Homo empathicus: an argument for evolved human consciousness.

At RSAnimate, Jeremy Rifkin asserts, "We have to begin thinking as an extended family...we have to broaden our sense of identity...we extend our identities so we can think of the human race as our fellow sojourners, and our other creatures here as part of our evolutionary family, and the biosphere as our community. If we are truly homo empathicus, then we have to bring out that core nature, because if it doesn't come out and it's repressed...the secondary drives come: the narcissism, the materialism, the violence, and the aggression..."

Check out the link & if you feel like it, post your thoughts...

Build a PocketMod and see if you like it...

Do your attempts at getting organized lead to a wall full of sticky notes or piles of half-completed "to do" lists? Do you schedule appointments in your phone, but then never check your phone's calendar? Have you lost a planner because you forgot to pick it up when you put it down? These PocketMods seem pretty handy, as long as you don't put them through the wash.

Check out the link & if you feel like it, post your thoughts...

Connection and belonging: 28 things to improve both.

I'm pretty convinced that underlying our desires to impress other people are hardwired longings for a sense of connectedness and belonging. This is a list of behaviors for getting more of both.

Check out the link & if you feel like it, post your thoughts...

Digging deep.

Holland Reynolds's coach: "...and if a kid who's as great an athlete as she is, and as fit as she is - won't give up - I'm not."

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The no-money man.

guardian.co.uk writes, "Jon Henley spends the day in Bath with Mark Boyle, who last year decided to stop spending money … on anything … at all … ever. And guess what? He's doing rather well for himself."

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Authority, self-subjugation, stripped identity, and systemic de-humanization: Guard? Prisoner? Both?...

Does the Stanford Prison Experiment reflect in any way what we do to each other in more mundane settings? Does privileged status (based on race, nationality, gender, sexual orientation, body size, religion) foster "guards" and "prisoners"? Have you ever been a "guard"? A "prisoner"? Both? In your view, what connections are there between the behaviors exhibited in the experiment and bullying? Are there ways to get back a stronger sense of individual identity in the face of authority, and what do we potentially give up by being truer to ourselves? What do we gain?

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Get some sleep.

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Strength of introversion I.

A challenge to Western bias for extraversion and against introversion, Nancy Ancowitz and Laurie Helgoe write, "Introversion and extraversion have long been seen as normal variations of personality, and there's physiological evidence for these differences. Research shows that the brains of introverts are more active than those of extraverts. This explains why introverts limit how much comes in, while extraverts go where the action is."

What if I feel introverted in some ways, and fairly extraverted in others? What if I like to dance, but you'll never catch me offering a toast at the dinner party? Along a spectrum of introversion/extraversion, where would you place yourself, and is that placement situation-dependent? Check out the link & if you feel like it, post your thoughts...

Strength of introversion II.

Self-proclaimed introvert Sophia Dembling offers insight into why she hates talking on the phone, with an invitation to add to her list of reasons: "So, there are some of the things that have occurred to me but none feels like the reason so many introverts hate the phone. Do any of them ring a bell for you? What's your reason? (And do any of you introverts out there like the telephone? Why?)"

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Strength of introversion III.

Dr. Laurie Helgoe: "Introversion is a preference, not a fallback plan. Introverts like being introverts. We are drawn to ideas, we are passionate observers, and for us, solitude is rich and generative. Think of all that goes on in the playground of solitude: daydreaming, reading, composing, meditating -- and just being, writing, calculating, fantasizing, thinking, praying, theorizing, imagining, drawing/painting/sculpting, inventing, researching, reflecting...."

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Listening to & pushing through pain...

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Making change.

Since change implies a new route, it seems like a physical map would be helpful. Otherwise, wouldn't it be "wandering" or "dabbling"? Stan Goldberg offers a detailed template for creating your map to change. Check out the link & if you feel like it, post your thoughts...

Surfing big moments...dude.

Rebecca Webber writes, "Life can drone along at a hum for years — then break into a short but glorious chorus that changes us forever. It's impossible to predict such peak experiences; in fact, that's part of their charm. But it is possible to prepare for them."

Had any peak experiences lately? Are you planning for one in the near future? Check out the link & if you feel like it, post your thoughts...

Pssst...you there...lookin' for an anger fix?

David McRaney summarizes Brad Bushman's research on anger and catharsis: "If you get into an argument, or someone cuts you off in traffic, or you get called an awful name, venting will not dissipate the negative energy. It will, however, feel great. That’s the thing. Catharsis will make you feel good, but it’s an emotional hamster wheel. The emotion which led you to catharsis will still be there afterward, and if it made you feel good, you’ll seek it out again in the future...Common sense says venting is an important way to ease tension, but common sense is wrong. Venting – catharsis – is pouring fuel into a fire."

