In order to build and lead a great team, you have to be the kind of person that people want to build with.What does that look like? It looks like centring your humanity and core values by remembering at the end of the day that we all want to live a creative life that we control. Entrepreneurship is just the tool we use to do it.

Being A Good Leader

Eat regularly. Get good sleep. Stay hydrated. Keep moisturized. Exercise. All these things matter. If it’s three P.M. and you haven’t eaten since eight P.M. the previous night, do you think you’re going to be able to make the best decisions for yourself and your company? Unlikely.Staying healthy means taking care of your mental health, too.  Sometimes you need help, and that’s okay.

Take Care Of Your Physical and Mental Health

Remember the core values we defined in Step 1? You are going to use these a lot. Tape them on your wall. Set them up as a pop-up on your computer. Live by these values and do not second-guess them (or yourself).

Follow Your Core Values

Always be learning. Block time to read and absorb books and courses. Take at least an hour a week to give yourself permission to reject all calls and focus on new ways to learn and better your business without outside interference.

Always Be Learning

Sometimes being a good leader means you are just enjoyable to be around. As a leader, you have to find that joy in your job so the people around you find joy in their jobs. Be the person who laughs. Be the person who dances.

Take Joy In Your Work

Sometimes being a good leader is recognizing when something isn’t working. Sometimes businesses fail. Sometimes even relationships fail. Sometimes it’s not your fault. Sometimes it is. And sometimes your company is thriving but your personal life is crumbling (and vice versa). Know what your breaking point is. Identify the point at which you’re willing to walk away in order to preserve your sanity, your dignity, your marriage, or your relationship with your family.

Know When To Walk Away

Startup founder and author Kathryn Finney shares small changes that helped foster her personal growth and strength as a leader.


Stashed ideas

Being a good leader means nothing without investing in yourself. Here’s how

My Life in Advertising by Claude C. Hopkins was an early inspiration for Andrew. It Emphasized direct marketing at a time when advertising was very brand-driven.Claude Hopkins invented coupons leveraging an interesting strategy:Gave coupons to newspapers to get ahead of the demand curve – consumers would be angry if the store didn’t have the product the coupon promised. He believes the principles of marketing durably persist over time, they just use different mediums and technologies.

Andrew Chen Early Inspirations

Andrew did daily journaling, wanted to find ‘the secret of Silicon Valley’ – what made this machine work? His biggest finding = “Network Effects“You need users to make a product work, network effects are the results of positively connecting people through technology which organically makes that technology better.Metcalfe’s law is wrong – The value of network effects does have a limit, it eventually gets to a point of supply that is difficult to navigate and has an increased number of ‘trolls’ or illegitimate users

Writing & Silicon Valley’s Foundation: Network Effects

Twitch started as ‘JustinTV’ named after the founder, Justin Kan. Every day he would live to stream his life. Expanded to allow anybody to stream but the ‘everyday life’ content wasn’t gaining traction.Pivoted towards gaming and a creator-supported model rather than a viewership model. Incentives to create content drastically improve when the creator has clear income opportunity rather than creating for views/engagement. The market wasn’t huge for gaming at the time but the engagement and participation was extremely high within the niche

Twitch

Twitch solves the original sin of the internet, which is having an advertising-based system…We decided to go with banner ads overpaying each other online

Many games (like Axie Infinity) are a natural way to ease casual people into crypto.Roblox is an example of what the next generation of social networks could look like. Multiplayer and deep network effects embedded in the VR/AR metaverse experience. You work, organize, and gather in this digital reality. Empowering reward and ownership to these realities will be the next interesting layer to this technology. Ready Player One is a movie that captivates what the metaverse could be but is ultimately dystopian under monopolistic control. Andrew hopes the metaverse is a genre rather than a company.

