Motivation is what modern life is all about. Whether you want to be more efficient, work better, or become successful in life, being motivated is key. This makes motivation a quality you should cultivate, and something that emotional intelligence influences in more ways than one.

What Is Motivation 

Emotional intelligence or EI is a term coined in 1990 when John Mayer and Peter Salovey defined this phenomenon and soon developed over time. The two researchers discovered that the ability to understand and sympathize with other people significantly affects how a person functions in society. It is because emotional intelligence allows communication that can affect good relationships with other society members.

What Is Emotional Intelligence 

Many employers claim they wouldn’t hire talents with low EI even if they have a high IQ. Most of them also consider emotional intelligence as a primary factor in career development. To put it simply, emotional intelligence refers to the ability to recognize feelings to motivate and manage the emotions they have towards themselves and other people around them.

EI is different from intelligence quotient or IQ. 

Emotional intelligence is made up of several components, which include the following:Empathy or the ability to notice and recognize other people’s needs and feelings. This also refers to the broadest sense of sensitivity. Motivation or striving for or getting involved with a set of goals Self-esteem or self-awareness or belief in a person’s abilities Self-regulation which involves controlling a person’s emotions Social skills such as skills that allow people to function properly even in social situations and allow them to communicate accordingly

Key Elements of Emotional Intelligence

At first glance, it is easy to tell that developing the above elements can effectively help you boost your motivation levels. You may even associate it with people who lead their lives similar to American movies, whether it’s from a closed circle or social media. These people can find time for almost everything, including pleasure, self-development, career, and family to the point that you might even find yourself wondering if something is wrong with you or if they just have supernatural powers. Well, none of these two is correct.

The Connection between Motivation and Emotional Intelligence

For all you know, these people just happen to have developed a high level of motivation and emotional intelligence. This is what helps them set and attain their goals faster, making them more successful. EI can also improve interpersonal communication and affect work performance, leadership, and an overall sense of satisfaction and happiness in life. For most people, the pursuit of motivation may lead to stress, making them analyze every move that sets them apart from expected outcomes.

You don’t just develop emotional intelligence overnight. If you want to boost your motivation, you need to learn first how to organize your emotions and thoughts and learn to control and distinguish them. Don’t feel bad if you don’t increase your motivation right away. Remember that it is not a one-time thing so continue to do what you should do and you’ll see the best results in no time.

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While yoga has become a trendy lifestyle and wellness practice in North America, its roots are ancient, spiritual, and profound. Originally developed in Hinduism, yoga provides a path to achieve a higher state of consciousness and to unite with the divine.

Origin Of Yoga 

The Sanskrit word yoga literally translates to “to yoke,” derived from the root word yiuj which means “to join,” “to integrate,” or “to harness.” The word yoga was first mentioned in one of the oldest texts known to humanity, the Rig Veda. The Rig Veda is the oldest of the Vedas — an ancient compendium of sacred songs, mantras, and rituals central to the Hindu religion. They are believed to have been composed between 1500 and 1200 BC.

The deity associated with yoga is Shiva, the Hindu god of destruction and regeneration. According to tradition, yogic knowledge was revealed as a divine gift by Shiva to the Rishis — sages or “men of vision” devoted to the spiritual life who, during their meditations, would receive visions or hear mantras and truths that others could not. In India, Rishis were given the highest reverence, and their words were more highly regarded than even the most royal leaders of society.

Yoga was refined and developed by the Rishis, and they documented their yoga practices and beliefs in the Upanishads, a huge body of work containing over 200 scriptures, believed to have been composed around 500 BC. Passed down by the Rishis through centuries by guru shishya parampara, the guru-disciple tradition, these teachings were given to people to help them realize their inherent divine nature.

The Bhagavad Gita is a revered Hindu text that is considered a part of the Mahabharata, an epic poem influenced by and based on the Vedas. Scholars date its composition between the 5th and 2nd centuries BC. Within the Bhagavad Gita, there are significant references to yogic practices and principles. It states that, “When the mind, restrained from material activities, becomes still by the practice of yoga, then the yogi is able to behold the soul through the purified mind, and he rejoices in the inner joy.

There are four primary paths through which yoga is expressed: Karma yoga (yoga of action), Bhakti yoga (yoga of devotion), Jñāna yoga (yoga of knowledge), and Rāja yoga (yoga of mind control).Karma yoga emphasizes selfless service and fulfilling one’s duties to sublimate the ego, purify the heart, and cultivate oneness. Physical activities like cooking, cleaning, and teaching are used. Bhakti yoga engages the emotional aspect of the mind through devotion to the divine, developing humility and surrender.

