Think about different kinds of leaders for a minute. Ever notice that leadership styles vary dramatically? Some leaders seem to genuinely come across as caring about the broader people whom they represent—and they seem trustworthy, altruistic, and kind. On the other hand, some leaders seem kind of scary—selfish, intimidating, and even ruthless.History tells us that there are definitely different pathways toward success and toward achieving leadership positions. And this basic story speaks to the fact that there are different pathways toward success in life more generally.

Different Paths, Same Outcome

As is found in so many life forms, humans seem to demonstrate something called strategic pluralism when it comes to patterns of behavior. In short, strategic pluralism speaks to the fact that there is often a plurality of strategies that can lead to success in all kinds of contexts.When it comes to natural selection, the engine that drives the nature of the living world, it is often the case that multiple phenotypes (observable features of an organism) emerge to address various selective pressures (i.e., things that tend to impede survival and/or reproduction).

Strategic Pluralism

Some male wood frogs find success in the mating market by having large bodies and effectively attracting female wood frogs with their deep calls, while other (often smaller) male wood frogs find themselves successfully mating via an alternative route: by hiding in the bushes near a large male wood frog and mating with females who are attracted by the calls of the larger male. The latter is a sneaky strategy, for sure—but it often works.

A Quick Example From The Natural World

The same goes with humans when it comes to broad social strategies in terms of how we treat others. People vary from one another in terms of how truly other-oriented versus how dispositionally selfish they are.In the human experience, there are multiple pathways to success. Some successful humans have reached the top by gaining the respect and admiration of others by being truly other-oriented, genuine, and kind. On the other hand, many successful humans have reached the top by lying, cheating, intimidating, and stealing.

The Other-Oriented And The Self-Oriented Succeed Just As Well

In recent years, work in the field of personality psychology has found that there are reliable and measurable individual differences in terms of the degree to which people tend to employ a dark strategy when it comes to dealing with others versus a light strategy in dealing with others.

There Simply Is A “Dark” Strategy And A “Light” Strategy

As is the case with wood frogs, these two different behavioral strategies in humans seem to each have the capacity to lead to success. Under some conditions, an all-out selfish approach leads to success in life—largely via tactics such as intimidation and bullying. In other conditions, a genuinely other-oriented approach has the capacity to boost one's social reputation and open the door for all kinds of success in life.In other words, across evolutionary time, nature has selected both selfish and other-oriented approaches to dealing with others in life.

To The Natural World, There Is Just “Success” Strategy

From this perspective, we can think of two broad paths to success in life. A selfish approach to life, for better or worse, can have its merits when it comes to success. History is full of all kinds of figures who found success by moving simply toward their own selfish goals. On the other hand, humans evolved in small, tight-knit communities in which social reputation mattered quite a bit. In this context, demonstrating genuinely other-oriented, caring behaviors has the capacity to facilitate one's own success in an ultimate sense.

The Inevitable Two Broad Paths To Success

Human behavior is complex—people utilize a broad suite of behavioral strategies in their efforts to succeed in life. Based on the principle of strategic pluralism, it turns out that multiple—and often wildly different—strategies have the capacity to lead to successful outcomes.

Success Is Personal. Strategic Pluralism Is Natural. 

﻿Knowing all this, when it comes to the strategy that works best for you in life, realize that there are choices to be made. Sure, a self-serving approach to life might lead to all kinds of success, but it often does so at a cost to the welfare of others. On the other hand, a genuinely other-oriented approach to life has the capacity to also facilitate one's own success while, at the same time, cultivating the success of others and of one's broader community.

Choices Are Personal. Consequences Are Natural. 

Via eons of evolutionary pressures, both strategies have made it into the human behavioral repertoire. In large part, the strategy that you utilize as you navigate the obstacles of life is up to you.

Nature Allows For Equifinality. And Selection. And Extinction. 

When you have a challenge and the response is equal to the challenge, that's called success. But once you have a new challenge, the old, once-successful response no longer works. That's why it is called a failure.

Nobody ever did, or ever will, escape the consequences of his choices.

We humans have evolved a broad suite of social strategies that solve all kinds of adaptive problems. Some of us succeed by sheer and ruthless selfishness, while others of us succeed by gaining reputations as truly compassionate and caring for others. In either case, success is not final and in neither case is success final.