Games and the Metaverse 

-- What types of questions does Andrew ask to understand a founder’s growth mindset?<ul><li>What happens when you internet search for something?</li><li>How would you 10x a current startup?</li></ul>-- What are the right metrics to use?Understand what people actually use your product for – define your high-value users. Pick your strategy first (product vision); Identity what retains and generates business value; Set metrics to validate if your strategy has causation. -- What are common errors among founders?Brand marketing is overused in customer acquisition.

Startup Q&A

Tim and Andrew discuss how networks effects are the foundation of many successful tech companies and how to pick the right metrics for your startups.

Andrew Chen — Metaverse, Metrics, and Meerkats | Brought to you by 80,000 Hours free career advice for high impact and doing good in the world, Wealthfront automated investing, and Helix Sleep premium mattresses. More on all three below.Andrew Chen (@andrewchen) is a general partner at Andreessen Horowitz, where he invests in consumer technology, including social, marketplace, entertainment, and gaming experiences. Today, Andrew serves on the boards of All Day Kitchens, Clubhouse, Envoy, Hipcamp, Maven, Reforge, Sandbox VR, Singularity 6, Sleeper, Snackpass, and Substack.Andrew is a prolific writer and leading voice on mobile, metrics, and user growth. For the past decade, he’s covered the topic on AndrewChen.com. He is the author of The Cold Start Problem, a book exploring how new startups are launched. He is also a board member and instructor at Reforge, which offers selective, growth-focused programs for experienced professionals in marketing, product, data, and engineering.Please enjoy!This episode is brought to you by 80,000 Hours! You have roughly 80,000 hours in your career. That’s 40 hours a week, 50 weeks a year for 40 years. They add up and are one of your biggest opportunities, if not the biggest opportunity, to make a positive impact on the world. Some of the best strategies, best research, and best tactical advice I’ve seen and heard come from 80,000 Hours, a nonprofit co-founded by Will MacAskill, an Oxford philosopher and a popular past guest on this podcast.If you’re looking to make a big change to your direction, address pressing global problems from your current job, or if you’re just starting out or maybe starting a new chapter and not sure which path to pursue, 80,000 Hours can help. Join their free newsletter, and they’ll send you an in-depth guide for free that will help you identify which global problems are most pressing and where you can have the biggest impact personally. It will also help you get new ideas for high impact careers or directions that help tackle these issues.*This episode is also brought to you by Wealthfront! Wealthfront pioneered the automated investing movement, sometimes referred to as ‘robo-advising,’ and they currently oversee $20 billion of assets for their clients. It takes about three minutes to sign up, and then Wealthfront will build you a globally diversified portfolio of ETFs based on your risk appetite and manage it for you at an incredibly low cost. Smart investing should not feel like a rollercoaster ride. Let the professionals do the work for you. Go to Wealthfront.com/Tim and open a Wealthfront account today, and you’ll get your first $5,000 managed for free, for life. Wealthfront will automate your investments for the long term. Get started today at Wealthfront.com/Tim.*This episode is also brought to you by Helix Sleep! Helix was selected as the #1 overall mattress of 2020 by GQ magazine, Wired, Apartment Therapy, and many others. With Helix, there’s a specific mattress to meet each and every body’s unique comfort needs. Just take their quiz—only two minutes to complete—that matches your body type and sleep preferences to the perfect mattress for you. They have a 10-year warranty, and you get to try it out for a hundred nights, risk free. They’ll even pick it up from you if you don’t love it. And now, to my dear listeners, Helix is offering up to 200 dollars off all mattress orders plus two free pillows at HelixSleep.com/Tim.*For show notes and past guests, please visit tim.blog/podcast.Sign up for Tim’s email newsletter (“5-Bullet Friday”) at tim.blog/friday.For transcripts of episodes, go to tim.blog/transcripts.Discover Tim’s books: tim.blog/books.Follow Tim:Twitter: twitter.com/tferriss Instagram: instagram.com/timferrissFacebook: facebook.com/timferriss YouTube: youtube.com/timferrissPast guests on The Tim Ferriss Show include Jerry Seinfeld, Hugh Jackman, Dr. Jane Goodall, LeBron James, Kevin Hart, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Jamie Foxx, Matthew McConaughey, Esther Perel, Elizabeth Gilbert, Terry Crews, Sia, Yuval Noah Harari, Malcolm Gladwell, Madeleine Albright, Cheryl Strayed, Jim Collins, Mary Karr, Maria Popova, Sam Harris, Michael Phelps, Bob Iger, Edward Norton, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Neil Strauss, Ken Burns, Maria Sharapova, Marc Andreessen, Neil Gaiman, Neil de Grasse Tyson, Jocko Willink, Daniel Ek, Kelly Slater, Dr. Peter Attia, Seth Godin, Howard Marks, Dr. Brené Brown, Eric Schmidt, Michael Lewis, Joe Gebbia, Michael Pollan, Dr. Jordan Peterson, Vince Vaughn, Brian Koppelman, Ramit Sethi, Dax Shepard, Tony Robbins, Jim Dethmer, Dan Harris, Ray Dalio, Naval Ravikant, Vitalik Buterin, Elizabeth Lesser, Amanda Palmer, Katie Haun, Sir Richard Branson, Chuck Palahniuk, Arianna Huffington, Reid Hoffman, Bill Burr, Whitney Cummings, Rick Rubin, Dr. Vivek Murthy, Darren Aronofsky, and many more.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

