A best-selling author and psychologist gives us a myth-busting response to the self-help movement, with tips and tricks that come straight from the scientific community. Richard Wiseman has been troubled by the realization that the self-help industry often promotes exercises that destroy... read more
“Now if you take part in a study and the researchers explain that they need your telephone number in case of a hard-disk failure, they are up to something.”Richard Wiseman
In short, when it comes to an instant fix for everyday happiness, certain types of writing have a surprisingly quick and large impact. Expressing gratitude, thinking about a perfect future, and affectionate writing have been scientifically proven to work—and all they require is a pen, a piece of paper, and a few moments of your time.Highlighted by 290 Kindle customers
It seems that presenting weaknesses early is seen as a sign of openness.Highlighted by 284 Kindle customers
When you gossip about another person, listeners unconsciously associate you with the characteristics you are describing, ultimately leading to those characteristics’ being “transferred” to you. So, say positive and pleasant things about friends and colleagues, and you are seen as a nice person. In contrast, constantly complain about their failings, and people will unconsciously apply the negative traits and incompetence to you.Highlighted by 248 Kindle customers
“He that has once done you a kindness will be more ready to do you another than he whom you yourself have obliged.” In other words, to increase the likelihood that someone will like you, get that person to do you a favor.Highlighted by 234 Kindle customers
From a psychological perspective, thinking and writing are very different. Thinking can often be somewhat unstructured, disorganized, and even chaotic. In contrast, writing encourages the creation of a story line and structure that help people make sense of what has happened and work toward a solution. In short, talking can add to a sense of confusion, but writing provides a more systematic, solution-based approach.Highlighted by 233 Kindle customers
The message is clear—those who do not feel in control of their lives are less successful, and less psychologically and physically healthy, than those who do feel in control.Highlighted by 231 Kindle customers
The message is that people are more likely to agree with you when they have already said something positive.Highlighted by 225 Kindle customers
It seems that modesty, rather than honesty, is critical for positive aspects of your past. By delaying mention of such details, you appear to prefer letting your strengths emerge naturally, while playing your cards early is seen as boastful.Highlighted by 204 Kindle customers
Successful participants broke their overall goal into a series of sub-goals and thereby created a step-by-step process that helped remove the fear and hesitation often associated with trying to achieve a major life change. These plans were especially powerful when the sub-goals were concrete, measurable, and time-based.Highlighted by 204 Kindle customers
The results from both studies clearly indicated that in terms of short- and long-term happiness, buying experiences made people feel better than buying products.Highlighted by 197 Kindle customers
We’re hiding the errata, movie connections, books that influenced this book, books influenced by this book, books that cite this book and books cited by this book sections. If you would like to add content to them, you must first make them visible.