I can’t remember exactly how I found this book but this is one of the most underrated psychology/self-development books In my opinion. This is a pragmatic book, it spends very little time on theory. Most of the content are examples of exercises the author performed with his students, or accounts of personal experiences of his … Read more
The first habit you should form if you have a ratio of positive/negative emotions equal to or lower than 1:1 — that is you feel at least as many negative emotions during the day as positive ones — is exercise. As Tim Ferris noted in one of his interviews with Tony Robbins, at a point … Read more
A while ago I made a post about Janes McGonical’s TED talk, watch it if you haven’t. This is an excerpt of her book Superbetter. I highly recommend this book. Introduction You are stronger than you know. You are surrounded by potential allies. You are the hero of your own story. These three qualities are … Read more
When I Say No, I Feel Guilty by Manuel J. Smith has become one of my all-time favorite books. This book is like a vaccine against manipulation. I’m so grateful to my instinctual attraction to this book despite it not being popular nor new or anything. One of those rare books that are truly undervalued. … Read more
I want to introduce a very powerful self-improvement concept with the following chapters from the book Can’t Hurt Me, from David Goggins. In fact, this might be the most powerful/no bullshit concept ever. I showed up on her doorstep later that day with my stomach growling. I didn’t ask for forgiveness and she didn’t demand … Read more
Manuel J. Smith’s book has quickly become one of my favorite books. Reading it is an eye opener and excellent immunizer to manipulation. Here is one particularly useful technique that will help you to be more assertive. To enforce your assertive rights and to halt manipulation of your behavior, you seed to change your own … Read more
Even though optimistic people live more successful lives, pessimism has its place in the short term. Pessimism can support the realism we so often need. Confused? Think about a pilot, for instance, you’d rather have him an upbeat outlook at security or a mercilessly realistic one? Let’s call it practical pessimism because it serves us … Read more
I recently made a post about Daphne’s Ted Talk about how the brain benefits from video games. I loved that talk but Jane McGonigal’s talk is as good in a different or shall I say more epic way. The things she talks about are just brilliant, go watch the video after reading this. I’ll just … Read more
I’m currently reading three books in parallel, Mindsight, Buddha’s brain and The Buddha walks into a bar. All three books show how we can rewire our brain with practice although, from slightly different angles. That’s what makes it so interesting to read them at the same time. Yesterday I read a few chapters of Mindsight in … Read more
In the following paragraphs, Shawn Achor explains how he managed to form a new daily habit by planning ahead and making it easier for him to play his guitar every day. THE 20-SECOND RULE How to Turn Bad Habits into Good Ones by Minimizing Barriers to ChangeD uring one of the first trainings I ever … Read more
I recently stumbled on Shawn Achor’s Ted Talk about Happiness. I immediately liked what he presented when he talked about the Cult of the average in psychology. What the cult of the average does is, in simple terms, ignore the outliers in our data. Actually in psychology for many years attention was paid to the … Read more
This book will show you how to persuade and achieve a dominant position Karl’s commentary: The author of this book has an interesting approach to effective communication and persuation with a mix of neuroscience, psychology and economics. The idea is to fill the gap between what you are trying to communicate to your audience and … Read more
Learn how to be yourself Most of us don’t live out their true desires but instead, live according to other peoples rules. The problem with trying to fulfill other’s expectations, however, is that we will never satisfy them all and even if we do, we are still not funfilled because we don’t really like what … Read more
Learn how to overcome fear and live your life in power and love This classic self-help book will teach you how to overcome fear. You’ll learn how commitment and action are essential to overcoming all fear and empower yourself. Finally, you’ll learn how no decision you made or will make can ever be “wrong.” But … Read more
Learn how to become happier and more successful through meditation After suffering a panic attack, Dan Harris began a journey to search for a solution. His search eventually led him to meditation. In this book, the author tells how meditation helped him calm down his inner narrator which was the originator of his crisis, and how … Read more
Learn how positive emotions lead to more success and a more fulfilled life Many books are written about the power of positivity, but many people don’t know that it is backed up by science. Positive emotions make us smarter and more successful and we can become happier just by being more grateful. Psychologists have shown that … Read more
Learn about the surprising power of hypnosis and our subconscious mind What hypnosis is For many people, hypnosis is a mysterious subject which they either don’t believe exists or they think that it has something to do with a clock pendulum. These misconceptions stem from movies mostly. Most agree that hypnosis is some kind of … Read more
Learn how to think effectively from one of the best books on the topic Relative value Our mind always tries to compare one thing with another one to try to estimate its value, attractiveness or whatever it tries to identify. This is the relativeness of everything. What’s more, often our brain picks the laziest option possible, something … Read more
Learn why big picture-holistic thinking is, and will become even more important in the future. People have assumed from ancient times about a division in our brain. Namely, a left and a right hemisphere. Modern science has supported a neurological divide although we know that in every activity we engage in both hemispheres cooperate. While there … Read more
Learn how irrational our behavior is, and use that knowledge to make better decisions. Let’s start to analyze our thinking and search for flaws in our reasoning. Overestimation Studies have shown that we tend to overestimate our abilities. The result is obvious, thinking that we are already at our destiny, we fail to put in … Read more