Tag: Psychology
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Anxiety
I took time off and disconnected from work email over the holidays. On the first day back, I noticed a familiar reaction before opening the inbox: sweaty palms. My mind raced. My stomach tightened. Anxiety is anticipating failure in advance. “Did something blow up? What went wrong? What did I miss?” Intellectually, I knew probably…
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Tweak the environment
The items most accessible in our environment often determine what we do in a given moment. If there are potato chips on the counter, I will likely eat them. If the phone is my pocket, I will likely check it. If the TV is on, I will likely watch it. We can exploit this by…
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Start small
When we start a new project or develop a new habit, it is tempting to go big right away: read an entire book, run three miles, or play an instrument for five hours. But by doing too much at the beginning we risk burning ourselves out. I can’t tell you how many times I quit…
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Labels
Labels, when abused, are licenses to be desensitized. When labels are all we use, we stop understanding. We reduce someone people to a single phrase. “Mary is an engineer.” What if she quits tomorrow? Does that fundamentally change who Mary is? “Tony is wealthy.” We see mansions, fancy cars, and lavish parties. How about his…
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Expectations
Two scenarios. Scenario I: A driver says a trip takes an hour. En route, there are accidents and road constructions. The journey is delayed to two hours. We are angry that time is “wasted.” Scenario II: A driver says a trip takes three hours. En route, barely any cars are on the road. The journey…