THE PRIMARY PATHS OF YOGA

Methods include praying, chanting, and participating in rituals. Jñāna yoga focuses on self-inquiry through intellectual questioning, reflection, and meditation on the nature of truth. Rāja yoga uses techniques like Hatha yoga (described below), cleansing, breathing exercises, and meditation to control the body, mind, and senses. Its emphasis on the physical body and the use of specific techniques to achieve particular outcomes are based on an understanding of the body’s physiology and the effects of the practices on the body and mind.

Methods 

The Rishis understood that a weak body could not sit still for extended periods of time, so in order to prepare the body and mind for the practice of meditation (in pursuit of the path of Rāja yoga), the Rishis developed a preparatory practice called Hatha yoga. This is the type of yoga many North Americans practice as part of their physical fitness regimen.

The literal Sanskrit meaning of the word Hatha is “force” or “effort.” The popular Hindu interpretation of Hatha is that it refers to the uniting of the opposing sun (ha) and moon (tha) energies within the body, leading to balance and harmony. In this sense, Hatha yoga can be seen as a practice that uses physical force or effort to bring about a transformation in the body and mind, which is why the practice of Hatha yoga requires focus and concentration. Yoga master Swāmi Satchidānanda said, “Calming the mind is yoga. Not just standing on the head.”

When yoga was first introduced to the West by teachers like Swāmi Rama Tirtha and Paramhansa Yogānanda, they placed high emphasis on the spiritual aspects of the practice, teaching the complete system of yoga and its philosophy. But over time, Hatha yoga has become dominant without much spiritual education being passed on with it. The physical practice alone is incomplete. To practice yoga most effectively, an understanding of its philosophy is key. Yoga philosophy addresses the mind’s relationship to spiritual growth.

The late Jay Lakhani, Hindu author and tutor with Hindu Academy, described what happens during a yogic union. “There’s something much more to us than meets the eye; we are more than material beings. Only through tremendous introspection can you rediscover essential identity. Not just the body, the mind, or the intellect, but the spirit that lights all of us up. And relinking ourselves with the spirit is the idea of yoga; joining up with our real nature.”

THE SPIRITUAL CONNECTION BETWEEN YOGA AND HINDUISM

Essentially, yoga is a spiritual practice meant to help with purifying and preparing the body and mind to first recognize one’s atman (“soul”) within, and then unite it with Brahman or the divine. Hindu philosophy views this attainment of union with the divine as the ultimate goal of human existence, and it is called “Moksha” or “Mukti.” This attainment is said to be a liberation or release from the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth (samsara).

Atman is the Sanskrit word for “self” and “breath.” It refers to the Hindu concept of the soul, a universal self or eternal personality. Atman either transmigrates to a new life or attains release after death. Atman is part of the universal Brahman, the reality underlying all phenomena, can commune or fuse with it. According to Hindu philosophy, the self or Atman is ultimately identical with the supreme reality of Brahman. Attaining Moksha means realizing this identity and becoming one with the divine. This state is characterized by a profound sense of peace, joy,and unity with all of creation

The Vedas emphasized ritual sacrifice to please the gods, but the Rishis believed that true spiritual growth comes from internal sacrifice. This involves self-knowledge, recognizing that the true self is not the physical body or ego. Action involves performing selfless acts without attachment to results, and wisdom involves gaining understanding of reality through reflection and study. By sacrificing ego and desires through these means, the Rishis believed one could achieve spiritual growth and enlightenment, and unite with the divine.

Yoga can be a powerful tool for spiritual growth and enlightenment when practiced with intention and mindfulness, uniting the mind, body, and spirit. Like any spiritual journey, yoga is a deeply personal one. The individual style and its benefits may differ from person to person, but an understanding of the philosophy around this practice is key to reaping the intended benefits of this practice.

“For one who has conquered the mind, the mind is the best of friends; but for one who has failed to do so, his mind will remain the greatest enemy. Yoga is the journey of the self, through the self, to the self.”

As it says in Bhagavad Gitā, Chapter 6, Verse 3:

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What truly is Yoga? 

