The stress of work and daily demands can distract us from what we find to be actually meaningful and interesting says Dr. Tamara McClintock Greenberg, a San Francisco-based clinical psychologist and author of <a href="http://www.springer.com/in/book/9783319242873">Psychodynamic Perspectives on Aging and Illness. </a><a href="http://www.springer.com/in/book/9783319242873"> </a>Thus, taking a break from the daily hustle and bustle is essential for your mind to relax, recharge and rejuvenate.﻿Traveling promotes happiness and helps you take your mind off stressful situations. This leads to lower cortisol levels, making you feel more calm and content.

Traveling is a great stress buster.

Experiential traveling, particularly to a foreign country, can help you re-evaluate and reinvent your life. If you allow it, travel has the ability to expand your mind in a way you never realized was possible.Moreover, the valuable lessons that you learn along the way broaden your perspective, making you more aware and open to new things.Exploring new places can also give you a fresh start if you're recovering from a major transition in your life.

It helps you reinvent yourself

A long stretch of road can teach you more about yourself than a hundred years of quiet.

When traveling, the new events and experiences you encounter will help rewire your brain, hence boosting your mood and self-confidence.According to a Cornell University <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0956797614546556">study</a>, the anticipation of a trip can increase your happiness substantially, even more than the anticipation of acquiring something tangible, like a new car.

Traveling boosts happiness and satisfaction.

Going and living somewhere where you feel excited and intimidated at the same time can help you toughen up mentally and emotionally. Also, facing difficulties in an unfamiliar environment, among new people, forces you to learn and adapt to a life that's out of your comfort zone. This makes you more flexible, patient and emotionally strong.

It makes you mentally resilient 

According to <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2015/03/for-a-more-creative-brain-travel/388135/">Adam Galinsky</a>, a professor at Columbia Business School, visiting a foreign place and immersing yourself in their local environment increases your cognitive flexibility. It also enhances "depth and integrativeness of thought," consequently giving a boost to your creativity. However, traveling stimulates creativity only when you engage with the local culture of that place. Merely visiting a new city or a country isn't going to cut it.Additionally, extended traveling also improves your <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2012/08/the-case-for-vacation-why-science-says-breaks-are-good-for-productivity/260747/">productivity</a>, problem-solving skills thus can <a href="https://hbr.org/2015/06/are-the-people-who-take-vacations-the-ones-who-get-promoted">increase</a> your chances of getting promoted at work!

Traveling enhances creativity

I recently started traveling and found out it's an experience I've been lacking in my life. And not just traveling for the sake of it, but getting myself immersed within the locals, their habits and exploring their culture. It's something that I definitely recommend anyone should do!

Rachel Wolchin rightly said, "If we were meant to stay in one place, we would have roots instead of feet." Extended travel can do wonders for your emotional and mental health, let the experts tell you how and why.

personaldevelopment

Personal Development

health

Health

travel

Travel

Five Reasons Why Travel Is Good For Your Mental Health

Perhaps you have thought that self-criticism is what keeps you sharp. Sensitive strivers (high-achievers who are also highly sensitive, demanding excellence from themselves at all times) often use this technique as a form of motivation, hoping that if they’re tough on themselves, they’ll be compelled to perform. Research shows that, when used excessively, self-criticism is consistently associated with <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0191886909001226">less motivation </a>, <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0146167212445599">worse self-control </a>, and <a href="https://selfdeterminationtheory.org/SDT/documents/2007_PowersKoestnerZuroff_JSCP.pdf">greater procrastination</a>. Self-criticism shifts the brain into <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19770047">a state of inhibition</a>, which prevents you from taking action to reach your goals.

When self-criticisim is too much

Being hard on yourself may be ineffective, but it is also a hard pattern to break. It requires consistent attention and practice. Here are a few strategies that can set you on the path to taking a more balanced, emotionally equanimous approach to your performance.

Being too hard on yourself is a hard pattern to break

Create <a href="https://academic.oup.com/jcr/article/39/2/324/1797092">psychological distance </a>from self-criticism by personifying it. Choose a silly name, like “the little monster” or “gremlin”, or, why not, Darth Vader. Purchasing a small Darth Vader action figure for your desk reminds you to keep the critical voice in check.Naming your inner critic leverages cognitive defusion — a process by which you separate yourself from your thoughts. Defusion is shown to <a href="https://contextualscience.org/files/305%20Defusion%20word%20repetition%20BRAT%202004.pdf">reduce </a>discomfort, believability, and the stress of negative thoughts. It promotes the capacity to steady your mind, manage your emotions, and be aware, open, and adaptive to changing demands.