Some succeed through all-out selfishness while others succeed by truly caring.

Understand yourself and those around you.

psychology

Psychology

personaldevelopment

Personal Development

mindfulness

Mindfulness

motivationandinspiration

Motivation & Inspiration

leadershipandmanagement

Leadership & Management

There Are Two Broad Paths to Success in Life

Money, and the issues around money, are notoriously anxiety-provoking, and our coping mechanisms are usually unhealthy  - for example, aggressive avoidance — a more slow-simmering form of agita that merely (and literally) compounded the problem.Money doesn’t just represent safety and security and stability. It is safety and security and stability. It is also unavoidable. This means your feelings about money are along for the ride, too — no matter how much energy you expend trying to escape them.

Money Anxieties

<ul><li>Figure out how you actually feel. Yes, you’re anxious, but what kind of anxiety? When do you feel anxious? Where do you feel anxious?</li><li>﻿Once you become more aware of your anxiety, try to pinpoint the specific financial concerns that it stems from. Then, you can start checking them against reality.</li><li> Money — and anxiety around it — is often integrated into our lives at an early age, before we can even articulate material needs and desires. Therefore, our feelings about it are not necessarily rational to our contemporary lives. </li></ul>

Dealing With Financial Anxiety

The goal isn’t to eradicate money worries entirely. Some amount of anxiety around money is healthy. Then, the challenge is not banishing the anxiety but moderating it — which can require practical, measured action. That could mean looking for a new job, hiring a financial planner, consolidating debt, or asking a friend to sit next to you for moral support (or enforcement) while you finally open the bills you’ve been avoiding.

Some Anxiety Around Money Is Useful

Perhaps the most brutal truth about money anxiety is that money actually is worth worrying about. For all the psychological acrobatics and emotional coping mechanisms, the best solution to financial anxiety is and will always be improving the reality of your finances — which is, of course, significantly easier said than done. You can manage your financial anxiety and discover how childhood trauma shaped your understanding of money, but you can’t opt out of money-related stress, because you can’t opt-out of money.

Money Is Worth Worrying About

How to pay your bills, budget better, and deal with anxiety when money stresses you out, according to experts.

moneyandinvestments

Money & Investments

Why We’ll Never Get Rid of Our Money Anxieties

Thanks to social media, news reports and violent images that bombard us at all hours, we often experience what experts call vicarious trauma when a horrific event occurs. It’s in our physiological nature as human beings to feel some amount of empathy and sorrow for others dealing with a traumatic event. Even though we’re not physically present, we still feel the mental health effects of what’s going on.
This is applicable to any grim situation. An impending war, a relentless virus, a devastating mass shooting ― you don’t have to be immersed in the crisis to be affected by it. If you are dealing with feelings of unrest, anxiety or doom right now, know that it’s completely normal. And while you may not be able to abate it entirely, it is crucial to know how to stay informed while protecting your mental health.

Constant Mental Trauma

Disinformation spreads like wildfire during times of crisis. Make sure you’re following credible sources and engaging with confirmed reports, tweets and other content). 
If possible, try to find multiple sources confirming the same information before you share or even necessarily believe a report. Spreading and buying into inaccurate stories, photos and videos only contributes to your own panic and anxiety, and the panic and anxiety of others.

Follow trusted sources

It’s unrealistic to suggest logging off entirely, but it’s vital to set some boundaries when it comes to social media. Stay informed, then give your brain a break.
For example, try setting aside a block of time to check in on the news. If you find yourself reaching for your phone at night when you can’t sleep, try directing your attention to a lighter part of the internet instead of scrolling through headlines.

Set  Boundaries to Prevent Excessive Doomscrolling

Do everything within your power to stick to your normal schedule. That includes bedtimes, wake times, working if you’re able to handle it, and any other regular aspects of your routine.
During tragic events, we feel a loss of control in our lives and everything going on around us. The more we can stick to our normal routines, the more our brains and our bodies feel like we’re back in control.