Much of what you’ve read on this blog has been written in pajama pants. Writing directly follows meditation in my morning routine, so I’ve often gone right from the cushion to the coffeepot to the desk. Occasionally life would remind me that there are practical reasons to put on socially acceptable pants before beginning the workday. Someone could knock on the door, for example. But for the most part it seemed like an unnecessary formality that only added friction to the getting-to-work process.

Dignity 

Today I do get properly dressed before going to my desk, because it’s simply more conducive to productivity. Changing into leaving-the-house clothes gives me a “going to work” feeling, which is the kind of feeling you want whenever you’re going to work, even if your office is just across the hall. Recently I noticed that this effect is stronger the better I dress. Jeans and a pullover are better than PJs and a hoodie. Proper slacks and a button-up shirt are even better. I’m sure an Edwardian waistcoat and tie would generate an even stronger feeling of being a dignified writer getting to work.

It was interesting that this feeling of dignity often follows when you discover a better way to do a thing. Decent pants don’t just inspire a productive mentality, also elevate the writer’s self-respect. Dusting a shelf after clearing it entirely, rather than by shuffling its contents around, improves the quality of the dusting but also just feels more dignified. Dutifully assembling your tools and ingredients before cooking, a practice known as mise en place, improves the food but also dignifies the cooking process, as well as the person doing it.

It only recently occurred to me that it actually works the other way around. Dignity doesn’t follow effectiveness as much as effectiveness follows dignity. We’re more engaged while reading from a beautiful hardcover than from a computer printout, or in a lamplit armchair rather than a plastic patio chair. Wine tastes better out of a spotless wineglass than from a paper cup. Perhaps we should have dignity foremost in mind whenever we do anything, because it’s an intuitive sense we all have, and it points the way to a thing done well.

Undignified

It might sound like I’m equating my own aesthetic preferences to dignity. I like lamps and armchairs and wine, maybe you don’t. What feels dignified depends on the person, but we can always sense our own dignity, or lack thereof, in how we do a thing, even when nobody else is there to see it. Dignified doing has always spoken to me, although I haven’t known what to call it. I once wrote a post on Raptitude’s Patreon feed specifically about the dignity of looking up words in a real, paper dictionary — or rather the corrosive indignity of using an ad-riddled online one that you don’t even own.

There are dignified and undignified ways to do everything. You might have noticed a subtle difference in how it feels to gently push a jar onto a crowded fridge shelf, forcing the other jars back and to the sides, and how much better it feels to make a space intentionally and then put the jar in it. A little more intentionality, a lot more dignity.

Exudes purpose

Technology tends to pull us away from this way of being, eroding dignity in the quest for speed, variety, or convenience. I find it more dignified, for example, to listen to music by playing a single album, rather than an AI-generated playlist. Instead of an infinite stream of algorithmically-similar songs, you get a coherent work as its artist intended. I have no vinyl collection, but anyone who does knows there is something spiritually superior about setting an LP onto a turntable rather than thumbing over to the same album on Spotify, sound fidelity aside.

I’m sure some proportion of our modern malaise comes from this sort of technology-induced dignity loss. The more our tools automate once-manual actions, and the more we access them all through the same lifeless touchscreen, the less intentionality and resolve there is behind whatever we’re doing. Maybe some friction and formality is a good thing, because it keeps our values in charge of the action, leaving less to momentum.

Ultimately it’s a choice though, and the dignified way is there whenever you look for it. For a while one of the petals would come off if you held the thing sideways, so I made sure to handle it gingerly and keep it level. Finally I did the dignified thing: I got out a flathead screwdriver, sat down at the table, and carefully re-bent the metal flap that held the loose petal in place. The steaming of vegetables is a little easier of course, but the greater gain was in becoming the person who fixed the thing that needs fixing, and no longer the person oppressed by his faulty steamer basket.

Low friction, low dignity

Dignity isn’t only a matter of the tools, clothing, or the method with which you do a thing. It’s in the way of doing: the earnestness, the uprightness, the respect for the task and its doer. I’m endlessly inspired by a particular entry in Marcus Aurelius’s journal, in which he admonishes himself to do everything this way, to “do what comes to hand with a correct and natural dignity,” and to regard this way of being as the only thing the gods require of him.

There have been periods, lasting hours or sometimes days, when I’ve settled into this dignified groove of doing one thing at a time, with undivided intention, devoting the whole self to each task, rather than applying just “enough” of the self to deal with it. The sensation of being in this groove is like a calm version of surfing — you’ve caught a certain exhilarating momentum, you have to make frequent, intuitive adjustments to maintain it, and the roiling sea still surrounds you, but there’s no thought whatsoever of wanting to be anywhere else.

