Category Archives: Brain Hacking

Which Type of Exercise Is Best for the Brain? – The New York Times

Which Type of Exercise Is Best for the Brain? – The New York Times.   Distance running wins over interval training or weights–but my only criticism of this study is that being pushed to do intervals (and not understanding why) … Continue reading

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Playfulness Is a Spiritual Practice | Psychology Today

Words of wisdom. Play is without purpose. It is how we engage with our bodies, minds, each other, the world — for the fun in it, the joy of it. Even if we were playing with money, truly playing, it is not … Continue reading

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Feeling in control and taking the lead | Psychology Today

Little changes in the way we think can enable big behavioral changes. Researchers tested this with women and initiating dating contacts. What’s so surprising about the results is that the manipulation of personal control was ever so slight. For a … Continue reading

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The #1 Secret Astronauts, Samurai, Navy SEALs, and Psychopaths Can Teach You About Good Decision Making | TIME

This is from Eric Barker, who does the fantastic Barking Up the Wrong Tree blog. There are a lot of excellent tips here for improving performance. The most important tip? Arousal control through mental preparation: This is why Musashi and most martial … Continue reading

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Novak Djokovic Uses Self-Talk to Help Win Wimbledon Title

  Novak Djokovic Defeats Roger Federer for Wimbledon Title – NYTimes.com. Novak Djokovic after winning Wimbledon: I went the restroom after dropping the fourth set and I had a chat to myself–I was loud to myself, saying ‘believe in yourself.’ … Continue reading

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Stress is good–we love it!

Finally, a researcher profile I have wanted to write for a while. Stanford scientist Firdaus Dhabhar has shown that short term burst of stress are actually good for us. Which is why we are programmed to love stress and embrace … Continue reading

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Self-Talk Increases Success If You Use This One Trick

“He shoots, he scores!” Self-talk is a primary strategy for improving performance–in effect you are coaching yourself. This blogger talks about a study that reveals a trick to make self-talk even more effective. Instead of saying, “I’m going to do … Continue reading

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Be lucky – it’s an easy skill to learn

This article is a decade old but gets to the mechanisms behind a lot of successful brain hacking and life hacking. It can be thought of as the secret behind “The Secret.” In effect, people can create the reality they … Continue reading

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Mice Run for Fun, Not Just Work, Research Shows

Exercise is naturally fun and playful. That’s the result of this interesting study. Build a running wheel in the wild and mice will come to play. Mice Run for Fun, Not Just Work, Research Shows – NYTimes.com.

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Fight procrastination: breathe

A short tip for fighting procrastination: just breathe. Inhale and count “one.” Exhale and count “two.” Continue to ten. This gets to the fact that so much of procrastination is an effort to escape from anxiety or bad feelings surrounding … Continue reading

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