Keep a Normal Routine

Our emotions need a physical outlet. To relieve some of that anxiety and tension, try gently moving your body. 
This could mean going for a walk, doing some light stretching, taking a home boxing class, or whatever it is that helps you feel good. The idea is less about exercise per se and more about finding a tangible way to get out your feelings

Move Your Body

It’s not frivolous to feel affected by what’s happening in the world right now. Suppressing anything you might be feeling only contributes to poor mental health.
Experts emphasize that it’s vital to acknowledge how you’re feeling, instead of dismissing it in the hopes of gaining some sense of ease. That might include crying (and research shows that crying can be a therapeutic release).

Cry If You Need To

You should definitely be aware of these habits and be mindful of when they might turn into something insidious.
If you’re turning to alcohol or other unhealthy coping mechanisms as a crutch, you should reach out to a professional or someone who can help you process what’s happening in a healthier way. Experts stress that these behaviours often worsen your mental health if they turn into a reliance.

Be Mindful of Your Other Coping Mechanisms

This could be to your therapist, your loved ones, your co-workers or anyone you trust when it comes to sharing your feelings. Support systems are crucial during periods of unrest and trauma.
Pay attention to how you feel and behave in the coming days. If you notice you’re withdrawing from others, not keeping up with a standard routine, or feeling intense emotions that make it difficult to function, it’s time to seek professional mental health advice.

Reach Out To Your Loved Ones Or A Professional

It's normal to feel anxious as you follow what's unfolding in Ukraine. Here's how to stay informed while protecting your mental health.

mentalhealth

Mental Health

artsandculture

Society, Arts & Culture

How To Ease Some Of The Vicarious Trauma You May Be Feeling Right Now

When we decide to create a new habit — exercise, healthy eating, meditation, writing — we can get excited and optimistic, and have an idea of how it will go perfectly.This is such a hopeful time! Unfortunately, reality has other plans.Our perfect idea of how our new habit will go is pretty much never how it actually goes. We might do really well for a few days or even a couple of weeks, but inevitably we’ll miss a day or two because of tiredness, busyness, sickness, visitors, forgetting, etc. And then things get derailed, because of our perfect idea of how we hoped the habit would go.

The Obstacles In Creating A New Habit

Perfection is one of the main obstacles to forming habits. Our hopeful idea of how it will go, and then our disappointment and frustration with ourselves when it doesn’t go that way.The idea that we should be super consistent and perfect in our habit attempts …  derails us.

Your Perfect Expectations Is The Problem

What if we simply said, “Let me try to bring a daily ritual of doing X into my life, and be curious about what it will be like”?So there doesn’t have to be a fantasy that it will go perfectly or brilliantly. We don’t know how it will be. But we can bring an intention to do it, and a curiosity about what that will be like.Then we start doing it. We miss a day, but this is not a cause for discouragement. It’s a cause for curiosity — what got in the way? What would it be like to start again today?

Reality-Based Habit Change

Each day becomes a lovely place of learning.The “successful” days and “failure” days are not really binary results of success/failure, but instead a rich place of curiosity and learning.Instead of competing with ourselves, we can glide through forming a new habit by simply being open, curious and non-judgemental.

Learn Each Day

habits

Habits

Why Perfectionism Stops Us from Creating New Habits - zen habits

When you watch a chess game, it's easy to spot when another player made a big mistake. But when we play ourselves, we often make the same mistakes. The reason this happens is known as "the rule of the chess player:" It's easier to see potential mistakes when we're not emotionally attached to the game and don't feel the stress.

Performing under pressure

When you're in an emotionally intense situation, your perspective will be very different than when you're not in that situation. The rule of the chess player is based on the perspective gap, a psychological principle. It states that we often misjudge how we would react when facing a situation.

The rule of the chess player

When you see someone make a big mistake, you may think, "Well, that's what they get." or "I've been there; it will help them toughen up." Those reactions are unhelpful. They don't do anything for the person who's suffering nor for your relationship with them. In contrast, using the rule of the chess player helps you to realise that you would make the same mistakes if you were in similar circumstances. Your default changes from "judgmental" to "helpful", which can strengthen your connections with others.

Show more empathy

Chess Masters and Grandmasters practice dealing with different scenarios they might encounter. By practising the moves over and over, they develop habits and processes they can repeat effortlessly. You can do the same thing with your emotions. Training your feelings and emotional responses can help you to form habits you can rely on under pressure. When you're under emotional stress, you'll avoid panicking, which will help you to make good decisions.