Dignified to the end

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“Story of Your Life” by Ted Chiang. This short story is the basis for the 2016 movie Arrival, and I think it’s a lot better than the film adaptation. It’s a slowly unfolding story about loss and cherishing the time you have with people; as soon as I finished it, I reread it immediately. You can find it in Chiang’s book Stories of Your Life and Others or read it here.

Story Of Your Life 

Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel. This 2015 novel, which alternates between the onset of a pandemic and its aftermath 20 years later, is a gripping read that also perfectly encapsulates the loneliness and isolation of a big loss. While the HBO show is a well-regarded adaptation, I’d still recommend reading the book, as the prose is really lovely. (“As Jeevan walked on alone he felt himself disappearing into the landscape. He was a small, insignificant thing, drifting down the shore. He had never felt so alive or so sad.”)

Station

The Memory Police by Yōko Ogawa. This book takes place on an unnamed island where entire categories of objects start disappearing without warning or explanation, and the work of the memory police is to ensure these items stay forgotten, never to be spoken of again. While that description makes it sound like an intense dystopian thriller, it’s actually quite soft and mournful.

The Memory Police 

Severance. This gorgeously shot Apple+ series manages to be both a totally engrossing (and extremely well-paced) puzzle box and a really great meditation on work, grief, and the ways we try to compartmentalize and move on from loss. After finishing season one I immediately wanted to rewatch it—it’s that good.

Sever

Black Mirror. Each episode of Black Mirror is its own contained story, and several of them deal with loss and heartbreak. I’d recommend season one, episode three: “The Entire History of You” (breakups/divorce); season two, episode one: “Be Right Back” (death/loss); and season three, episode four: “San Junipero” (death/loss/love).

Black Mirror 

Everything Everywhere All at Once. The only thing I knew going into this movie was that it involved multiverses and would supposedly make me weep. But because it’s so absurd and laugh-out-loud funny, I found myself wondering, with 30 minutes or so left to go in the film, when I was supposed to start crying. Not long after that, my girlfriend and I both found ourselves fully sobbing—like, tears streaming down our faces. If you lean toward the fun/distracting stuff when you’re grieving, but also want some emotional release, I can’t recommend it enough.

Everything Everywhere All At On

Inception. Perhaps you saw this movie when it came out in 2010 and don’t recall it feeling very grief-y; if that’s the case, I would definitely encourage you to revisit it. On rewatch, the complex plot becomes easier to follow, so you can focus on the story, which is about corporate espionage, sure, but also about coping with loss. If your grief has made your life feel completely surreal or like a nightmare you can’t wake up from, definitely add this one to your queue.

Inception 

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. This was my go-to “I’m really sad” movie for years, and while other, newer, offerings have slowly taken over the top spot, I will always have a special place in my heart for it. It checks all my boxes (heartbreak, do-overs, wiped memories, snow) and gets extra points for starring Kate Winslet. You’re not alone in this, and you won’t feel this way forever. Until then, I’ll be thinking of you.

Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind 

Believe me these ideas will help you too. Just don't forget you're not alone in this journey! 

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Productivity leads you to more work done. Being consistent and more productive will lead you to success. Staying productive in this generation could be a challenge because tons of distractions are in the way. At any given time there are seemthings fighting for your attention. If you’re a productive person, you can do more with less time. That means you can take on harder, more important tasks. It also means that you have more time to do the things you enjoy like hobbies or spending time with friends.

Most Essential Stoic Habits For Productivity 

“People are frugal in guarding their personal property, but as soon as it comes to squandering time they are most wasteful of the one thing in which it is right to be stingy.” “Time is money” -Benjamin Franklin told us that earlier. We could not buy it again. If we use it in the right manner it will lead us to success.

1) TAKE CARE OF YOUR TIME

Planning your time can make us more productive every day and help us achieve our goals in life. So take control of your time; do not let it control you! The value of time is something that everyone understands. Time is a precious commodity that we all have an equal amount of, and it is something that should not be wasted. How can you apply the stoic rule for time management : Block out your day in the schedule.Stop feeling obligated to say ‘yes’ to everyone.

Minimalism allows us to focus on our priorities. “By maintaining a clutter-free environment, you’re able to increase focus and productivity thus reducing stress”. “Until we have begun to go without them, we fail to realize how unnecessary many things are” Being a minimalist means you value yourself more than material things. It means making decisions based on what you need instead of getting everything you want. It does not mean the things you buy are cheap. It means they are something you need, regardless of how much they cost.