#550: Andrew Chen — Metaverse, Metrics, and Meerkats

When you work from home, it can be tempting to stay in bed until the very last minute possible. While it’s OK to treat yourself and do this on the odd occasion, wake up at the same time every day.You don’t have to wake up ridiculously early, just set your alarm for whatever time is realistic and works for you.

Wake up at the same time

You need to set boundaries between your life and your work.<ul><li>Avoid logging on as soon as you wake up — unless it’s urgent, your inbox and messages can wait until you’re ready to start working.</li><li>If you can, try not to waste too much time mindlessly scrolling on social media.</li><li>Cut your screen time as much as you can and remember you’ll get plenty of it while you’re working.</li></ul>

Avoid going online first-thing

Go for a walk, do some light yoga, go to the gym, or sign up for an online class.It’s really down to individual choice, but if you can, mix things up so that you don’t become easily bored or complacent.

Exercise

Showering and getting dressed before you start working is key. You’ll feel more confident and focused.It’s tempting to roll out of bed and sit at your desk, but before you know it, it’ll be noon and you’ll have to dash off to get ready for your video call. Don’t do this, save yourself the stress!

Shower and get dressed

Have your coffee, tea, or whatever but make sure you hydrate yourself both at breakfast and during the rest of your day.Consider getting organized and preparing your breakfast the night before. Overnight oats are a deliciously healthy option.It’s easy to stuff yourself with chocolate biscuits and crisps when you’re working from home but try and keep a balanced diet. Your mind and body will thank you.

Have breakfast

Set some time aside every morning to do some household chores. This will help you feel more productive before you start working and you’ll be less distracted by the possibility of tidying or cleaning while you’re sitting at your desk.Be time-efficient and set an alarm on your phone to avoid getting carried away. Do whatever you have time for and then stop.

House chores

Start your day with something that makes you happy. <ul><li>You could, for example, listen to music while you’re doing some housework.</li><li>Catch up with your favorite podcast and get yourself into the zone.</li></ul>Enjoying some time to yourself before your work begins will make you feel more at ease.

Listen to music or a podcast

<ul><li>Go through your to-do list and set realistic goals for the day.</li><li>Think about what needs to happen for you to achieve your goals and set yourself a clear strategy.</li><li>Try and keep the list short, though, otherwise, you’ll likely feel overwhelmed. Try and stick to a maximum of five goals.</li></ul>

Set your goals for the day

In order to meet those realistic goals you set for the day, make sure distractions like social media and push notifications don’t get a hold of you.Don’t set a vague goal like “I will drastically cut my screen time.” Instead, focus on things like “I will watch one episode of Succession per day,” or ‘I will scroll through Instagram for 15 minutes before I start my work.”

