The Science of Self

Often, decisions can be consciously articulated. If you want Chinese food for dinner, that’s easy to justify. But for both quicker and bigger decisions, you are likely more influenced by your subconscious than you realize. The importance of knowing potential subconscious influencing factors is thus extremely high to deciphering your actions.There are three models of subconscious needs and desires, the first of which is Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. He articulates the following needs: physiological fulfillment (like food and shelter), safety, love and belonging, self-esteem, and self-actualization (a level which he claimed few people reach). Identifying your location in the hierarchy is identifying your subconscious needs, which can then inform how you appraise different choices in life.By making these unconscious needs conscious, we give ourselves more clarity and control over the process of making decisions. Maslow’s theory also reminds us that our needs can and do change over our lifetime, and we need to factor this in for longer term decisions.The next model is Tony Robbins’s six needs: love and connection, certainty, uncertainty and variety, significance, contribution, and growth.Robbins believed that each of us is motivated to act by at most two of these needs, which guide how we act and what we value in the world.Unlike Maslow’s hierarchy, these needs function like traits and are present in different quantities in people, as well as being expressed in endless different ways. Pinpoint your particular needs and understand your decision process better.There is nothing inherently better or worse about any of the levels in the hierarchy, or between the six fundamental needs. It’s more about discovering what is actually motivating you so that the decisions you make are satisfying your needs.Understanding your needs helps you discover your values and principles, ensuring the decisions you make fulfil you on a deeper level.#Acceptance #Belonging #BillGates #Freud #Goldilocks #IvanPavlov #Maslow #MaslowsHierarchy #MaxNeef #Pavlov #PhysiologicalFulfillment #Relationships #SelfActualization #SelfEsteem #Selfunderstanding #SigmundFreud #Significance #Survival #Security #TonyRobbins #TheCoreOfDecisions:You #RussellNewton #NewtonMG #PeterHollins #TheScienceofSelf

• The ancient Stoics were masters of living in the present. • One way of rethinking your relationship to the past is to adopt the Stoic attitude of amor fati. This translates roughly to “love of one’s fate.” Whatever happens is embraced, wanting “nothing to be different.” To practice it, look at events as neutrally as possible and then respond to them with a simple mantra like “good.” By focusing on action and solutions, we are able to transform adversity.• Negative visualization is where we occasionally spend a short amount of time imagining in detail the negative things that could happen in life. This renews appreciation and gratitude for what matters, allows us to prepare for the future, and creates psychological resilience. • With the “what-if” technique, we write down a fear and ask, “What if this were true?” and explore the worst that could happen, showing ourselves that it is tolerable and not so bad after all. Likewise, remember Memento mori, Latin for, “remember that you will die” to help remind you of what matters. • Problem-focused thinking zooms in on what’s wrong. Solution-focused thinking zooms in on what could be right and looks to taking action to change the situation. Thinking needs to be balanced with action. Focus on the problem needs to be balanced with focus on the solution.• Remember the Serenity Prayer and try the two-column exercise to help you identify what you can change and what you can’t. Accept what you can’t, act where you can. • Ask what you want and value, then ask yourself, “Is what I’m doing, thinking, or feeling bringing me closer to that?”#AnthonyDoerr #BeHonest #Negativity #Resilience #SerenityPrayer #Stoic #Theres #“RememberThatYouMustDie” #RussellNewton #NewtonMG #PeterHollins #TheScienceofSelf #

• Spartacus was able to do what he did because he was exquisitely focused on his goal – justice. Freedom is being outside of the control and dominion of any other being except yourself. Even if you are enslaved, you can emancipate yourself first by refusing to submit to injustice.• It may feel like you have nothing but use what you do have, reach out to others, and do whatever it takes to get where you want to be.• Finally, there is no virtue in tolerating something you cannot bear, instead of summoning up the courage to fight against it. Whether you succeed or not is beside the point – you assert your own autonomy and dignity in merely taking a stand.Get the audiobook on Audible at https://adbl.co/3NBG3vWShow notes and/or episode transcripts are available at https://bit.ly/self-growth-homePeter Hollins is a bestselling author, human psychology researcher, and a dedicated student of the human condition. Visit https://bit.ly/peterhollins to pick up your FREE human nature cheat sheet: 7 surprising psychology studies that will change the way you think.#Capua #Gaul #Gellius #GeneralMarcusLiciniusCrassus #Grit #KarlMarx #Lentulus #Lucania #Marx #MountVesuviusA #Plutarch #Pompey #ServileWars #Sparta #Spartacus #Spartan #Thermopylae #Thrace #SpartacusAndTheServileWars #RussellNewton #NewtonMG #Old-SchoolGrit