PRACTICE MINIMALISM 

<ul><li>Decluttering helps people breathe.</li><li>Minimalism allows for refocusing.</li><li>Less stuff equals more money.</li><li>You have more time.</li><li>You have more energy.</li></ul>How can you apply the stoic rule for being minimalistic :<ul><li>Begin with One Aspect of Your Life.</li><li>Determine Necessities.</li><li>Get Rid of Excess Clutter.</li><li>Reduce Technology Usage.</li><li>Prioritise Relationships.</li><li>Make a Budget..</li></ul>

Benefits of being minimalist 

Solitude is an essential component of your health and well-being. Being alone is what bears great ideas. People look for retreats, in the country, by the coast, or in the hills. There is nowhere that a person can find a more peaceful retreat than in his mind.” Being alone and feeling lonely are two completely different things, however. Many people feel lonely even when they’re in a crowded room. And some people spend lots of time alone without ever actually feeling lonely

PRACTICE SOLITUDE 

In fact, building more solitude in your daily life might reduce your feelings of loneliness. Solitary skills take practice if you’re not used to being alone, but over time, you can grow more comfortable with being by yourself. How can you apply the stoic rule for Solitude : <ul><li>Daily mindfulness practice.</li><li>Schedule time away from social media.</li><li>Eliminate distractions while working.</li></ul>

These are the top habits everyone should apply in their daily life. 

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Science has several branches, such as biology, physics, chemistry, and Earth sciences. What about economics? Is economics a science, too? In general, economics is considered a social science. However, some critics of the field disagree, claiming that economics doesn’t meet the definition of science for many reasons. These include intrinsic political overtones, lack of consensus, and lack of testable hypotheses. But despite such arguments, economics still shares a combination of quantitative and qualitative elements that are common to the rest of social sciences.

Is Economics A Science 

The main focus of economics is how an economy as well as its participants behave and function. Economics studies the production of services and goods, their distribution across the economy, and how businesses and individuals consume them. Economics also deals with how businesses and governments allocate resources to meet the needs and wants of consumers.

What is Economics?

One of the key focus areas of economics is the study of efficiency surrounding production as well as the exchange of goods as the result of the policies and incentives designed to boost efficiency. Economics has two main categories: macroeconomics and microeconomics. Microeconomics focuses on individual businesses and consumers, while macroeconomics focuses on the aggregate economy.

One of the main arguments made against the classification of economics as a science is the absence of testable hypotheses. Underlying the challenges in the development and testing of an economic hypothesis are the often unseen and almost unlimited variables that play a crucial role in all economic trends. The argument in opposition to categorizing economics as a science is also based on the fact that it is impossible to perform controlled experiments in laboratories. On the other hand, the field of chemistry allows scientists to test hypotheses and evaluate their results.

The Ambiguity of Economics as a Science 

Economists instead typically evaluate historical data either by geographic regions or on a nationwide basis. It is this lack of ability to have a controlled environment for testing hypotheses, and the capacity to get rid of outside influences and factors that can affect results that explain why some people don’t agree that economics must be regarded as a science.

But the very same critique that experts are unable to conduct controlled experiments in laboratories could also be extended to the rest of the social sciences. Even some branches of the natural sciences like physics, for instance, still have unproven theories. However, society accepts physics as a branch of science.

The frequency of immeasurable economic variables makes way for competing and often contradictory theories to exist together with no need for one to prove the other as infeasible. Even though economics continues to use more mathematical and scientific methods to predict and track trends, theories, results, and conflicting models usually hinder economics from having a solid consensus as found in most natural sciences.

But these conflicts and discrepancies are also inherent in all social sciences, and these also call for an element of interpretation seldom found in natural sciences. Economics has qualitative and quantitative elements common to every social science. At the end of the day, for as long as the social sciences continue to be a class of science, it is safe to say that economics will fit within the class.

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If we repeat these small behaviors day after day, our choices compound into major results. Eat pizza every day, and you will likely have gained considerable weight after a year. Go jogging for 20 minutes every day, and you'll eventually be leaner and fitter, even though you won't notice the change happening. You've probably worked out the main insight here: it's that small habits can have a surprisingly powerful impact on your life – and you won't necessarily see this impact happening in real-time. You'll only see the results of your habits after a while.