Limit your screentime and distractions

Limit the number of decisions you have to make in the morning.Prepare as much as you can the night before: set out your clothes, think about what you want to have for breakfast, or lunch. Batch cook if you can.The less time you spend on making trivial decisions, the more time you’ll have to spend on things that matter to you and make you happy.

Golden tidbit

Working from home? Here are 9 tips to perfect your morning routine to help you feel better throughout the day. Thank us later.

9 tips to perfect your ‘working from home’ morning routine

There are many parenting styles that are part of a parent's toolbox, such as free-range, helicopter, authoritarian, snowplough, tiger style.
Each style uses a different tactic to raise children. However, parents seldom only use one tool when raising their children. More often, they use every tool at their disposal to get through.

Parenting styles

This style is about raising children to become more independent and is an antidote to over-protective parenting. Free-range parenting allows children to become confident, self-sufficient and independent by letting them practice skills. For example, children can make and pack their own lunches as part of the morning routine.

The free-range philosophy

Helicopter parenting is about being very involved in your children's lives. However, overzealous helicopter patenting is when parents interfere with teachers or extracurricular activities and demand that their children are treated in a certain way. The overzealous version can be kept in line by checking in with friends first before flattening everything in your path.

The helicopter philosophy

Authoritarian parenting assumes high standards for the child, but there is less responsiveness. Tiger parenting is very similar to this style. This style is often used as the last resort. For example, when a child throws a tantrum or is in a poor mood.

The authoritarian philosophy

The closeness and responsiveness of attachment parenting is part of building trust with our babies in the early stages. This doesn't necessarily mean babywearing or co-sleeping, but these strategies can help in increasing responsiveness.

The attachment philosophy

Permissive parenting is where there are only a few rules placed on the children. Instead, parents are highly responsive to the needs of the child. A potential problem with this style is that parents don't require anything from the child, creating unrealistic expectations of how the world is. However, this style can be used occasionally for a treat.

The permissive philosophy

Also known as lawnmower parenting, this parenting style refers to clearing all obstacles from the child's path. Snowplow parenting is helpful to clear just enough for a child to manage the rest by themselves.

The snowplow philosophy

Lighthouse parenting is about creating stability. Parents allow life to be experienced but are always visible and willing to help. For example, at bedtime, we talk about worries that cropped up in the day and chat about a manageable way to deal with them.

The lighthouse philosophy

I'm the kind of parent who will use whatever she needs to get the job done&mdash;whether that's a snowplow or helicopter, a lighthouse or a tiger. And I&rsquo;m sure I&rsquo;m not the only one.

Why the Best Parenting Style Isn't One Style at All, But Many

Ice provides most of the world's fresh water supply, keeps sea levels from rising dangerously, and gives us important information about past and future climate. Ice on Earth is named cryosphere - the frozen water part of the Earth system. It includes all types of frozen water, including permafrost, which is soil that has been frozen for extended periods.

The cryosphere - ice on earth

Self Improvement

Water and ice are made of the same stuff. In water, molecules can fill in gaps and pack themselves more tightly, while ice is less dense and therefore able to float on water. However, heavy water ice sinks. (Hydrogen atoms have a proton and a neutron, but only a proton in normal hydrogen.) It may be because heavier hydrogen atoms cause the water molecules to become heavier, and the hydrogens form stronger bonds.

Water is usually denser than ice

Ice storms happen when snow enters a warm layer of the atmosphere and melts into raindrops. Then it passes through a cold layer of air. As the rain falls through the thin cold layer, it immediately turns to ice, resulting in a thick coating of ice that turns sidewalks and roads into skating rinks. The thickened ice on power lines and trees can snap cables and branches, leading to widespread power outages and falling tree limbs.

How ice storms happen

The most effective method to prevent food from spoiling was to preserve food with blocks of ice. In the early 1800s, ice harvesting was an industry where horse-drawn ice cutters pulled thick ice blocks from frozen lakes for use in insulated ice houses and cellars. By the late 19th century, household iceboxes were common. Later it was replaced by the modern electric refrigerator.