Perform under pressure

strategy

Strategy

problemsolving

Problem Solving

How Emotionally Intelligent People Use the 'Rule of the Chess Player' to Strengthen Relationships and Perform Under Pressure

We miss the point that the ability to develop any skill as swiftly as possible, with the least amount of effort, and even to experience inner peace and joy in the process, is in fact a skill itself, and one that requires constant practice to become an effortless part of who we are.
When we subtly shift toward both focusing on and finding joy in the process of achieving instead of having the goal, we have gained a new skill. And once mastered, it is magical and incredibly empowering.

Effortless Effort

If you are not in control of your thoughts, then you are not in control of yourself. Without self-control, you have no real power, regardless of whatever else you accomplish.
If you are not aware of the thoughts that you think in each moment, then you are the rider with no reins, with no power over where you are going. You cannot control what you are not aware of. Awareness must come first

The Normal, Accidental Mind

The practising mind is quiet. It lives in the present and has laser-like, pinpoint focus and accuracy. It obeys our precise directions, and all our energy moves through it. 
Because of this, we are calm and completely free of anxiety. We are where we should be at that moment, doing what we should be doing and completely aware of what we are experiencing. There is no wasted motion, physically or mentally.

The Practising Mind

We have a very unhealthy habit of making the product — our intended result — the goal, instead of the process of reaching that goal.
When we practice something, we are involved in the deliberate repetition of a process with the intention of reaching a specific goal. The words deliberate and intention are key here because they define the difference between actively practicing something and passively learning it (similar to deliberate practice, see Peak).

The Journey, Not The Destination

<ul>
<li>When you focus on the process, the desired product takes care of itself with fluid ease.</li>
<li>When you focus on the product or goal, you immediately begin to fight yourself and experience boredom, restlessness, frustration, and impatience with the process.</li>
</ul>

The Process Matters, Not The Goal

When you remain aware of your intention to stay focused on the present, it’s easy to notice when you fall out of this perspective. At such times you immediately begin to judge what and how well you are doing, and you experience impatience and boredom. 
When you catch yourself in these moments, just gently remind yourself that you have fallen out of the present, and feel good about the fact that you are now aware enough to recognize it. You have begun to develop the Observer within you, who will prove so important in your self-guidance.

Stay In The Present

We consciously or unconsciously pick a point of reference in whatever we do and decide that nothing will be right until we get to that point. If you step back and observe your internal dialogue from time to time during the day, you will be amazed at how hard you work against yourself with this type of thinking.
In Zen, this state is referred to as “beginner’s mind.” When you are a beginner in any activity, accomplishing it takes all your concentration, and your mind is empty of chatter.

The Beginners Mind

<ul>
<li>If your mind races off, you're like a chariot without the reigns. Take the reigns and be in control of your mind.</li>
<li>Your goals are a compass, not the buried treasure. The goal is not the destination or where you end up, but rather the compass that guides the journey.</li>
<li>The greatest part of entrepreneurship is breaking down your limiting beliefs. It has nothing to do with money.</li>
</ul>

Your Beliefs And Limitations Are Only In The Mind

All of life is practice in one form or another. Actively practising something is very different from passively learning. You will never reach a level of performance that feels complete, so learn to love the art of practicing your skill.

Examines the process of practice as it relates to learning, and shows that it can build discipline and clarity, and be a fulfilling process in and of itself.

productivity

Productivity

books

Books

In those times when we want to acquire a new skill or face a formidable challenge we hope to overcome, what we need most are patience, focus, and discipline, traits that seem elusive or difficult to maintain. In this enticing and practical book, Thomas Sterner demonstrates how to learn skills for any aspect of life, from golfing to business to parenting, by learning to love the process. Early life is all about trial-and-error practice. If we had given up in the face of failure, repetition, and difficulty, we would never have learned to walk or tie our shoes. So why, as adults, do we often give up on a goal when at first we don’t succeed? Modern life’s technological speed, habitual multitasking, and promises of instant gratification don’t help. But in his study of how we learn (prompted by his pursuit of disciplines such as music and golf), Sterner has found that we have also forgotten the principles of practice — the process of picking a goal and applying steady effort to reach it. The methods Sterner teaches show that practice done properly isn’t drudgery on the way to mastery but a fulfilling process in and of itself, one that builds discipline and clarity. By focusing on “process, not product,” you’ll learn to live in each moment, where you’ll find calmness and equanimity. This book will transform a sense of futility around learning something challenging into an attitude of pleasure and willingness.

