51–60 of 117 posts
http://www.ted.com/talks/daniel_kahneman_the_riddle_of_exper...
http://www.amazon.com/Thinking-Fast-Slow-Daniel-Kahneman/dp/...
I have a theory. I think that self-help books and articles actually make people miserable. I'm quite happy, and I manage to be happy without having a list of the 6 essential things I must do every day to stay happy. In my personal life, the people most into self-help books and the like are the least happy. Correlation doesn't prove causation, so I can't blame the books and blogs -- but they certainly don't seem to be…
I've had down times, but the ones that have persisted have had (strong) underlying physical components.
This is pure anecdote, of course. But I've seldom heard of a psychologist or psychiatrist prescribing and discussing a thorough physical. (I am familiar with the "you should get some exercise" mantra; however, if there is a physical component including one that gets in the way of this, it seems this can all too readily turn into a guilt trip for the patient.)
Maybe it's different in other countries. I hope so.
I find it somewhat interesting how often people profess that their key to happiness essentially boils down to living the sort of "good life" that in many ways is the Christian ideal, regardless of whether or not they are personally religious. Although there are habits and rituals that can lead to a more positive outlook, such as exercising regularly, there are deeper aspects to this way of life. This includes helping…
I've never felt that great during those times I've had to regularly be up early school or work. Back when I was on the swim team and regularly got up by 5am, I was not a happy camper. The happiest time I've had, my schedule was this: I slept from 5am to noon. I generally drank 1.5L of water and did about a 90 minute run right after getting up, showered, put on my suit and hit the office by 2:30pm. I stayed until abou…
I've never felt that great during those times I've had to regularly be up early school or work. Perhaps it's because you didn't voluntarily choose to wake up at those times. You had to wake up early for tasks that you had to do, even if unwilling that day. With little time to get ready, you'd also feel rushed. With your happiest schedule, you have more control over when you can start working, and you also have a dece…
It sucks to be a night owl in an early bird world.
I find it somewhat interesting how often people profess that their key to happiness essentially boils down to living the sort of "good life" that in many ways is the Christian ideal, regardless of whether or not they are personally religious. Although there are habits and rituals that can lead to a more positive outlook, such as exercising regularly, there are deeper aspects to this way of life. This includes helping…
On that note, the Dalai Lama made a very interesting point that pertains to your 'jet-setter' observations: many people confuse happiness and pleasure. There are things that will give you pleasure but that can lead to unhappiness (like sex) and things that are unpleasant but can make you very happy (like charity work under miserable conditions).
I have a theory. I think that self-help books and articles actually make people miserable. I'm quite happy, and I manage to be happy without having a list of the 6 essential things I must do every day to stay happy. In my personal life, the people most into self-help books and the like are the least happy. Correlation doesn't prove causation, so I can't blame the books and blogs -- but they certainly don't seem to be…
There are many ways to characterize or explain why people who can describe a clear path to a better life have trouble following it. One way is to label it a deficit in executive function. To me it doesn't feel right to call it a deficit. I think of it as chronic interference with or co-option of the executive function by other factors. But either way, whether you think of it as weak executive function or a normal executive function overpowered by interference, the inmates are running the asylum, and your executive function is the asylum director cowering in his office mumbling, "I am in control. I told them to set the mattresses on fire; that was my idea."
The purpose of self-help writing is to put the executive function back in charge. For a lot of people, all they need is a brief reminder and a little injection of optimism, and a five-minute read like this blog post is useful for that. It's also important to grapple with the psychological factors that hijack your executive function in the first place, but if a few minutes of fluffy reading can do the trick for right now, there's no reason to say no to it.
I'm curious how many programmers find themselves most productive at specific times of the day. Personally, I'm by far the most productive late at night, in 1am - 4am territory. The primary reason is that there are fewer distractions. The news cycle has slowed, my FB news feed is all but dead, I'm not receiving any emails/calls/chats, my roommates are asleep, and it's too late to accomplish chores like shopping or doi…
I'm curious how many programmers find themselves most productive at specific times of the day. Personally, I'm by far the most productive late at night, in 1am - 4am territory. The primary reason is that there are fewer distractions. The news cycle has slowed, my FB news feed is all but dead, I'm not receiving any emails/calls/chats, my roommates are asleep, and it's too late to accomplish chores like shopping or doi…
I have a theory. I think that self-help books and articles actually make people miserable. I'm quite happy, and I manage to be happy without having a list of the 6 essential things I must do every day to stay happy. In my personal life, the people most into self-help books and the like are the least happy. Correlation doesn't prove causation, so I can't blame the books and blogs -- but they certainly don't seem to be…
I have a theory. I think that self-help books and articles actually make people miserable. I'm quite happy, and I manage to be happy without having a list of the 6 essential things I must do every day to stay happy. In my personal life, the people most into self-help books and the like are the least happy. Correlation doesn't prove causation, so I can't blame the books and blogs -- but they certainly don't seem to be…
"There is a real correlation between a society that tells people that you can do anything and the existence of low self esteem." 5:20 @ http://www.ted.com/talks/alain_de_botton_a_kinder_gentler_ph...