present moment contains, accept it as if you had chosen it. Always work with it, not against it. Make it your friend and ally, not your enemy."

" A happy person isn't someone who's happy all the time. Its someone who effortlessly interprets events in such a way that they don't lose their innate peace" - The Almanack of Naval Ravikant “Die to the past every moment. You don't need it. Only refer to it when it is absolutely relevant to the present. Feel the power of this moment and the fullness of Being. Feel your presence." -The Power of Now, Eckhart Tolle

Being Happy

“There is nothing more important to true growth than realizing that you are not the voice of the mind - you are the one who hears it.” “Eventually you will see that the real cause of problem is not life itself. It's the commotion the mind makes about life that really causes the problems.” “To attain true inner freedom, you must be able to objectively watch your problems instead of being lost in them..."“Everything will be okay as soon as you are okay with everything. And that’s the only time everything will be okay.”<ul><li>The Untethered Soul, Michael A. Singer</li></ul>

Inner Freedom

After reading many philosophy and spiritual guidance books, I've put together the idea I've formed on the key of happiness through sourced materials.

The Key to Happiness 

"30 Things to Start Doing for Yourself" — the positive daily guide that will keep you on track.

<ul><li>“Accept what is, let go of what was, and have faith in your journey.” </li><li>“Don’t be scared to walk alone down the path less traveled, and don’t be scared to love every minute of it.” </li> </ul>So I wrote those two quotes down again, just as I remembered them, and posted them up on the wall over my nightstand. I woke up to these quotes every morning for several years thereafter—they helped keep me centered. I also took tiny steps, day in and day out, until I knew I was finally moving down the right path again.

And so for the longest time, behind a facade of fake smiles, you have inadvertently betrayed yourself for the purpose of pleasing everyone else. And for longest time, your heart has ached. But you’re at a point now where you’re seeing things differently. The heartache just isn’t worth it anymore. Belittling yourself for one more day just doesn’t make any sense. And more than that, you now realize no matter what you do or how you change, some people will never be pleased anyway.

1. Choose to actively think better about yourself.

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