There's a moment when you have to choose, whether to be silent or stand up.

We have some choice in Life

Some research suggests that certain things we enjoy today would be classified as supernormal stimuli , a term evolutionary biologists use to describe any stimulus that elicits a response stronger than the stimulus for which it evolved—even if it’s artificial.

Supernormal Stimuli

<ul><li>He constructed plaster eggs to see which a bird preferred to sit on, finding that they would select those that were larger, had more defined markings, or more saturated color—a dayglo-bright one with black polka dots would be selected over the bird’s own pale, dappled eggs.</li><li>He found that territorial male stickleback fish would attack a wooden fish model more vigorously than a real male if its underside was redder.</li><li>He constructed cardboard dummy butterflies with more defined markings that male butterflies would try to mate with in preference to real females.</li></ul>

Nikolaas Tinbergen, a Nobel Prize Winning Ethologist, As Noted

Dr. Barrett seems to think that the link is closer then we believe, arguing that supernormal stimulation govern the behavior of humans as powerfully as that of animals.The hypothesis is that just like Tinbergen’s quick introductions of abnormal stimulation to animals, advancing technology may have created a similar situation for humans.Here are common examples supernormal stimuli around us

Humans And Animals

The highly addictive nature of <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/24/magazine/the-extraordinary-science-of-junk-food.html">junk food </a>is one of our generation’s great concerns—food is being engineered specifically to be more appealing than its natural counterparts.Some studies have suggested that foods like processed grain<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/nextavenue/2013/11/14/what-grain-is-doing-to-your-brain/"> </a>came about far too quickly and are doing quite a number on your mind and body.The problem with junk food is due to the fact that it is a “<a href="http://healthland.time.com/2012/04/05/yes-food-can-be-addictive-says-the-director-of-the-national-institute-on-drug-abuse/">super stimulating </a>” version of a natural reward we are supposed to pursue. Food addiction is the <a href="http://hms.harvard.edu/news/addicted-food-7-3-13">real deal </a>, and a tough habit to break because the triggers are ever present.

Junk food

Research agrees that video games doesn't cause excessively violent behavior, but I do have to admit that it seems video games may be addictive<a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/media-spotlight/201308/are-video-games-addictive"> </a>for some people, and in particular, for certain personalities. Some studies have found symptoms of withdrawal in a very small subset of subjects; they became moody, agitated, and had physical symptoms of withdrawal.Television addiction may cause some users to elicit the signs of a behavioral addiction— users often watch TV to change mood, but the relief that’s gotten is only temporary, and often brings them back for more.

TV & video games

Probably the most controversial of all modern stimuli, pornography has been described as insidious in nature<a href="https://www.cnn.com/2012/05/23/health/living-well/demise-of-guys"> </a>because it might skew the otherwise normal activity of sex. Porn has been linked to changing sexual tastes, and some argue that porn can become a “never-ending” supply of dopamine (though there are few conclusive studies done on porn and the mind).

Pornography

Unsurprisingly, psychologists are now giving serious consideration to the web, recognizing that it may be a very addictive outlet. It allows unfettered control to engage in nearly anything, and some countries like Japan and South Korea have had serious problems<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/18/technology/18rehab.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0"> </a>with reclusive, socially inept individuals who have a very unhealthy internet obsession—one story I read detailed a man who hadn’t left his apartment in 6 months. Social media has been shown to make some people depressed<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/elements/2013/09/the-real-reason-facebook-makes-us-unhappy.html"> </a>—they see the highlight reel of others, and may feel worse about their own life.

The Internet

This can seem like a lot to take in at once.Before you panic, freak out, and throw away all of your Oreos + cancel your internet subscription, remember—everything in moderation.Take the Internet:  there are signs that in some ways the Internet might become a distraction, but think about its contributions. The web is the best source in the world for information and knowledge, so how it affects you depends on how make use of it.

What should you do?

In both cases, the main change is awareness . Awareness that the reason we are drawn to sickly desserts is because they are sweeter than any naturally-occurring fruit.Awareness that watching television activates the primitive ‘orienting response’, keeping our eyes drawn to the moving pictures as if it were predator or prey. Awareness that liking ‘cute’ characters comes from a biological urge to protect and nurture our young.The key is spotting the stimuli as they appear, and engaging the mind to regulate or override temptation. Sometimes it can feel more rewarding to say no to the supernormal.

Awareness

C.S. Lewis has some great thoughts on this: “Only those who try to resist temptation know how strong it is. After all, you find out the strength of the German army by fighting it, not by giving in. You find out the strength of the wind by trying to walk against it, not by lying down. A man who gives into temptation after five minutes simply does not know what it would have been like an hour later.”