Thomas M. Sterner is an accomplished writer whose work has resonated with readers around the world. Thomas M. Sterner has published several books that explore a range of topics, from fiction to nonfiction, and has received critical acclaim for the ability to weave compelling narratives. Thomas M. Sterner's writing style is known for its depth and authenticity, and has earned quite a loyal following of readers.

Thomas M. Sterner

The Practicing Mind

नास्ति काम समो व्याधिर्नासि्त मोहसमो रिपु:।नास्ति कोप समो वह्रि: नास्ति ज्ञानात्परें सुखम्।।

No Disease is More Deadly than Sexual Desire.No Enemy is more Dangerous than Infatuation. No Fire is more Scorching than the Fire of Wrath.No Happiness is Better than the Self-knowledge.

Meaning Of Above Sutra

One of the greatest figures of wisdom and knowledge in the Indian history is Chanakya. Chanakya is regarded as a great thinker and diplomat in India who is traditionally identified as Kautilya or Vishnu Gupta. Originally a professor of economics and political science at the ancient Takshashila University, Chanakya managed the first Maurya Emperor Chandragupta's rise to power at a young age. Instead of acquiring the seat of kingdom for himself, he crowned Chandragupta Maurya as the emperor and served as his chief advisor. Chanakya Neeti is a treatise on the ideal way of life, and shows Chanakya's deep study of the Indian way of life. These practical and powerful strategies provide a path to live an orderly and planned life. If these strategies are followed in any sphere of life, victory is certain. Chanakya also developed Neeti-Sutras (aphorisms ? pithy sentences) that tell people how they should behave. Chanakya used these sutras to groom Chandragupta and other selected disciples in the art of ruling a kingdom. But these sutras are also relevant in this modern age and are very useful for us. For the first time, Chanakya Neeti and Chanakya Sutras are compiled in this book to make Chanakya's invaluable wisdom easily available to the common readers. This book presents Chanakya's powerful strategies and principles in a very lucid manner for the benefit of our valuable readers.

Chanakya Neeti is a book based on Chanakya, an Indian theorist, teacher, philosopher, economist and a noble mentor to the Mauryan emperors between 350 -275 BC. The book portrays about his ideologies and ideas in diverse situations, which are pertinent even to today?s? times. People follow his ideas to escape from the web of several evils to lead a happy and peaceful life. Chanakya was also known as Kautilya or Vishnu Gupta. He was prominent lecturer at the ancient Takshashila University. He was an expert of economics and political science. Besides teaching, he also advised the Mauryan kings, Chandragupta and his son Bindusara. Chanakya played a crucial role in the establishment and expansion of the Mauryan Empire. In this book, the author tells about Arthashastra, the ancient thesis about Indian Polity. The book focuses on Chanakya's detailed theories. He wrote his discoveries as to the manner people used to live their lives in ancient India. The book explains the behaviours and patterns a person should follow with different people in life. This book was published in 2002 and is available in paperback form. It comprises of Neeti Sutras in Sanskrit, which are in concise form, but are very impressive. Their translation is done in English and a bit is explained in laymen's terms too. It is available online on Amazon India. About the author: B.K. Chaturvedi is an Indian Civil Servant. He is also former Cabinet Secretary, Government of India. He was awarded the Padma Bhushan for his involvement in the field of civil services, in 2010. He belongs to the 1966 IAS batch. About the Author About the Author: B. K. Chaturvedi is a famous Indian author, who is also a journalist and translator. His works are mainly based on Hindu Gods and saints. He also focusses on historically famous Indian people. Chaturvedi's works are published both in English and Hindi. He mostly studied in Bangalore and Allahabad. Apart from this book, Chaturvedi has authored Linga Purana, Kautilya's Arthashastra and A Complete Guide To Numerology. He has also written for some programmes on TV and radio.

