Archive for the ‘Psychology’ Category
Thursday, August 12th, 2010
Inception has been out for some time now, and has received raving reviews, so if you have not seen it, definitely treat yourself to this awesome movie! Much like one can draw a lot of parallels between The Matrix and how our reality is simply our perception of something that can be very different, Inception also offers many such thought-provoking elements. I personally really enjoyed how the movie talked about ‘an idea’, and how it can be the most resilient thing in existence, which can grow to define you or to destroy you.
I also appreciated how they talked about the sub-conscious, it’s power, our inability to control most aspects of it, and how ideas planted in the sub-conscious can take hold. Very cool stuff indeed! You can look at that from many different angles of understanding of what the sub-conscious mind is and what it does, and the movie will likely resonate with your view.
But to come back to the concept of ‘an idea’. It, undoubtedly, is very powerful. It is the starting point of everything in our lives. Our personalities, behaviours, goals, and fears are all based on different ideas. Once we get an idea firmly planted in our mind, there are mechanisms in our brain that are designed to keep it there and give it nourishment – and this has been scientifically shown. This movie was a good reminder for me to re-examine what kind of ideas are driving my life.
Until next time,
V
Tags: Action, Fear, goals, Human Behavior, Irrational Behavior, Neo-Spirituality, Personal Power
Posted in Psychology | No Comments »
Wednesday, August 11th, 2010
If you look at the projections for the world we live in, you may wonder whether we will actually witness the ‘end of the world’. Between the earthquakes and the floods, the financial and economic meltdowns, the growing income gap between social classes and the disappearing middle class, the environmental disasters and global warming, the drying of oil wells and rising costs of energy, the shortage of food and lack of fresh water, the ballooning population growth and the strain on Earth’s resources, as well as the end of Mayan calendar, we very well may be in for quite a ride! My question is, and this is aimed at the more experienced life readers, has it always been like this?
Sure, the world currently looks pretty messed up from some angles, but then even in the last 100 years we went through two World Wars, the Great Depression, the Cold War, spikes in oil prices, stock market crashes, weather changes, and a number of other challenges. I’m sure that the outlook wasn’t too bright when the fear of Red Commies nuking the world was gripping the West. Do you think humans are just wired to scream ‘the end of the world’ like Chicken Little?
Until next time,
V
Tags: Fear, Human Behavior, Irrational Behavior
Posted in Psychology | No Comments »
Tuesday, August 10th, 2010
Changes often happen in our lives so slowly that we don’t even notice the progress. It’s only when we look back to a time in our distant (or maybe not so distant) past that we get an idea of how far we have gone and how much we have changed.
Kids provide a good example. Parents typically don’t see how much their kids really grow and change. Friends of family who tend to visit once or twice a year really notice the difference. It’s that same with many other areas in life.
Whenever you try something new, it is difficult at first, and obviously gets easier as you do it more. The only way to appreciate your growth is to have a frame of reference to where you were in the past. Seeing the growth serves as a good reminder of where you have been and provides motivation to keep moving forward. So find a way to keep track of your progress – it will help you appreciate where you are and will serve as the fuel to keep trucking along.
Until next time,
V
Tags: Action, Energy, Fear, goals, Human Behavior, Inspiration, Personal Power, Success
Posted in Psychology, Success, Taking Action | No Comments »
Friday, August 6th, 2010
I have a poster in my room at my parents’ house that has a bunch of really good quotes about life. Some are better than others, but a few are truly striking. There is one in particular that I find really thought-provoking. It is by Paul Bowles, who was an American composer and author.
“Because we don’t know when we will die, we get to think of life as an inexhaustible well. Yet everything happens only a certain number of times, and a very small number really. How many more times will you remember a certain afternoon of your childhood, an afternoon that is so deeply a part of your being that you can’t even conceive of your life without it? Perhaps four, five times more, perhaps not even that. How many more times will you watch the full moon rise? Perhaps twenty. And yet it all seems limitless.”
And on that note…until Monday.
V
Tags: Happiness, Human Behavior, Inspiration
Posted in Psychology | No Comments »
Thursday, August 5th, 2010
Today I have a success/achievement tip for you – benefits of which I you’ll be able to experience for yourself the first time you apply it. How’s that for quick results? Anyway, here we go…
If you have something that you want to do but never get to it, do it first thing in the morning before you do anything else. Anthony Robbins called this ‘the hour of power’ where you take the first hour after you wake up and use it as ‘your time’ for that important activity that you never get to. It can be reading, writing, playing a musical instrument, or going for a run. The activity does not matter – what matters is that you get it done.
This surely requires some discipline, especially if you have to be at work at a certain time and need to wake up an hour earlier to create that time cushion. And it is a lot easier to sleep that extra hour when you know you can too – I would know 
. But all that is still easier than finding time for your activity later in the day. Something always seems to creep up and get in the way. That is why you do your task first thing in the morning before anything has a chance to get in the way. Give it a try and see for yourself….