1. Name your inner-critic

Sometimes, our impression of ourselves does not match others’ impression. This is called the <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/buy/2000-13328-002">spotlight effect </a>— a tendency in which you misjudge and overestimate how much attention others pay to your behavior.To combat the spotlight effect, consider your performance on aggregate versus zeroing in on a singular negative event. Think of a bell curve: you’ll likely perform average or higher than average most days. Some days will be below average, and that’s normal. Keep an eye on the bigger picture.

2. Avoid generaliaztion

Our minds are wired to make meaning and answer questions; the sensitive brain is making connections and anticipating eventualities. Studies have <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4086365/">shown </a>that sensitive people have more active mental circuitry and neurochemicals in areas related to attention, action-planning, decision-making, and having strong internal experiences.This means that as a sensitive striver you have the power to channel your thinking with greater precision. Make better use of your brain power by posing more constructive questions. Specifically, consider what could go right in equal measure with what could go wrong .

3. Flip the “what if” narrative

Being hard on yourself can ruin your mood, focus, and productivity. Luckily, shame and humiliation – two emotions that are common with self-criticism — are <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11031-014-9445-y">shown </a>to only last between 30 to 50 minutes. Timebox your feelings: set a timer and allow yourself to fully experience these emotions during that period. One helpful practice is release writing, in which you free write for 3 to 5 mins to let go of frustrations.Once the timer ends, make a conscious choice about how to move forward. Define how you want to feel and what actions gets you closer to that state (eg: go for a walk to be peaceful).

4. Set a timer and a goal

As a sensitive striver, you likely have a tendency to define achievement in a hyper-specific way, that is, complete and total excellence at all times. You don’t need to lower your bar, but you do need to broaden your scope of what qualifies as a “win.” Achieving the desired outcome isn’t always in your control, so broaden your definition of success to include:<ul><li>Overcoming resistance or fear</li><li>Pushing back and standing up for what you think is right</li><li>Approaching a situation with a different mindset or attitude</li><li>Taking a small step toward a goal</li></ul>

5. Expand your definition of success

Take a few moments at the end of your workday to reflect not only on your professional highlights (praise, recognition, positive reviews, etc.), but also to consider moments where you made yourself proud. Acting in integrity with your values is the true definition of success.As a sensitive striver, your desire to be the best is an asset when managed correctly.Once you tamp down the tendency to be hard on yourself, you’ll be able to more fully leverage your sensitivity and ambition as the gifts they are.

6. Reflect at the end of your day

As a sensitive striver who deals with the effects of self-criticism on a constant base, I found these techinques interesting to put in practice. Especially the naming one and the timer. It takes a lot of effort to be conscious when this is happening and try to use them, but it’s something I’ll definitely try next time I’m spiralling down into self-recrimination. 🤞🙏

Your inner critic is a terrible motivator.

Understand yourself and those around you.

psychology

Psychology

mentalhealth

Mental Health

Stop Being So Hard on Yourself

The Broken Windows theory holds that visible indicators of disorder, such as vandalism, loitering, and broken windows, invite criminal activity and should be prosecuted as a result.This has been tested in several real-world settings. It was heavily enforced in the mid 1990s under New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani, and Albuquerque, New Mexico, Lowell, Massachusetts, and the Netherlands later experimented with this theory.

The Broken Windows Theory

The broken windows theory states that any visible signs of crime and civil disorder, such as broken windows (hence, the name of the theory) vandalism, loitering, public drinking, jaywalking, and transportation fare evasion, create an urban environment that promotes even more crime and disorder (Wilson & Kelling, 1982). As such, policing these misdemeanors will help create an ordered and lawful society in which all citizens feel safe and crime rates, including violent crime rates, are low.

How Does The Broken Windows Theory Work

In a typical urban environment, social norms and monitoring are not clearly known. As a result, individuals will look for certain signs and signals that provide both insight into the social norms of the area as well as the risk of getting caught violating those norms. Those who support the broken windows theory argue that one of those signals is the area’s general appearance. In other words, an ordered environment, one that is safe and has very little lawlessness, sends the message that this neighborhood is routinely monitored and criminal acts are not tolerated.