Using ice for food preservation

Icebergs and glaciers often appear blueish green. This is because the air bubbles that accumulate on top of an iceberg get compressed, and more light penetrates the ice. Longer colour wavelengths like red and yellow get absorbed by the ice, while shorter wavelengths of colour like blue and green reflect the light.

Icebergs and glaciers

Greenland's ice sheet is the second largest ice mass on Earth after the Antarctic ice sheet. It contains 10 percent of the world's glacial ice, and it's melting at a whopping 8000 tons per second. More than two-thirds of Earth's fresh water is stored in glaciers. The loss of all the ice from melting glaciers will affect the global water cycle and considerably impact water supply and quality, energy generation, and incidences of extreme weather.

Melting glaciers

<ul><li>Water consists of hydrogen and oxygen that are plentiful in our solar system. Planets furthest from the Sun, like Jupiter and Saturn, have more water than planets closer to the Sun, like Earth, Mercury and Mars.</li><li>Planets of the outer solar system have several icy moons, such as Europa, which is covered by a layer of ice several kilometres thick.</li><li>Enceladus, one of Saturn's moons, contains cryovolcanoes on its southern polar region. It spews ice instead of magma.</li></ul>

Ice on other planets

Climatologists drill cylinder-shaped samples of ice from glaciers, then analyse the dust, minerals, ash, gas bubbles, and pollutants that have collected in snow for millennia. They use this data to determine details about forest fires, volcanic activity, sea ice extent, solar variability, atmospheric circulation and can predict future climatic conditions.

Ice cores reveals a fascinating history of Earth

It's summer. Time to think about the science of the cubes clinking in your drink.

Blissfully Cool Facts About Ice

<ul><li>Comes in a variety of sizes depending on your age. There are smaller harps for kids who are 8 and up and gradually bigger ones for 12 and up;</li><li>It may be difficult to find a teacher because not a lot of people play the harp; and</li><li>It is one of the most ancient and beautiful sounding instruments that's totally worth learning.</li></ul>

HARP

<ul><li>The piano is a versatile instrument that can be learned by children of any age. Some even start to learn at the ripe age of 4 years old;</li><li>It does, however, takes time and patience.</li><li>This instrument is suitable for beginners.</li></ul>

PIANO

<ul><li>This is the most popular instrument that is a mainstay in most music ensembles;</li><li>Children 6 years and older can begin to learn to play the guitar. Folk-style is easier to start with for beginners;</li><li>The instrument comes in a variety of sizes and styles. </li></ul>

GUITAR

<ul><li>The trumpet comes from the brass family of instruments;</li><li>It's easy to start and can be learned by children 10 years and older;</li><li>It's an orchestral instrument that's mostly used in jazz bands. It's easy to transport, fun to play with, and it's not expensive. However, don't buy a trumpet with a painted finish because over time the paint will chip.</li></ul>

TRUMPET

<ul><li>This instrument comes in a variety of sizes and there are different types of saxophones: soprano sax, alto sax, tenor sax, and baritone sax. The alto saxophone is advisable for beginners;</li><li>This can be learned by children 12 years and older and there are many opportunities for one to play if ever they decide to pursue it professionally.</li></ul>

SAXOPHONE

<ul><li>The clarinet is a popular instrument that has a lot of opportunities for professional players.</li><li>This instrument is easy to get into that even children who are 10 years old can begin to learn to play it.</li></ul>

CLARINET

<ul><li>The flute is extremely popular and it's suitable for children to learn at age 10 and older;</li><li>If you decide to pursue professionally you may encounter a lot of competition; but</li><li>It's an easy instrument to learn, it's easy to transport, and it's inexpensive.</li></ul>

FLUTE

<ul><li>This instrument is fairly easy to start learning;</li><li>Suitable for children 6 years and older;</li><li>It comes in a variety of sizes and you can find one easily depending on the age of the learner;</li><li>Violinists are popular and in demand. If you decide to become a professional player, it wouldn't be hard to join an orchestra.</li></ul>