Deciding what’s normal

Giving something up for just a small period of time can help you understand its place in your life, especially when it’s an optional activity. If you try to stay away from something for just a few days, and you find yourself becoming anxious and agitated, that could be your body telling you something important. If you can give it up “cold turkey” with no problem, that’s important information, too.So no, don’t panic and freak out. Just recognize that it’s your job to make sure you are always in control; “those who do not move do not notice their chains.”

Do you know what supernormal stimuli is? If not read this articles.

Supernormal stimuli is a term evolutionary biologists use to describe any stimulus that elicits a response stronger than the stimulus for which it evolved.

Your Brain on Porn, Junk Food, and the Internet

LIfe is not about finding yourself, life is about creating yourself .

What is Life about?

<pre class="ql-syntax">The 21st Century is a century where we feel a more peaceful life than several centuries before. Now there are more and more job opportunities. Now our task is to develop ourselves and our environment for the better. Our task is not only to fight, but to develop the world around us. But matters of personal life seem to be more diverse in this era. Maybe the cause is technology that some people can't use wisely. This results in social anxiety, stress, envy, and so on. So here are some quotes that might help you in dealing with life today.
</pre>

Life In 21st Century 

“I do not regard a man as poor, if the little which remains is enough for him.”

“Remember that very little is needed to make a happy life.”

“Don't go on discussing what a good person should be. Just be one.”

“No man is free who is not master of himself.”

“It is quality rather than quantity that matters.”

"So other people hurt me? That's their problem. Their character and actions are not mine. What is done to me is ordained by nature, what I do by my own."

"Remember, it is not enough to be hit or insulted to be harmed, you must believe that you are being harmed. If someone succeeds in provoking you, realize that your mind is complicit in the provocation. Which is why it is essential that we not respond impulsively to impressions; take a moment before reacting, and you will find it easier to maintain control."

“It is more necessary for the soul to be cured than the body; for it is better to die than to live badly.”

Quotes

The Best Stoic Quotes For 21st Century Life

Are you sick and tired of feeling weary all day long? Dropping these bad habits can help. If you are consistently exhausted even when you think you’ve done your best to stay healthy and active, probably you’re missing something. This is usually a combination of those little bad habits you have and never imagined could bring such a big mess. Why am I always tired? Here are some bad habits to avoid:

This Is Why You Feel Tired Everyday 

With busy work schedules, and deadlines to meet, it becomes tricky to afford ample sleeping time. Trying to make everything work within 24 hours is the lifestyle for many people today. When this becomes a habit, your body slowly gets weary and weaker because you hardly afford the time to allow your system to cool down and mend things up to get rejuvenated. Out of all the bad habits, lack of sleep is the most harmful.

1. Lack Of Enough Sleep

While physical workouts and exercise are essential for keeping you healthy and fit, the habit of failing to attend the gym or do exercise when tired can work against you. While you might think you’re saving on energy for tomorrow, you end up fatigued. A habit of regular light exercises will boost your strength and endurance. It promotes a healthy cardiovascular system and ensures that your body efficiently accesses nutrients and oxygen.

2. Irregular Workouts

Slight dehydration takes a toll on your energy level since it leads to low blood volume. This makes your blood thicker making the heart pump blood less efficient. As a result, this reduces the speed at which oxygen and nutrients are distributed in your body system. In this case, you’ll end up feeling drowsy and it deprives you of the joy and vitality you need to enjoy your day.

3. Not Staying Hydrated

While sleep is an important aspect of a healthy lifestyle, not waking up early enough can be detrimental to your health. You need to wake up early and get some ample time to de-stress and be more proactive ready to start a successful peak performance day.

4. Waking Up Late

If you tend to sit in front of your computer all day without taking some time to walk around and stretch, it can cause low energy and fatigue. In any kind of job you do, take some breaks and this helps to boost your energy level.

5. Work Without Breaks

Some individuals especially those on weight loss programs tend to perceive that missing breakfast will help achieve their body goals. It is one of the most alarming bad habits. While this is not true, skipping your breakfast is like starting a car on a day-long journey without fuel. Eat breakfast like a king to ensure that your body gets the right nutrition to keep you energized the entire day.

6. Not Taking Your Breakfast

It’s only that you didn’t know that an active sex life helps you feel more energized than drowsy. If you can afford it in the morning before you start your day, well and good. What’s more? Researches show that you’ll actually be more productive at work if you’ve had sex in the morning. The reason is that sex releases hormones which significantly improves your mood. When you are feeling good, you’ll engage more & find more satisfaction in your work thus you won’t be feeling low all day.