How Your Neighborhood Looks Tells How Safe It Is

A major criticism of this theory argues that it misinterprets the relationship between disorder and crime by drawing a causal chain between the two. Instead, some researchers argue that a third factor, collective efficacy, or the cohesion among residents combined with shared expectations for the social control of public space, is the actual causal agent that explains crime rates (Sampson & Raudenbush, 1999).

Criticism Of The Theory

Given its controversial nature, broken windows policing is not explicitly used today as a way of regulating crime in most major cities. However, there are still traces of this theory that remain.And the racial and class biases that result from such an approach to law enforcement have definitely not disappeared.Crime regulation is not an easy feat, but the broken windows theory provides an approach to reducing offenses and maintaining order in society.

Conclusions

Broken Windows Theory - Simply Psychology

Seth Stephens-Davidowitz, author of Everybody Lies: Big Data, New Data, And What The Internet Can Tell Us About Who We Really Are evaluated every Billboard chart-topping tune released between 1960 and 2000, using data from Spotify, along with the ages of those songs' biggest fans. He found out that the average woman's musical tastes are formed between the ages of 11 and 14, while an average man's music tastes are virtually cemented between the ages of 13 and 16.Therefore, by our early 20s, our music tastes get locked into place pretty firmly.

Musical taste crystalizes by our early 20s

In 2015, the Skynet & Eberg blog looked at data from US Spotify users and Echo Nest. On average, teen music taste was dominated by popular music, then this steadily dropped until people's tastes "matured" in their early 30s. By age 33, it was more likely they'd never listen to new music again.In 2018, Deezer surveyed 1,000 Brits about their music preferences and listening habits. 60% said they were listening to the same songs over and over; 25% weren’t likely to try new music outside their preferred genres.The peak age for discovering new music, the results suggested, was 24.

Research shows that by 33 we’ve stopped listening to new music

In 2015, Oliver Bones and Christopher Plack, two neuroscientists of Manchester University and the Chinese University of Hong Kong, released a study called <a href="http://www.researchgate.net/publication/273124340_Losing_the_Music_Aging_Affects_the_Perception_and_Subcortical_Neural_Representation_of_Musical_Harmony">Losing the Music: Aging Affects the Perception and Subcortical Neural Representation of Musical Harmony</a>, that explored the effect that aging has on hearing. They found out that the brain's ability to distinguish between certain sounds diminishes as people get older, which may explain why the elderly tend to engage less with music.So to older people, newer, less familiar songs might all “sound the same.”

Biologically, as we age, we don’t perceive sounds the same way

One of the most researched laws of social psychology is the “<a href="http://socialpsychonline.com/2016/03/the-mere-exposure-effect/">mere exposure effect</a>.” In a nutshell, it means that the more we’re exposed to something, the more we tend to like it. This happens with people we know, the ads we see and, yes, the songs we listen to. So, when you’re in your early teens, you probably spend a fair amount of time listening to music or watching music videos. Your favorite songs and artists become familiar, comforting parts of your routine.For many people over 30, job and family obligations increase, so there’s less time to spend discovering new music.

Psychologically, familiar music sounds better to us

A <a href="https://www.webmd.com/balance/news/20050131/emotions-make-memory-last">research study by Florin Dolcos and his colleagues at the Duke University</a> reveals that when our emotions are aroused, the brain takes note. It stores as much detail as possible about the emotion-filled event, wiring it for quick recall.The results show that the amygdala and the hippocampus, regions of our brains that successfully encode emotional memories play a role not only for successful storing of the memories, but also for their successful retrieval.Therefore, the stronger the emotion, the easier it is to remember.

Intense emotions are easier to remember

Memory researchers have, in fact, identified something called <a href="https://slate.com/technology/2013/01/reminiscence-bump-explanations-why-we-remember-young-adulthood-better-than-any-other-age.html">the reminiscence bump</a>, which shows that our strongest memories come from things that happened to us between the ages of 10 and 30.During adolescence, emotions signal the brain that important events are happening, and these years are full of social feedback about one’s skills, attractiveness, status and desirability as a mate.All of this might explain why the songs we listen to during this period become so memorable and beloved.