Until next time,
V
Tags: Action, Energy, goals, Human Behavior, Inspiration, intentions, Personal Power, Response-ability, Responsibility, Success, Tony Robbins
Posted in Energy, Psychology, Success, Taking Action | No Comments »
Wednesday, August 4th, 2010
I am a total sucker for a good conversation. This weekend I had a great pleasure of spending some time with a friend who is the most intellectually stimulating person that I know. A good dinner, couple bottles of wine, and good conversation led to a very memorable evening. Thinking of that reminded me of something I’ve noticed before – what different people tend to talk about.
There is a great quote by Admiral Hyman Rickover that seems to beautifully and elegantly capture what I have observed over time. The quote goes like this: “Great minds discuss ideas, average minds discuss events, small minds discuss people.”
When I compare the topics of conversations that I have with people who I truly enjoy spending time with to the conversations that are neither here nor there, the quote totally applies. And people who gossip all the time? Well, I keep far away from them.
Until next time,
V
Tags: Human Behavior, Inspiration, Relationships, Success
Posted in Psychology, Relationships | No Comments »
Friday, July 30th, 2010
One time, early in my entrepreneurial days, I was dealing with a rather difficult and demanding customer. I was in a rush and happened to write an email that was straight to the point. There was nothing particularly wrong with it – it wasn’t offensive or anything – but it did not have the usual pleasantry fluff. She lost it at that point and showered me with a number of ‘compliments’, but there was one thing in particular that stood out and served me as a very good lesson in further communication with all clients (and people). She said that “you’ll attract more bees with honey than vinegar.” How true!
Scolding or lecturing people rarely works, and I would go so far as to say that it never works. People can’t stand criticism and rarely see themselves at fault anyway. We always justify our actions to ourselves and to others and find excuses to feel OK about them. Fighting this is to go against human nature, which always a losing affair. Instead, it is much more effective to find more constructive and positive ways to deal with people.
In other words, be nice! And enjoy the long weekend!
Until Tuesday,
V
Tags: Communication, Happiness, Human Behavior, Relationships, Success
Posted in Psychology, Relationships, Success | 1 Comment »
Thursday, July 29th, 2010
“Education is the ability to meet life’s situations.”
- John Hibben
What an elegant way to put it, don’t you think? For quite some time I had a misconception that it is the grades, diplomas, degrees, and your IQ that determined your level of education and predicted your level of success in life. I don’t believe that anymore; in fact, that is probably pretty far away from the truth.
I said several times before that knowledge by itself is rather useless. The application of knowledge is powerful. But it’s rare that the challenges life presents us with have a lot to do with our formal education. Most of the time, at least in my experience, I have to deal with things not related to Engineering. We do well when we are able to deal with, and overcome those challenges, and that is true ‘education’.
Until next time,
V
Tags: Communication, Happiness, Human Behavior, Personal Power, Relationships, Success
Posted in Psychology, Relationships, Success | 2 Comments »
Tuesday, July 27th, 2010
Research shows that the more effort you put into something, the more satisfied you are with the results. One study measured the satisfaction that students experienced with their new fraternity membership, and how much they valued it. One group went through a very intense initiation process that was obviously far from enjoyable, while the other group had to simply fill out an application. Both groups were applying for the same fraternity, so there was no difference in terms of status of the group. As I suggested earlier, the group that went through the initiation was much more satisfied with their membership and valued it a lot more than the other group. We remember all the sweat and tears, and that makes the outcome worth while (even if the outcome is the same). So I guess that saying is true after all, that “without the bitter baby, the sweet ain’t as sweet!”
There is a little counter-intuitive aspect to this, since we are living in the world where everything is supposed to become faster and easier to do or get. But if you take this research seriously, people will like your product or service more if they have to jump through some hoops to get it. Think about it this way, if you need to see a lawyer, and he or she is available in the next 30 minutes, that is convenient. But if the same lawyer is booked for the next 3 weeks, and asks you to send an email with your urgent request and then asks you to come at some odd time for a consultation, you’ll be much more pleased with this experience than the first one.
Until next time,
V
Tags: Human Behavior, Irrational Behavior
Posted in Psychology | No Comments »
Friday, July 23rd, 2010
We all heard that before, right? What’s interesting is that it is totally true, and it is true because we do not approach arguments and debates with an open mind. We can be convinced of an opinion when we are yet to form a belief system on the subject, but when we have made up our minds about something, having debates and arguments will not help bridge the belief gap.
If we approached different points of view rationally, being exposed to arguments by the other side should make us re-consider our position. This cannot be further away from the truth. There was an interesting experiment done where two people with different points of view were given two academic papers to read. Both papers were written equally well by equally qualified experts in the field. One paper presented a set of arguments for one view, while the other presented a set of arguments for a conflicting view. Again, if we approached this rationally, reading two expert papers on the subject that present opposing points of view should have made the two parties move closer towards the middle ground on the issue. What happened, thought, was that the two people moved even further apart as they became even more convinced of their own point of view. They praised the ‘well-written’ paper that supported their view and ruthlessly critiqued the other ‘poorly-written’ paper for even the minor things.
The human nature is fascinating, don’t you think?
Until Monday,
V
Tags: Communication, Human Behavior, Irrational Behavior, Relationships
Posted in Psychology | No Comments »