Tag: psychology

There is genius in a glance

We measure “smarts” by books and discoveries. Einstein was smart because he was good at science. So was Newton. The mathematical genius of these men was unrivaled. But I actually think there’s a whole another type of genius: nonverbal communication.

Certainly the brain is working harder when it is allowed to just be and see, than when it is made to compute. What’s 2 times 2? Who cares! That does not get my mind going. Perhaps this is why I am no mathematician and never really was. My point is that there is more than one aspect to the mind; more than the computational intellect.

There is the emotional mind, which is what we use to perceive reality. And it is at its best when it is just allowed to be and see. You can’t really bring the soul out by force, when you tell it to or when you want it to. One becomes a good observer by simply observing. Observe your reality. Observe those around you. And you will see that when you look at people, their skin changes. It literally contains the workings of their mind.

The face is a mirror to the workings of the mind. When you focus in on someone, they will have more focus. Their mind will come to their face. Emotions are communicable. What you feel is felt by others around you.

Newton and Einstein may have been the world’s best “calculators”, but were they the best “nonverbal communicators”? No, everyone can be a good nonverbal communicator. All one needs to do is to let his emotions show. Sometimes, we don’t, we won’t, because we’re shy or don’t trust others! But at other times, we can become “emotionally outgoing” whether with someone on the bus, at a café or walking down the street. In that case, we have made a friend, even if it is a friend we never said one word to, or even made direct eye contact with.

Advertisements

motivational quotes 3/3/17

If you are depressed now, don’t give up. Look at the long view and take comfort in the bright future that lies ahead.

Don’t expect your whole day to be good, but if your whole day is bad, then you have a problem.

You can’t quit! You can’t give up!

 Never underestimate the healing power of humor.

If you could change one thing about yourself, change your attitude!

Happiness is spontaneous and is unexpected;

Happiness cannot be induced.

Happiness cannot be planned for.

Spontaneity is the spirit.

Live spontaneously.

always pay attention

A lot has been made about the concept of mindfulness. Mindfulness, a concept that comes from meditation has entered our pop culture here in the west. And rightly so. It is an important concept. But what is mindfulness? Mindfulness, as I see it, is attention. It is quite possible, in fact it can happen a majority of the time, to go through life without paying proper attention. To see, but not to really see. To hear, but not to really hear. In other words, we can call this state, absentmindedness. And this is the way a robot functions. What differentiates humans from robots is attention. But if a human is not thinking and feeling properly, he loses his attention and he becomes a robot.

Mindfulness reminds us not to be robotic. It reminds us to pay attention to ourselves, our face and bodies, and to our surroundings. It reminds us to focus and to concentrate. When we feel, when we focus, and pay attention, we are happiest. When we are unfocused, and distracted we are unhappiest. When we move, without paying attention to our movements, and when we speak without listening to ourselves or to others, we are unhappiest. Attention is characteristic of humans. We are the only species with real attention.  But we have to remind ourselves of it. This is what mindfulness tells us to do: Always pay attention.

 

when you use energy you create energy

Have you ever gotten tired of rest? Too much is bad for you and has the opposite effect. Instead of creating energy it drains it. The way to create energy is through activity. Let us examine this fact: The energy needed to run a marathon is produced by running! No body at rest can possibly run a marathon! A body at rest, though in theory full of energy, cannot generate the energy needed to run. Even the best runner, when at rest, does not have enough energy needed to run. Energy is kinetic. At the same time, it is lost in motion. Energy is lost and created at the same time by motion. If you are healthy, you can create more than you lose. If you’re sick, you lose more than you make.

Although this example is athletic, I believe the same idea applies to all activities. My advice: don’t be sedentary, have fun, and make energy.

Something makes a difference

Get rid of the “all or nothing” mentality. Replace it with the “something makes a difference” mentality.

Who do I mean? For example, let’s say you want to solve world hunger. But of course you know you cannot do it! You’re just one man/woman/child. And you get upset because you can’t fix it. So you don’t do anything.

Or let’s say you want to become a musician. But you know you just cannot amass a national following, like they can. And so you get frustrated and upset. And don’t become a musician at all.

Or suppose you see a pretty girl. And you wish you could ask her out. But you get upset because you can’t and so you just don’t talk to her.

Notice in all those scenarios, we have an “all or nothing” attitude. Because you can’t do it all, you do nothing.

But if you replace the “all or nothing” attitude, with the “something makes a difference” attitude, then you could achieve your wish, become happier, have a better day.

In the “solve world hunger” scenario it’s enough to donate a few coins to a beggar.

In the “to be a musician” scenario, its enough to play a few gigs around town.

In the romantic scenario, it’s enough to talk to a girl and engage her, rather than walk away entirely.

Something makes a difference.

 

 

What is the purpose of vacation?

Who invented vacation? How old is the notion? As old as time itself! I am  sure that people have been going on vacation since the beginning of time. Why? There are some reasons that are more obvious than others. For example to have fun and see new places. But there is another reason to vacation. To break the routine of every day life. Every once in a while we need to do something very different, in order to jostle us out of the hum drum drum of every day life and renew us.

The time has come for me to take a vacation! My last big vacation was in Albania in April 2014. Yes, that vacation totally broke the “hum drum” of every day life. Though it too had its difficulties. This time I am going off to England. For excitement, for adventure, for fun.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could live in vacation? It can’t be done, because it then turns into routine. Then you’d have to vacation somewhere else. I think life needs a balance of work and rest, more work than rest. This is why we work 5 days a week, and rest 2 days a week. We need to work most of the year but vacations are nice and perhaps necessary. In order to come back refreshed.