VIOLIN

<ul><li>Essentially similar to the violin except that it has a thicker body and is played sitting down;</li><li>Suitable for children 6 years and older;</li><li>Cellos come in different sizes so it's easy to find one that would be best suited for your needs.</li></ul>

CELLO

<ul><li>The double bass is huge like a cello and is also played the same way but with the double bass you can pluck the strings or strike them;</li><li>This instrument can be played while either standing up or seated;</li><li>It is suitable for children 11 years and older. It isn't as popular as other string instruments but it's an essential instrument for most music ensembles; and</li><li>It comes in various sizes.</li></ul>

DOUBLE BASS

There are some musical instruments that are easier to learn than others. Here are the top 10 instruments for beginners.

The 10 Best Musical Instruments for Beginners

Most people have a problem focusing when there is a distraction. Learning can suffer by distracting background sounds. 
A study found that background and office noises decreased the performance of introverts in tasks involving reading comprehension and mental arithmetic. Performance during silence was the same for both personality types, suggesting introverts need silence when studying.

Introverts find noise distracting

A common solution to noise is to play music or have the TV on. A study showed that white noise could improve focus in young adults when heard in low volume. The study showed slightly improved recognition memory of scene images and scans. 
But caution is needed. One problem is that the study used recognition memory ("Do you remember seeing this scene?") instead of recall without cueing. Another problem is the lack of evaluation of the decibel level of white noise.

White noise

A recent study showed that white noise (20-20,000 Hz, 70 dB, via headphones) during initial learning negatively affected recall. The authors concluded that white noise has no beneficial effect on thinking and memory.
But white noise may have some value if general room noise needs to be masked, especially for people with attention deficits who are easily distracted by noise.

Silence is best, if it is possible

Does it make sense to use a distraction to reduce other distractions?

Does White Noise Help You Learn?

Having no routine or structure is so much more draining mentally, physically, and emotionally than any routine could ever be.

Having No Routine

<ul><li>It gives you structure, builds forward-moving habits, and creates momentum that will carry you on the days when you feel like you don't have the strength to carry yourself.</li><li>Following a daily routine can help you establish priorities, limit procrastination, keep track of goals, and even make you healthier. </li><li>It lowers your reliance on willpower and motivation.</li></ul>

Why You Need a Routine

... to get you into a positive mood for the day ahead. Put your mind in a good state right away, because left unchecked it will try to tell you the things that are wrong. Pick a phrase or question that resonates with you. It could be as simple as smiling and saying "thank you" out loud, acknowledging that you have been gifted with another day.

Start the day with a mantra

Checking your email first thing in the morning means spending the best part of the day on other people's priorities.Start your days focused on you and you will be in a much better state of mind to help others and get more accomplished all day.

Don't check emails first

Simply close your eyes and imagine yourself excelling and being the best you. Put yourself in situations where you shine, visualizing the best possible outcome. Include as much detail in your visualizations as possible, using all of your senses.

Visualize your success

... even if just one page at a time. It can boost your intelligence, increase your brainpower and even strengthen your ability to empathize with other people.Make your reading habit more manageable by breaking big goals (like reading a whole book) into something more manageable (a few chapters/pages per day).

Read a book

Find a partner or mentor you trust who can be your accountability partner, someone to hold you to your word.Making a commitment to your accountability partner about your goal will make the milestone realistically attainable.

Make yourself accountable

Spending time writing every day helps you become a better communicator, improves your ability to recall important information, and enhances your creativity. Write in a diary format and you also have the added benefit of greater self-understanding.

Prime yourself for creativity

One great way to be fully prepared for the day ahead is to make a to-do list.Keep your daily to-do list small, so that it's manageable and not overwhelming. To make sure you keep it this way, use a Post-It Note. Its dimensions will force you to only write down the most important things that you have to do each day.