7. Poor Sex Life

Staying around toxic people can make you tired. The kind of people you allow in your life can greatly affect your physical and emotional health. To stay energetic, you need to stay happy.Thus when they feel angry, sad and powerless at the same time, they resort to whining and complaining. Anyway, it is impossible to keep away from whining friends, family and colleagues. The best thing we can do is manage the situation in a way that is beneficial to both us and them.

8. Whining Pals

How does it feel to wake up for a day only to remember you’re headed to the job you hate doing or being in the company of people you don’t like? This can drain your energy and steal the motivation to stay happy and active. If that job doesn’t make you happy, quit and find a job that you love.

9. Doing the job you hate

For those people who keep it indoors for days without a day out, it is possible to feel tired all day. This is especially during winter. Lack of exposure to sunlight has some effects on the cardiac system where the body’s ability to secrete melatonin is altered. Take some time outdoors and bask for a moment to fix your energy.

10. Staying Indoors All Day

Stress and depression result due to persistent bad habits. At any level, stress is hazardous to your health. Anxiety leads to sleeping disorders, ulcers, grey hair and more. Lack of sleep leaves you feeling more anxious and irritable and this reduces the quality of life. Face your problems head-on and find solutions before its too late. Accept the situation you are in and remain positive that things will get better. Take your time to de-stress and start living the life that was meant for you.

11. Stress

Quality sleep is the bottom of the matter if you’ve got to enjoy better days. But how conducive is your bedroom? If your bedroom is messy with everything everywhere, it is possible that you won’t get the relaxation you need while resting and it might take a while before you fall asleep.

12. Messy bedroom

Individuals who eat lots of processed foods experience some kind of energy crash. Eat lots of fruits, veggies, whole grains as well as lean protein to help boost your energy levels.

13. Poor Diet

Magnesium is known as the relaxation mineral and has a lot to do with quality sleep and rest. For people who take long before falling into sleep or spend the entire night tossing up and around your beds, a check on your magnesium levels is necessary. You need quality sleep to give your body ample time to relax and freshen up ready for the day ahead.

14. Low Magnesium Level

The use of smartphones and computers before bedtime interrupts the natural way you fall asleep. The glaring light from these gadgets can affect how you catch sleep. Keep your technology gadgets away at least two hours before bed. And for your love for wine, avoid drinking when going to bed because this alters your brain pattern and rest, and can lead to headaches, drowsiness, and irritability.

15. Gadget Use Before Bed

<a href="https://www.freepik.com/photos/food">Food photo created by KamranAydinov - www.freepik.com</a>  <a href="https://www.freepik.com/photos/people">People photo created by jcomp - www.freepik.com</a>   https://www.freepik.com/free-photo/happy-young-company-smiling-friends-sitting-park-using-smartphones-man-women-having-fun_13361638.htm  <a href="https://www.freepik.com/photos/business">Business photo created by ijeab - www.freepik.com</a> <a href="https://www.freepik.com/photos/wood">Wood photo created by vanitjan - www.freepik.com</a> <a href="https://www.freepik.com/photos/business">Business photo created by benzoix - www.freepik.com</a> <a href="https://www.freepik.com/photos/food">Food photo created by nakaridore - www.freepik.com</a> https://www.freepik.com/free-photo/white-pillow-bed_3962934.htm#page=1&query=Messy%20bedroom&position=23 <a href="https://www.freepik.com/photos/food">Food photo created by jcomp - www.freepik.com</a> <a href="https://www.freepik.com/photos/technology">Technology photo created by freepik <warningtag>- www.freepik.com</warningtag></a> <a href="https://www.freepik.com/photos/food"><warningtag>Food photo created by KamranAydinov - www.freepik.com</warningtag></a><warningtag> </warningtag> <a href="https://www.freepik.com/photos/people"><warningtag>People photo created by jcomp - www.freepik.com</warningtag></a><warningtag>  </warningtag> <warningtag>https://www.freepik.com/free-photo/happy-young-company-smiling-friends-sitting-park-using-smartphones-man-women-having-fun_13361638.htm </warningtag> <a href="https://www.freepik.com/photos/business"><warningtag>Business photo created by ijeab - www.freepik.com</warningtag></a> <a href="https://www.freepik.com/photos/wood"><warningtag>Wood photo created by vanitjan - www.freepik.com</warningtag></a> <a href="https://www.freepik.com/photos/business"><warningtag>Business photo created by benzoix - www.freepik.com</warningtag></a> <a href="https://www.freepik.com/photos/food"><warningtag>Food photo created by nakaridore - www.freepik.com</warningtag></a> <warningtag>https://www.freepik.com/free-photo/white-pillow-bed_3962934.htm#page=1&query=Messy%20bedroom&position=23</warningtag> <a href="https://www.freepik.com/photos/food"><warningtag>Food photo created by jcomp - www.freepik.com</warningtag></a> <a href="https://www.freepik.com/photos/technology"><warningtag>Technology photo created by freepik - www.freepik.com</warningtag></a> <a href="https://www.freepik.com/photos/hand"><warningtag>Hand photo created by jcomp - www.freepik.com</warningtag></a>

Some Attribution 

Did you know? Your energy levels are directly related with your habits. Identify your bad habits to get rid of lethargy and feel energetic again!