Small Habits Have Powerful Impact On Your Life 

Now, we know that not seeing the impact of your efforts can be dispiriting. If this is happening to you – if you're feeling discouraged by the lack of immediate positive change – then it's important to try to focus on your current trajectory rather than your current results.

Let's say you have little money in the bank. But you are saving something each month. Your current results might not be that great – your nest egg is still pretty small. But you can be confident that your trajectory is right. Keep going in this direction and, in a few months or a few years, you will notice a major improvement. When the lack of perceived progress gets you down, remember that you're doing the right things and that you're moving in the right direction.But how do you get yourself on the right trajectory? You need to develop habits. I

"Every action you take is a vote for the type of person you wish to become. No single instance will transform your beliefs, but as the votes build up, so does the evidence of your new identity. "

When you walk into a dark room, you don't think about what to do next; you instinctively reach for a light switch. Reaching for a light switch is a habit – it's a behavior that you've repeated so many times that it now happens automatically. Habits like this dominate our lives, from brushing our teeth to driving our car. They are immensely powerful.

Habits are automated behaviors, we’ve learned from experienc

In the nineteenth century, a psychologist named Edward Thorndike tried to answer this question. First, he placed some cats inside a black box. Then, he timed how long it took them to escape. To start with, each cat behaved exactly as you'd expect when placed inside a box. It desperately looked for a way of escape. It sniffed and pawed at the corners; it clawed at the walls. Eventually, the cat would find a lever that, when pressed, would open a door, enabling it to escape.

With his experiment, Thorndike had discovered something important: behaviors that give satisfying consequences – in this case, gaining freedom – tend to be repeated until they become automatic.Every habit follows the same process. Do you drink coffee every morning? Waking up is your cue, triggering a craving to feel alert. Your response is to drag yourself out of bed and make a cup of joe. Your reward is feeling wide awake and ready to face the world.OK, now that you have an idea of how habits work, let's look at how you can develop good habits that can change your life for the better.

So, we have just discovered how habits are formed. Let's briefly recap. A habit consists of four things: a cue – a trigger that gets you to act; a craving – a desire you want to achieve; a response – the action of the habit itself; and a reward – the positive feeling you get from completing the habit.  Once you know how they work, you can start to hack the habit-forming process to get good, productive habits to stick.

Building new habits requires hard-to-miss cues and a plan. 

Let's say you're desperate to learn the guitar. You've got your instrument, you've picked up the basics, but you struggle to keep up with practice. Each morning, you tell yourself that you'll play later on, but the end of the day soon comes, and you haven't picked up your guitar once.

But now that you know the secrets to building a habit, you can use it to your advantage. In this case, you want to make the cue to pick up your guitar impossible to miss. Instead of keeping your instrument in the cupboard or in the corner of your spare room, leave it right in the middle of your living room – in full view. Make your cue visible and unmissable; this will make it easier to turn your desire to practice into a habit. Changing your environment to put your cues front and center will help, but if you want to perfect your triggers even more, you can use as implementation intentions.

When it comes to setting good habits, most of us tend to be too vague about our intentions. We say, "I'm going to eat better," or "I'm going to learn guitar." And we simply hope that we'll follow through. An implementation intention can help us move beyond the vague intention. Implementation intentions introduce a clear plan of action; they help you set out when and where you'll carry out the habit you'd like to cultivate.

So you might be wondering, this all sounds quite plausible, but does it really work? Can I actually tweak my environment and make it easy to form positive habits? Sounds good on paper, right? But in practice?

Anne Thorndike and her colleagues designed a test. As part of the experiment, she had the hospital cafeteria rearranged. The soda in the refrigerators next to the cash registers was replaced with bottled water, and baskets of bottled water were placed all around the cafeteria. Dr. Thorndike and the team then watched to see what would happen.

And what do you think happened? Well, over three months, soda sales fell by 11 percent, and water sales shot up by over 25 percent. Simply by creating more cues for people to drink water, Dr. Thorndike and her team were able to get people to make the healthier choice. In other words, they were able to help people build better habits, without forcing them to make a conscious decision to do so. Clear evidence that altering your environment can help you adopt better habits.

Well, we don't actually have to do the pleasurable activity to get the hit of dopamine. The mere anticipation of doing something pleasurable is enough to get the dopamine flowing. In the brain's reward system, desiring something is on par with getting something! We can turn this to our advantage. When building our new habit, if we make it something we look forward to, we'll be much more likely to follow through and actually do it.