Okay, so am I ready for an emotional cooling instead of the choice expletives during rush hour traffic? And what about those deeper social slights (or even wounds)? There seems to be so much short-term neurological payoff for venting, almost like a drug! Check out the link & if you feel like it, post your thoughts...

Money ain't everything.

RSA Animate summarizes the research with an easy-to-follow dry erase board sketch: 3 factors that over and over have been shown to bring better performance and personal satisfaction. Autonomy. Mastery. Purpose. When it comes to problem-solving, relating, creating, & higher thinking processes, money doesn't cut it (and neither does praise).

So, in your own job (or better yet, in your life), how would you rate your experiences of autonomy, mastery, and purpose? Are there ways you can go after these three factors with clarity and intention? Do you ever feel like you have two lives...one in which you make your money and the other in which you get to do and be what you really want? Check out the link & if you feel like it, post your thoughts...

Trauma, death, accidents, the unknown, and...creativity.

Novelist Amy Tan explores connections between trauma, death, accidents, the unknown, and creating "something out of nothing," even authoring the story of one's own life: "When you are faced with the prospect of death very soon, you begin to think very much about everything. You become very creative in a survival sense...and this, then, led to my big questions...'Why do things happen?'...'How do things happen?'...'How do I make things happen?'...we all hate moral ambiguity in some sense, and yet, it is also absolutely necessary in writing a story. It is the place where I begin...there is uncertainty in everything, and that is good..."

Do you have a sense of where your creativity comes from? Are you trying to channel more of it? Check out the link & if you feel like it, post your thoughts...

Snow Patrol on hard-wired human longing...

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(Good) grief.

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Sibling rivalries: let's face it, they're for real (& may be a good thing!).

Hara Estroff writes, "As every adult knows, some sibling strategies remain strictly situational, not necessarily incorporated into personality or carried into the world outside the family...the staying power of sibling strategies accounts for what could be called the Thanksgiving Effect — the tendency of fully functional adults to find themselves drawn, often against their own will, into long-abandoned but still emotionally charged childhood roles at family gatherings. She goes on to propose that "in the long view, sibling conflict is necessary, inevitable, and an instrument of self-definition that has a correctable course over time."

Did you hold certain positions or roles in your family as you grew up? How did they shape who you are today? Do you find yourself falling back into "old roles" during family gatherings? Any interesting Thanksgiving stories you dare post? Check out the link & if you feel like it, post your thoughts...

Human power and grace run deep.

Does tumbling gymnast Damien Walters defy the limits of human physicality? Does he represent our potential as humans? Where do his abilities come from? Check out the link & if you feel like it, post your thoughts...

The job market: back to the drawing board...

Po Bronson writes, "The previous era of business was defined by the question, Where's the opportunity? I'm convinced that business success in the future starts with the question, What should I do with my life?...Asking The Question aspires to end the conflict between who you are and what you do. There is nothing more brave than filtering out the chatter that tells you to be someone you're not. There is nothing more genuine than breaking away from the chorus to learn the sound of your own voice. Asking The Question is nothing short of an act of courage: It requires a level of commitment and clarity that is almost foreign to our working lives."

How is who you are reflected in what you do? Any recent successes in filtering out the chatter that tells you to be someone you're not? Check out the link & if you feel like it, post your thoughts...

Human potential, realized.

"Most of us have those abilities. It's just that we don't use them." --Daniel E. Lieberman, Professor of Human Evolutionary Biology, on the Tarahumara ability to run amazingly long distances

Makes me wonder what potential each of us feels beneath the surface of our self-expression, just itching to come out. Is unmet human potential part of what makes us feel uncomfortable...that sense of longing for "something more" in our lives, and a knowledge that we have what it takes? What makes a person decide that once-held potential is no longer within reach? Check out the link & if you feel like it, post your thoughts...

Procrastinating? Cut yourself some slack, already!

PsyBlog writes, "Although we tend to think that letting ourselves off easy will lead to more procrastination, Wohl et al. found the reverse: 'Forgiveness allows the individual to move past their maladaptive behaviour and focus on the upcoming examination without the burden of past acts to hinder studying'."

So, beating ourselves up in order to get motivated tends to have the opposite effect. Why do we do it anyway? Any strategies you use to be more gentle with yourself as you try to get motivated? Check out the link & if you feel like it, post your thoughts...

Infant temperament to adult personality: are we what we were?

How much of who we are now is shaped by our temperament during infancy? Is it possible to "undo" temperament? Check out the link & if you feel like it, post your thoughts...

Got nap?

Yasmin Anwar writes, "New research from the University of California, Berkeley, shows that an hour’s nap can dramatically boost and restore your brain power. Indeed, the findings suggest that a biphasic sleep schedule not only refreshes the mind, but can make you smarter."

So, with high demands and tight schedules, do we have time to take that nap? Or based on the apparent benefits, do we have time not to? Check out the link & if you feel like it, post your thoughts...