Self Improvement

15 Bad Habits That Make You Feel Tired All Day | LushLit

Have you ever thought about how much self-discipline Olympic athletes need to have in order to succeed?In sports and in life, the ability to accomplish things can attract remarkable opportunities to you. But it all starts with self-discipline.

Why Self-Discipline Will Make You Unstoppable

Self-discipline puts you on the driving seat. It’s what keeps you focused on your purpose. Like a camera lens zooming into a single object. The details and distractions around it dissipate as you zoom in.From athletic performance to life achievements, accomplishing something important is not easy. But it can be simple. In fact, it can be narrowed down to four attributes:

What are needed to have self-discipline? 

Awareness is what allows you to take control back over your own use of your time, in order to have an improved chance of achieving your dreams and tapping into your full potential. It’s critical to get clear on how your time is saved or lost… used or wasted. As the first step to accomplishing something big, you need to sharpen your awareness of your time, your time leaks, and your opportunities to control it better.

1. Awareness.

Any achievement follows a deliberate decision. There are very rare exceptions of accidental achievement, like buying a lottery ticket and being the odd winner. But this isn’t the norm. True achievement is incubated from a decision to make something better. As a result of your desire to make a difference, you can decide now how things are going to change.

2. Decision.

Being brave supports all the other virtues that we see in successful people. Focus, strength, determination – all flow from courage. And if you don’t have courage in times of stress, your focus, your strength, your determination and other virtues can quickly fly out the window. It takes courage to pursue an opportunity that most people think is crazy.

3. Courage.

Grit is what keeps you going. Once you’ve made the decision to achieve a goal, you need to start working on it. Depending on the situation, starting can be easy. Someone who decides to nurture her body in better ways may find it exciting to stop buying C.R.A.P. foods and fill her fridge with fresh foods this week. But it’s the follow-through which becomes hard. That’s where grit and being “tough-minded” helps you overcome obstacles and distractions.

4. Grit.

Why Self-Discipline Will Make You Unstoppable - The Health Sciences Academy

Crowds and public spaces may be off-limits, but that doesn’t mean you’re stuck inside. In fact, there are <a href="https://www.webmd.com/balance/ss/slideshow-health-benefits-nature">many reasons to spend time outdoors </a>, if you can. Find a safe outdoor space, such as your neighborhood or backyard, and get out in the sun every day.

1. Go for a daily walk.

If you’re finding that your days feel aimless, try <a href="https://www.business2community.com/strategy/how-the-most-productive-people-schedule-out-their-days-02140753">creating a daily schedule </a>. Setting aside time for designated activities will help you stay on top of your tasks and be productive.

2. Schedule your days.

Everyone has a story to tell, including you! With your <a href="https://www.familysearch.org/">free FamilySearch account </a>, check out <a href="https://www.familysearch.org/discovery/record/categories">these prompts </a>to help you start writing your stories. Follow these <a href="https://www.familysearch.org/blog/en/how-to-use-family-tree/">easy guides on how to use Family Tree </a>as you start your journey into your family’s history. Exploring your history will help you feel connected to your past and your family.

3. Record your story.

This is the perfect time to do some spring cleaning! <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/fulfillment-any-age/201705/5-reasons-clear-the-clutter-out-your-life">Organizing the clutter </a>can make your home a more positive space.

4. Do some spring cleaning.

Follow these <a href="https://www.familysearch.org/blog/en/how-to-use-family-tree/">easy guides on how to use Family Tree </a>as you start your journey into your family’s history. Exploring your history will help you feel connected to your past and your family.If you’re already connected to the <a href="https://www.familysearch.org/tree">Family Tree </a>, try exploring <a href="https://www.familysearch.org/campaign/hints">record </a>hints to find more of your family.

5. Start your family tree.

Fun, easy, and productive things to do at home when you’re bored—if you’ve exhausted new shows on Netflix. You’ll be surprised at what you can accomplish!

We have some choice in Life

Your Brain on Porn, Junk Food, and the Internet

What is Life about?

The Best Stoic Quotes For 21st Century Life

15 Bad Habits That Make You Feel Tired All Day | LushLit

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