Here's where I'd like to introduce you to the concept of temptation bundling. Temptation bundling is where you take a behavior that you think of as important but unappealing and link it to a behavior that you're drawn to. This is how you can use dopamine to your advantage when building a new habit. Just find a way of making those unattractive but important tasks enjoyable, and you'll be surfing a wave of dopamine, and creating positive habits, at the same time.

Making a habit pleasurable is a surefire way to make it stick. Another way we can hack the habit-building process is to make it easy.  Easy behaviors dominate our lives. We scroll through social media or munch through a bag of potato chips because these are easy things to do. On the other hand, doing a hundred push-ups or studying Mandarin are both pretty tough and take a lot of effort. This is why we don't find ourselves drawn to intensive exercise or language learning in our spare time.

By making our desired behaviors as easy as possible, we stand the best chance of turning them into a habit. And the good news is, there are various ways we can make this happen. The first way is by reducing friction.

So that's friction. The second trick for making a habit easier in the long term is what's known as the two-minute rule. This is a way to make any new activity feel manageable. The principle is that any behavior can be distilled into a habit that is doable within two minutes. So, if you want to read more, don't commit to reading one book every week. Instead, make a habit of reading two pages per night.  Or, if you want to run a marathon, commit to simply putting on your running gear every day after work.

The two-minute rule is a way to build easily achievable habits – small accomplishments that can lead you to greater things. Once you've pulled on your running shoes, you'll probably head out for a run. Once you've read two pages, you'll likely continue. Simply getting started is the first and most important step toward doing something.

Making good behaviors satisfying can be difficult. This is due to human evolution. Today, we live in what is known as a delayed-return environment. You turn up at the office today, but the return – a paycheck – doesn't come until the end of the month. You go to the gym in the morning, but you don't lose weight overnight.

Unfortunately, our brains evolved to cope with an immediate-return environment. Our distant ancestors weren't thinking about long-term returns like saving for retirement or sticking to a diet. They were focused on immediate concerns like finding their next meal, seeking shelter, and staying alert enough to escape any nearby saber-toothed tigers.

This focus on immediate returns can encourage bad habits. Smoking may give you lung cancer in 20 years, but, in the moment, it relieves your stress and the craving for nicotine. The immediate hit from your cigarette will likely override the long-term costs to your health. All this means is that when pursuing habits with a delayed return, you need to try to attach some immediate gratification to them.

One simple trick for making new habits stick is called habit tracking.So why not set yourself a habit contract? Even if it isn't as detailed as Bryan Harris's, consider making a commitment to your partner, your best friend, or one of your coworkers. If you agree upon a set of consequences for failing to follow through, you'll be much more likely to stick to your habits. And as we've seen, sticking to a positive habit, however small, is a surefire way to achieve big things in life.

These are not my personal summary, but no summary can be better than this. @blinkist

The #1 New York Times bestseller. Over 4 million copies sold! Tiny Changes, Remarkable Results No matter your goals, Atomic Habits offers a proven framework for improving--every day. James Clear, one of the world's leading experts on habit formation, reveals practical strategies that will teach you exactly how to form good habits, break bad ones, and master the tiny behaviors that lead to remarkable results. If you're having trouble changing your habits, the problem isn't you. The problem is your system. Bad habits repeat themselves again and again not because you don't want to change, but because you have the wrong system for change. You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems. Here, you'll get a proven system that can take you to new heights. Clear is known for his ability to distill complex topics into simple behaviors that can be easily applied to daily life and work. Here, he draws on the most proven ideas from biology, psychology, and neuroscience to create an easy-to-understand guide for making good habits inevitable and bad habits impossible. Along the way, readers will be inspired and entertained with true stories from Olympic gold medalists, award-winning artists, business leaders, life-saving physicians, and star comedians who have used the science of small habits to master their craft and vault to the top of their field. Learn how to: make time for new habits (even when life gets crazy); overcome a lack of motivation and willpower; design your environment to make success easier; get back on track when you fall off course; ...and much more. Atomic Habits will reshape the way you think about progress and success, and give you the tools and strategies you need to transform your habits--whether you are a team looking to win a championship, an organization hoping to redefine an industry, or simply an individual who wishes to quit smoking, lose weight, reduce stress, or achieve any other goal.