Make a daily to-do list

Taking regular breaks keeps you from getting bored and losing focus, increasing your brain's function at the same time. It also forces you to reevaluate what you're working on, ensuring that you're going in the right direction.

Take regular breaks

Too much time spent doing one thing can cause you to lose focus, and interest. And if you're working on something you don't really want to do, it makes it easier because you only have to do it for a short while.

Break your day into chunks

Set aside different tasks for different days of the week.This can give you the time you need to make headway in those particular areas...without putting your brain on overload.

Theme your workdays

We all have the same amount of time. That's why people who are more productive -- and successful -- use their time more effectively. And that's why my colleague Chris Winfield is such a great resource for entrepreneurs. "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit."

Want to Be Super Successful? Science Says Do Any 1 of These 10 Things

Laughing at yourself is a hard humor skill to develop, however there are some steps to follow to be able to strategically desensitize yourself:
<ul>
<li>Figure out what's funny for you and surround yourself with more of it</li>
<li>Liste down the things you don't like about yourself</li>
<li>Arrange the list from least sensitive to most, then read it to someone before cracking jokes</li>
<li>Come up with a few self-referential jokes from the least sensitive until you work yourself up to the most.</li>
</ul>

Laughing At Yourself

If you do not have the right mindset to perform or develop this humor (laughing at yourself), then you will most likely only end up depressed, angry, and end up with lower self-esteem.
The underlying mindset to have should be playful and aim to make self-deprecating jokes instead of self-disparaging ones. Sometimes it also okay to keep the jokes for yourself, it doesn't always have to be performative.

A Word To The Wise: Not All Laughter Is Beneficial

Make a list of things you don’t like about yourself. Crack jokes about the less-painful stuff first. Be self-deprecating, not self-disparaging.

How to Laugh at Yourself

Research suggests that happiness and optimism influence positive life outcomes as much as it is a byproduct.
In a study, enthusiastic, cheerful people experienced less memory decline with age. A positive outlook boosts immune responses while reducing the likelihood of heart attacks or other coronary problems.

Positivity for better health

Being around happy, enthusiastic people makes us happier and more enthusiastic ourselves, leading to less stress and increased energy.
Rather than asking how we can get happier, we should ask how we can make people around us happy. Positive changes in your life will have a ripple effect on others.

Positivity is contagious

If emotions are contagious, so are positive social connections.
Researchers found that social relationships, social support, and social acceptance helped develop positive self-esteem throughout people's lives. A positive feedback loop accumulates over time.

Social connections support positivity

Research shows that people typically use language to inject a positivity bias. They also found that people generally use more happy words than sad words.

We have a bias toward positive language

We should not ignore life's difficulties or even view every rain cloud as a cotton-candy-laced fantasy. Without realism, positivity can become dangerous to our well-being.
One study found that participants who set realistic expectations had higher well-being than those who set unrealistic expectations based on overly positive attitudes. Being realistic about your future can bring a sense of well-being.

Positivity is not a self-fulfilling prophecy

2020 was an unrelenting nightmare of negative stimuli. As we approach the new year, it befits us to remember the science-backed benefits of a positive affect. A positive affect is contagious, correlates with better health, improved mental well-being, and more supportive social connections.

Bite-sized knowledge
to upgrade
your career

Gia Hume
@ghume

Being a good leader means nothing without investing in yourself. Here’s how

#550: Andrew Chen — Metaverse, Metrics, and Meerkats

9 tips to perfect your ‘working from home’ morning routine

Why the Best Parenting Style Isn't One Style at All, But Many

Blissfully Cool Facts About Ice

Bite-sized knowledgeto upgradeyour career

Gia Hume@ghume

Being a good leader means nothing without investing in yourself. Here’s how

#550: Andrew Chen — Metaverse, Metrics, and Meerkats

9 tips to perfect your ‘working from home’ morning routine

Why the Best Parenting Style Isn't One Style at All, But Many

Blissfully Cool Facts About Ice

Bite-sized knowledge
to upgrade
your career

Gia Hume
@ghume