The songs in our 20s and the reminiscence bump

As we age, nerve cells in the brain become less able to represent rapid fluctuations in sounds," Christopher Plack, a neuroscientist at the Chinese University of Hong Kong explained in his research paper <a href="http://www.researchgate.net/publication/273124340_Losing_the_Music_Aging_Affects_the_Perception_and_Subcortical_Neural_Representation_of_Musical_Harmony">Losing the Music: Aging Affects the Perception and Subcortical Neural Representation of Musical Harmony</a>.So there’s nothing wrong with your parents because they don’t like your music. In a way, it’s all part of the natural order of things.But listening to a lot of music can strengthen your neural responses to music. So, the more you listen to music, the more responsive your neurons become.

Getting older and not enjoying new music is OK

Music doesn't get objectively worse over time. So why do older generations scoff at each new top 40 hit?

communication

Communication

Why do old people hate new music?

Languishing is a sense of stagnation and emptiness. It feels as if you’re muddling through your days, looking at your life through a foggy windshield.

Languishing: The name for the BLAH you're feeling right now

In psychology, we think about mental health on a spectrum from depression to flourishing.Flourishing is the peak of well-being: You have a strong sense of meaning, mastery and mattering to others.Depression is the valley of ill-being: You feel despondent, drained and worthless.

The middle ground between flourishing and depression

Languishing is the neglected middle child of mental health. It’s the void between depression and flourishing — the absence of well-being. You don’t have symptoms of mental illness, but you’re not the picture of mental health either. You’re not functioning at full capacity. Languishing dulls your motivation, disrupts your ability to focus, and triples the odds that you’ll cut back on work. It appears to be more common than major depression — and in some ways it may be a bigger risk factor for mental illness.

What is Languishing

Psychologists find that one of the best strategies for managing emotions is to name them. We still have a lot to learn about what causes languishing and how to cure it, but naming it might be a first step. It could help to defog our vision, giving us a clearer window into what had been a blurry experience. It could remind us that we aren’t alone: languishing is common and shared.

Having a name for it might help

A concept called “flow” may be an antidote to languishing. Flow is that elusive state of absorption in a meaningful challenge or a momentary bond, where your sense of time, place and self melts away. During the early days of the pandemic, the best predictor of well-being wasn’t optimism or mindfulness — it was flow. People who became more immersed in their projects managed to avoid languishing and maintained their pre-pandemic happiness.

An antidote to languishing

This means you need to set boundaries. Years ago, a Fortune 500 software company in India tested a simple policy: no interruptions Tuesday, Thursday and Friday mornings. When the company set this as an official policy, 65% of its employees achieved above-average productivity.The lesson of this simple idea is to treat uninterrupted blocks of time as treasures to guard. It clears out constant distractions and gives us the freedom to focus.

Give yourself some uninterrupted time

To transcend languishing, try starting with small wins: make your bed, clean your house, clean your car, make time to read a few pages every day. One of the clearest paths to flow is taking a challenge. That means carving out daily time to focus on a challenge that matters to you — an interesting project, a worthwhile goal, a meaningful conversation.

Focus on a small goal

The neglected middle child of mental health can dull your motivation and focus — and it may be the dominant emotion of 2021.

There’s a Name for the Blah You’re Feeling: It’s Called Languishing

Einstein explained how he often knew that he was right without knowing why. He shared that it’s his intuition telling him that he must be right with an assumption.

Imagination is more important than knowledge.

Quite often, we stop moving forward once we face difficulties. But the truth is that these are the moments we need to be in motion and keep going on, even if life sucks.Everything you want in life is on the other side of consistency and moving on is always going to pay off, no matter how hard the situation might seem.Whatever you do, always stay in motion.Great things never come from comfort zones and they definitely don’t come if you’re lazy.Being curious and in motion will help you keep your balance and enrich your life in many ways.

Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must k

﻿It is not that I’m so smart. But I stay with the questions much longer.

Albert Einstein is considered one of the smartest people in history. So smart that after his death, the pathologist who inspected his body stole his brain. Thomas Harvey took Einstein’s brain even…

Five Reasons Why Travel Is Good For Your Mental Health

Stop Being So Hard on Yourself

Broken Windows Theory - Simply Psychology

Why do old people hate new music?

There’s a Name for the Blah You’re Feeling: It’s Called Languishing

Adrian Popescu