B. K. Chaturvedi is an accomplished writer whose work has resonated with readers around the world. B. K. Chaturvedi has published several books that explore a range of topics, from fiction to nonfiction, and has received critical acclaim for the ability to weave compelling narratives. B. K. Chaturvedi's writing style is known for its depth and authenticity, and has earned quite a loyal following of readers.

B. K. Chaturvedi

Chanakya Neeti

What is meditation? Meditation is the power which enables us to resist all this[slavery to nature]... [One] should be able to say to his mind, "You are mine; I order you, do not see or hear anything", and the mind will not see or hear anything -- no form or sound will react on the mind... Next, the mind must be made to quiet down. It is rushing about. Just as I sit down to meditate, all the vilest subjects in the world come up... Why should the mind think thoughts I do not want it to think? I am, as it were a slave to the mind... Meditation is the power which enables us to resist all this.

Mind

How is it (meditation) to be attained? In a dozen different ways. Each temperament has its own way. But this is the general principle: get hold of the mind. The mind is like a lake, and every stone that drops into it raises waves. These waves do not let us see what we are... Let it be calm. Do not let nature raise the wave. Keep quiet, and then after a little while she will give you up. Then we know what we are.

Lake

Meditation is the focusing of the mind on some object. If the mind acquires concentration on one object, it can be so concentrated on any object whatsoever... the practice of meditation even with some trifling external object leads to mental concentration. But it is true that the mind very easily attains calmness when one practice meditation with anything on which one's mind is most apt to settle down.

object

Imagination is the door to inspiration and the basis of all thought. All prophets, poets, and discoverers have had great imaginative power... The three great requisites are:First. Purity, physical and mental; all uncleanness, all that would draw the mind down, must be abandoned.Second. Patience: ... the gain is sure if you have patience.Third. Perseverance: Persevere through think and thin, through health and sickness, never miss a day in practice... (continued next)

Imagine

(continued from last idea)After bathing, sit down and hold the seat firm as a rock, that nothing can move you. Hold the head and shoulders and the hips in a straight line, keeping the spinal column free; all action is along it, and it must not be impaired... then think of the whole as perfect, an instrument given to you by god to enable you to attain Truth... take a long breath through both nostrils, throw it out again, and then hold it out as long as you comfortably can. Take four such breaths, then breathe naturally and pray for illumination.

We have to seize this unstable mind and drag it from its wanderings and fix it on one idea. Over and over again this must be done.

Again

The easiest way to get hold of the mind is to sit quiet and let it drift where it will for a while. Hold fast to the idea, 'I am the witness watching my mind drifting. The mind is not I.' Then see it, think as if it were a thing entirely apart from yourself.

Take some holy person, some great person whom you revere, some saint whom you know to be perfectly non-attached, and think of his heart, that heart has become non-attached, and meditate on that heart; it will calm the mind.

Think of a space in your heart, and in the midst of that space think that a flame is burning. Think of that flame as your own soul and inside the flame is another effulgent light, and that is the Soul of your soul, God. Meditate upon that in the heart.

Flame and heart

*Fun fact*My name Anirban means the eternal flame, a flame that cannot be extinguished.

Meditation is still an ideal to me, which I strive for every day. I have learnt a little, I hope to continue learning from the practice.

loveandrelationships

Love & Relationships

meditation

Meditation

The idea of Meditation by Vivekananda

People who struggle with anxiety for long periods mistakenly belief unhelpful myths about what anxiety is and how it works. If you want to feel less anxious, you should unlearn the counter-productive myths that you've heard about anxiety.

Misunderstanding anxiety

Analyzing your past may be interesting, but it isn't helpful. This is because the initial cause of your anxiety is seldom the maintaining cause of your anxiety. Until you address the maintaining causes, your anxiety will continue.

Myth: You must understand the origins of your anxiety

Because something feels bad, it doesn't mean it is bad. Muscles soreness after a workout feels bad but is really a good thing. Anxiety is the same. It feels bad but isn't dangerous. It is just a form of faulty or misguided fear. But, long-term anxiety can lead to chronic stress, which is associated with various adverse effects. The key insight is that worrying about anxiety teaches your brain to think that anxiety is dangerous, making you even more anxious. Make it a point to stop worrying about your anxiety.