habits

Habits

The #1 New York Times bestseller. Over 10 million copies sold! Tiny Changes, Remarkable Results No matter your goals, Atomic Habits offers a proven framework for improving--every day. James Clear, one of the world's leading experts on habit formation, reveals practical strategies that will teach you exactly how to form good habits, break bad ones, and master the tiny behaviors that lead to remarkable results. If you're having trouble changing your habits, the problem isn't you. The problem is your system. Bad habits repeat themselves again and again not because you don't want to change, but because you have the wrong system for change. You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems. Here, you'll get a proven system that can take you to new heights. Clear is known for his ability to distill complex topics into simple behaviors that can be easily applied to daily life and work. Here, he draws on the most proven ideas from biology, psychology, and neuroscience to create an easy-to-understand guide for making good habits inevitable and bad habits impossible. Along the way, readers will be inspired and entertained with true stories from Olympic gold medalists, award-winning artists, business leaders, life-saving physicians, and star comedians who have used the science of small habits to master their craft and vault to the top of their field. Learn how to: <ul><li>make time for new habits (even when life gets crazy);</li></ul><ul><li>overcome a lack of motivation and willpower;</li></ul><ul><li>design your environment to make success easier;</li></ul><ul><li>get back on track when you fall off course;</li></ul>...and much more. Atomic Habits will reshape the way you think about progress and success, and give you the tools and strategies you need to transform your habits--whether you are a team looking to win a championship, an organization hoping to redefine an industry, or simply an individual who wishes to quit smoking, lose weight, reduce stress, or achieve any other goal.

James Clear is the author of "Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones" He writes about habits, decision-making, and continuous improvement at jamesclear.com. His website receives millions of visitors each month and hundreds of thousands subscribe to his popular email newsletter.His work has appeared in the New York Times, Entrepreneur, Time, and on CBS This Morning. He is a regular speaker at Fortune 500 companies and his work is used by teams in the NFL, NBA, and MLB. Learn more at jamesclear.com

James Clear

Atomic Habits

Time which changes people, doesn't alter the image we have of them.

Love was love, one could find it with anyone, one could find it anywhere. It was just that you could never keep it. Not unless you were ready to die for it.

Forces beyond your control can take away everything you possess except one thing, your freedom tochoose how you will respond to the situation. You cannot control whathappens to you in life, but you can always control what you will feel and do about what happens to you.

A picture held us captive.And we could not get outside it,for it lay in our language and language seemed to repeat it to us inexorably.

I believe in the future resolution of these two states, dream and reality, which are seemingly so contradictory, into a kind of absolute reality, a surreality, if one may so speak.

Through all the world there goesone long cry from the heart of theartist: Give me a chanceto do my best.

My favorite meansof communication isotherworldly:dreams-meeting indreams.

For the first time in my life the weather was not something that touched me, that caressed me,froze or sweated me,but became me.

As I see it, part of the art ofbeing a hero is knowing when youdon't need to be one anymore.

If you want to sit still and understand life... Read these. 

Discover recipes, home ideas, style inspiration and other ideas to try.

loveandrelationships

Love & Relationships

9 Deep Quotes to give you perspective.  

Work relationships are specific expectations for the interactions among people in various positions in an organization or company. These relationships can be personal, professional, or a combination of both. Here are the seven types of work relationships with some tips on improving them:

7 Types Of Work Relationships And How To Improve Them. 

Co-worker relationships can be neither personal nor professional but simply circumstantial. Co-workers are your acquaintances through your organization or company. However, aside from belonging to one organization, your interaction with them is very minimal.

1. Co-workers

The most intimate type of work relationship you can ever have is something that is not considered specific to work alone. They are your friends in real life who will continue to be so even after you leave the company.

2. Life Friends

Your manager assigns your work, impacts the work you do and don’t do, and ultimately helps you succeed. Your direct report includes people who report to you, which means you are their manager. Direct reports also determine if you will succeed or not.

3. Manager and Direct Report

Mentor and mentee is the highest form of work relationship that you can ever have. A mentor is the one you go to for guidance regarding your career. They help you during your most difficult problems. On the other hand, your mentee is someone who seeks advice from you.

4. Mentor and Mentee

An office spouse is someone you spend a lot of time with. Office spouses are the ones you go to for advice and venting out. There might even be rumors at one point or another about the two of you even if it is only platonic.

5. Office Spouse

These tips are really important when it comes to maintain work life balance. 

Relationship between Motivation and Emotional intelligence.

What truly is Yoga?

Dignity, as a ruler.

Things to read and watch when you're grieving.

3 stoic rules for productivity.

Farha Naaz