Category self awareness

Entries 35 Total

Breaking the speed of light

Sep 30, ’11 9:29 AM

On 22 September, a group of Italian scientists reportedly broke the speed of light. They were measuring a beam of neutrinos sent from Geneva, over 500 miles away. The science is way too complicated for me. But the notion that this effort may overturn one of our most fundamental “laws” of physics fascinates me. Astrophysicist Adam Frank says that what’s being challenged here is “the structure of causality in the Universe” because it’s based on “an absolute cosmic speed limit.”

We’ve heard for a century-plus that nothing can travel faster than the speed of light. Our experience and all of our learning are based on the notion of time as linear. And if that turns out to be a faulty assumption,

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Mindful landings

Aug 30, ’11 9:43 PM

What’s the last of the Top 10 Mistakes in Behavior Change? Assuming that behavior change is difficult.

What’s the tech lab’s last great suggestion? Behavior change is not so hard when you have the right process.

What’s my last hurrah? It’s also not so hard when you have the right state of mind.

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Refuse to be insignificant

Aug 22, ’11 10:22 AM

Sometimes I hear things that astound me with their power. This is one of them: refuse to be insignificant.

I got it from one of my clients, a self-effacing man who adopted it as a credo when he was young. He has had a highly successful career and a challenging personal life. Both fill him with joy and happiness.

Are you willing to do the same?

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The outside-in effect

Aug 17, ’11 10:42 AM

Relying on willpower and attempting big leaps aren’t helpful in changing behavior. Neither is ignoring how environment shapes behavior, which is #3 on Fogg’s list of mistakes in behavior change.

Want to change your life? Then change your context.

It can take lots of forms.

Most of us are creatures of routine. Even if we enjoy new things, part of us craves the safety of a familiar context. And familiarity blinds us.

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Forget about willpower

Aug 11, ’11 10:42 AM

I was entertained and inspired by the following list from B.J. Fogg, director of Stanford’s Persuasive Tech Lab, and friends.

They’ve assembled what they call their Top Ten List of Mistakes in Behavior Change. See how many fit for you.

Here’s the list.

1.  Relying on willpower for long-term change.

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And the list goes on …

Jul 26, ’11 4:09 PM

I’ve been researching a new public seminar on overcoming disabling thoughts. A lot of problems arise from our cognitive distortions and biases, so I typed “cognitive bias” into the search box on Wikipedia. Wow! I hit the jackpot: Wiki lists over 100+ forms of cognitive bias!! And that doesn’t include those perceptual brain teasers like the classic one here [which horizontal line is longer?].

Think about this: over one hundred ways that we skew and distort events in the world behind our eyes. Some involve our behavior and decision-making, like

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Learning to learn

Jul 23, ’11 3:07 PM

Several years ago, I read an article by learning and business theorist Chris Argyris. It stuck with me. He talked about how smart people typically succeed at whatever they try … and as a result, they never learn how to learn from failure. So when their usual problem-solving strategies don’t work, they can’t learn from the experience. They repel criticism and get defensive and blame others. Whoa! He was talking about me! So I reread it every few years. And every time, I discover something new.

If you want to learn about your own defensive reasoning process, give it a read.

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Ain’t misbehavin’ enough

Jul 23, ’11 2:53 PM

I remember thinking, when I was young, that I didn’t want to look back on my life with regrets about what I did NOT do. The thought made such an impression on me that I’ve lived much of my life under its shadow. I became a high achiever. But I rarely ran risks. I lacked courage.

So I really enjoyed a recent post by Marcia Reynolds on fearing regret more than failure. She offers 4 points for increasing our courage and comfort with risk. I’ve gotten pretty good at 3 of them. Now it’s time to misbehave.

On another note, look who flitted through the back yard this week and then leaped over the rooftop in a single bound.

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Up on the roof …

Jul 15, ’11 10:56 AM

My friend Jodi is curious and introspective, so we’ve had lots of conversations over the years about what goes on in the world behind our eyes. The other day she sent me a story, saying, “This happened yesterday. It’s titled ‘Judgments.’ I want to know what you think.”  Here it is.

I got on the elevator in the parking garage and a nicely dressed woman got on too. She was talking pretty loudly on her cell phone. I heard her say things like, ‘Please don’t raise your voice to me. I’m trying to help you.’ I figured she was talking to her husband and it was going to get good!

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A revisionist history …

Jun 16, ’11 12:37 PM

One of my clients, a career woman named Mary, wife and mother of two school-age kids, has been feeling so overwhelmed that she wants to request a 30% reduction in her workload. And she’s willing to take a 30% reduction in income. In the past few months, she has created several maps of how her life would look, less this 30%. She likes what she sees.

Here’s the hitch. Part of her just can’t say “No” when there’s work to be done. She’s always taking on more. Even when she has no energy for the extra effort, a voice deep inside is urging her on.

So she knows that unless she actually says no and does less,

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