Myth: Anxiety is dangerous

Coping skills provide only short-term relief from anxiety. For example, doing mindfulness meditation to cope with your anxiety. Doing so teaches your brain that it's not okay to feel anxious and that anxiety is bad. As stated, anxiety is not dangerous, but if you treat it like it is, you teach your brain to fear fear itself.

Myth: You need coping skills to manage your anxiety

The belief that anxiety is a sign of weakness can be very hard to shake. Even if people acknowledge intellectually that feeling anxious isn't a sign of weakness, they still feel that way experientially. For example, let's say you gave a presentation at work and got really anxious because you mixed up some information. Then you spend the rest of the day ruminating about it. "I can't believe I got so flustered..."

Myth: Anxiety is a weakness

People may feel afraid they'll never change because that's just who they are. "I've always been an anxious person." However, anxiety comes from learning and experience. The good news is what is learned can be unlearned.

Myth: You're born with anxiety

Worry and anxiety are very different. Understanding the difference can help to lower your anxiety in the long term. Worry is a series of thoughts. "I'll never get that promotion..." "My chest feels funny... Maybe I'm having a heart attack." Anxiety is an emotion. Feeling nervous before a big performance; feeling on edge in a room full of new people. You can change your emotions indirectly by changing how you think. For example, it is possible to stop worrying and redirect your attention and thinking onto something else.

Myth: Worry and anxiety are the same thing

Anxiety often stems from unhealthy relationships. People get stuck in patterns of chronic worry because they're not good at managing their relationships. They don't know how to set healthy boundaries and be assertive enough.

Myth: It’s all in your head

If you want to feel less anxious, you need to understand how anxiety actually works (and how it doesn't, despite what you're been told).

health

Health

7 Anxiety Myths Everyone (Mistakenly) Believes

Cambridge English Dictionary: cognitive bias as the way a particular person understands events, facts, and other people, which is based on their own particular set of beliefs and experiences and may not be reasonable or accurate.PositivePsychology.com: “We are often presented with situations in life when we need to make a decision with imperfect information, and we unknowingly rely on prejudices or biases.”

What Are Cognitive Biases?

Confirmation Bias: Making decisions based on media and information sources that are in alignment with your current beliefs.Anchoring Bias: Becoming committed or attached to the first thing you learn about a particular subject. Similar to the halo effect , which is when you assume that a person’s positive or negative traits in one area will be the same in some other aspect of their personality.Hindsight Bias: Inclination to see some events as more predictable than they are; also known as the “I knew it all along" reaction.

Common Types Of Bias 

Misinformation effect: Memories of an event can become affected or influenced by information you received after the event occurred. Researchers have proven that memory is inaccurate because it is vulnerable to revision when you receive new information.Actor-observer bias: You attribute your actions to external influences and other people's actions to internal ones.False consensus effect: Assuming more people agree with your opinions and share your values than actually do. This happens because you tend to spend most of your time with family and friends, who share beliefs similar to yours.

Availability bias occurs when you believe the information you possess is more important than it actually is. This happens when you watch or listen to media sources that tend to run dramatic stories without sharing any balancing statistics on how rare such events may be.Bandwagon effect, also known as herd mentality or groupthink: Te propensity to accept beliefs or values because many other people hold them as well. This is a conformity bias as most people desire acceptance, fearing rejection if they hold opposing beliefs. People assume an opinion is correct because many others agree with it.

Authority bias is when you accept the opinion of an authority figure because you believe they know more than you. You might assume that they have already thought through an issue and made the right conclusion. And, because they are an authority in their field, you grant more credibility to their viewpoint than you would for anyone else.Negativity bias: Paying more attention to bad news than good. This is a natural bias that dates back to prehistoric days when noticing threats, risks, and other lethal dangers could save your life. In today’s civilized world, this bias is not as necessary.

Illusion of control is the belief that you have more control over a situation than you actually do.

Exposing yourself to new information and different viewpoints helps open up new neural pathways in your brain.Understanding these bias and being alert for them will help improve critical thinking.Communicate better to understand the source of the information

Knowledge And Communication

Cognitive bias can impact critical thinking

Recognizing your biases enhances understanding and communication.

communication

Communication

Cognitive Bias

Find 100+ Psychology Facts about Human Behaviour, Mind or Nature - Curated from Videos, Podcasts, Books & Articles - Genuine Insights from Other People