The Emotion Machine

Everything You Interact With Influences You (Whether You Realize It or Not)

Sat, 18 May 2013 12:39:40 -0400

Every little detail in our environment can have an influence over our choices and behavior. Often we aren’t even aware of these details and how they influence us – it happens below the surface of our conscious minds.

Just as you can only see the tip of an iceberg floating in the ocean, we only see a snippet of what is actually going on inside our minds when we make a decision.

Becoming more aware of these unconscious influences can give us a deeper understanding of our own minds and some of the situational factors that can change the way we think and act.

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Fri, 17 May 2013 17:20:32 -0400

The Power of Small Rituals in Overcoming Life’s Obstacles

Thu, 16 May 2013 10:46:57 -0400

A ritual is any meaningful or symbolic behavior that we believe helps us face a situation or overcome an obstacle.

Our daily lives are filled with small rituals that we believe benefit our lives. For example, putting on your “lucky shirt” before a big date, or giving yourself a pep talk in front of a mirror before a job interview, or visualizing yourself scoring before you shoot a basketball.

While these rituals can often seem irrational and superstitious, research suggests that they may actually serve a positive function.

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Wed, 15 May 2013 21:59:14 -0400

I’d rather lose 10lbs over the course of a year and keep it off, than lose 10lbs in a week and...

Wed, 15 May 2013 10:55:45 -0400

I’d rather lose 10lbs over the course of a year and keep it off, than lose 10lbs in a week and gain it right back. Think long-term about your habits and goals.

How the Law of Attraction Made Me Hate Myself

Tue, 14 May 2013 09:53:31 -0400

When I was first seeking self improvement about 8 years ago I was in a dark place, so I was pretty desperate and gullible. The more someone claimed they could help me, the more I was willing to devour everything they said.

I was quickly introduced to the promising ideas found in Law of Attraction, The Secret, and What the Bleep? – and I was captivated.

They offered the perception that everything in the universe was a product of my own mind. And if I didn’t like reality, all I had to do was change my mind and through some mysterious power in the universe things would begin to work out for me.

How can anyone not find that idea just wonderful and amazing? It makes you feel like some kind of omnipotent God.

Today, millions of people fall for this idea just like me, but I think in the long-term these fanciful ideas actually lead to disappointment, and in worse cases even self-blame and self-hate.

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Mon, 13 May 2013 17:14:09 -0400

The Neuroscience of Individuality

Sun, 12 May 2013 20:49:57 -0400

What makes one person different than another? Many may say it’s a combination of genes and environment, but recent neuroscience shows that it’s more than just that.

In an interesting study published in Science, neuroscientists studied the brains of 40 mice who were genetically identical and grew up in the same exact environment.

They found that despite these genetic and environmental similarities, the mice each culminated their own individual experiences which contributed to underlying changes in their brain’s wiring.

Due to these unique experiences, each mouse developed different brain and behavioral patterns while interacting with their environment, and over the course of 3 months these differences continued to increase in size over time.

Specifically, they noticed significant changes develop in the hippocampus, the part of the brain responsible for learning and memory.

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I’d rather do what I love and make a modest living than do what I hate to become rich and...

Sun, 12 May 2013 10:52:29 -0400

I’d rather do what I love and make a modest living than do what I hate to become rich and famous.

How Motivation Works: Overcoming Inertia and Keeping Momentum

Sat, 11 May 2013 17:39:44 -0400

Motivation is a psychological process that initiates, guides, and maintains goal-oriented behavior.

It begins with a particular goal in mind that we want to fulfill, then follows with the actions needed to make that goal into a tangible reality.

A goal can be anything we want to achieve: happiness, relationships, money, health, education, or whatever.

And whether we recognize it or not, we all have certain goals in life, even if they aren’t things we would normally consider “goals.”

This is because every action has an intention behind it. We feel a desire for something, then we take action to make it happen – even something as simple as feeling thirsty and grabbing a glass of water is a goal-oriented behavior.

This article gives you a mechanistic breakdown of how motivation works and things to keep in mind when pursuing long-term goals.

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Don’t wait for that one big “enlightening” moment, just recognize the small...

Fri, 10 May 2013 15:00:46 -0400

Don’t wait for that one big “enlightening” moment, just recognize the small insights of each and every day.

The Science of Self-Affirmations

Thu, 09 May 2013 18:13:54 -0400

Self-affirmations are a popular tool in self improvement. The basic idea is that we can adopt healthy, positive, and productive beliefs if we recite a belief enough times to ourselves.

For example, if we repeat a thought like “I’m a smart and happy person” 20 times every morning, then we may begin to actually believe that about ourselves, and thus act in ways that could make that belief a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Reciting these beliefs is said to work because increased repetition of certain thought patterns (and neural pathways) is said to condition our brains to begin thinking in these new ways. It’s kind of like working a muscle: the more repetitions you do, the stronger the thought will become.

This article is going to recap scientific evidence for the different ways self-affirmations have been shown to improve our lives.

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Thu, 09 May 2013 09:52:00 -0400

The Healthy Challenge of Explaining Your Own Beliefs

Wed, 08 May 2013 14:28:25 -0400

If you can’t explain to others why you believe the things you do, then it’s unlikely you can explain your beliefs to yourself – and that’s not a good sign.

It’s odd, but a lot of people seem to not know exactly what they believe until they are called upon to describe those beliefs and why they have them.

Instead, most of us take our beliefs for granted.

We feel strongly about our beliefs, even though we don’t think very critically about them, because deep-down we think we must have good reasons behind them, even if we aren’t fully aware of those reasons.

Upon reflection, however, we often find that our beliefs aren’t as sturdy and convincing as we initially thought. This is one of the main reasons we should frequently challenge our beliefs whenever possible.

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A false understanding of the human mind, even if it makes you feel good, cannot bring you true...

Tue, 07 May 2013 10:55:04 -0400

A false understanding of the human mind, even if it makes you feel good, cannot bring you true happiness.

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Mon, 06 May 2013 18:01:45 -0400

Are You A Big Picture or Detail Oriented Thinker? Take this Quiz to Find Out!

Sun, 05 May 2013 18:18:00 -0400

This is a 25 question quiz designed to assess if you are more of a “Big Picture” or “Detail Oriented” thinker.

Click here to take the quiz!

Inner peace means you don’t always need to smile to be happy.

Sun, 05 May 2013 12:44:06 -0400

Inner peace means you don’t always need to smile to be happy.

Focusing Too Much on “Me” Can Lead to Depression

Sat, 04 May 2013 14:02:37 -0400

Self-awareness is an important part of happiness, but you have to be careful not to focus too much on yourself – to the point where you begin to confuse “self-awareness” for what is actually “self-indulgence.”

Self-awareness is a non-judgmental form of introspection that seeks to better understand yourself. But self-indulgence is a judgmental form of introspection that seeks to feed and protect your ego.

Both are forms of reflection, but they come from very different perspectives.

When your introspection comes from a place of “self-indulgence” it can turn into negative rumination – addictive and excessive thinking about ourselves that leads to depression, frustration, anger, and apathy.

If you want to be happier in your life, pay attention to the happiness of others.

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Fri, 03 May 2013 11:38:09 -0400