• Intellectual honesty is also important, and this includes humility and the ability to admit that you don’t know something, or that you have made a mistake. Geniuses know that stubbornness, bias, expectation and ego can undermine genuine learning.• Most genius types are usually polymaths (skilled in many areas) and have broad rather than narrow interests. They are well-read and make connections between all disciplines, see relationships and analogies, and find inspiration in all fields, never limiting themselves to one area.• Finally, geniuses are usually assumed to be novel, out-of-the-box thinkers. Such people are non-conventional and tend to disregard arbitrary rules, fashions or unquestioned assumptions and habits. They are comfortable pushing outside of the norms and exploring new territory—and this makes them natural innovators and trendsetters (as well as problem solvers!).• We can always be aware of these mindsets particular to geniuses and deliberately work to cultivate them in ourselves, in a variety of ways. #CoreBeliefs #CreativePossibilities #DeepThinkersPerspective #GeniusMindset #GeniusPerspective #GeniusThinker #GeniusTypes #IntellectualHeavyweights #IntellectualHonesty #IntellectualMaturity #NaturalCuriosity #NaturalInnovators #NegativeFeedback #PersonalFailure #SuccessfulEntrepreneur #IntellectualHonesty #RussellNewton #NewtonMG #PeterHollins #TheScienceofSelf

• The ancient Stoics were masters of living in the present. • One way of rethinking your relationship to the past is to adopt the Stoic attitude of amor fati. This translates roughly to “love of one’s fate.” Whatever happens is embraced, wanting “nothing to be different.” To practice it, look at events as neutrally as possible and then respond to them with a simple mantra like “good.” By focusing on action and solutions, we are able to transform adversity.• Negative visualization is where we occasionally spend a short amount of time imagining in detail the negative things that could happen in life. This renews appreciation and gratitude for what matters, allows us to prepare for the future, and creates psychological resilience. • With the “what-if” technique, we write down a fear and ask, “What if this were true?” and explore the worst that could happen, showing ourselves that it is tolerable and not so bad after all. Likewise, remember Memento mori, Latin for, “remember that you will die” to help remind you of what matters. #Aurelius #Buddhist #CBT #Cicero #Cyrenaics #Desensitizing #Disputation #EcceHomo #EnchiridionEpictetus #Epistles #FriedrichNietzsche #GayScience #JockoWillink #Lucilius #LuciliusSeneca #MarcusAurelius #Meditations #Nietzsche #Seneca #Stoic #Stoicism #StopNegativeThinking #Tusculan #UpgradeYourPsychologicalToolkitWithStoicAmorFatiPhilosophy #RussellNewton #NewtonMG #StopNegativeThinking #NickTrenton

• The Spartans lived by a set of principles and core beliefs that guided everything they did, and this is ultimately what allowed them to act with strength, conviction, and discipline. When you commit to a cause and belief greater than yourself, you become unstoppable, and even death itself is no longer something you fear.• We don’t have to believe the Spartans were perfect in every way to appreciate the courage it took to live life the way they lived it. We can be inspired in our own lives and ask, what do we care about so deeply that we would be happy to die for it? Knowing the answer to that question allows you to access vast stores of grit, courage, and strength.• Be active. Be tough. For the Spartans, physical prowess was everything, but we can follow suit by making strength – all kinds of strength – a non-negotiable part of our personal identity. If life seems scary and challenging, then train yourself to be equal to the challenge. Work hard, dedicate yourself, and choose toughness even when it would be easier to fold.Get the audiobook on Audible at https://adbl.co/3NBG3vWShow notes and/or episode transcripts are available at https://bit.ly/self-growth-homePeter Hollins is a bestselling author, human psychology researcher, and a dedicated student of the human condition. Visit https://bit.ly/peterhollins to pick up your FREE human nature cheat sheet: 7 surprising psychology studies that will change the way you think.#Darius #FrankMiller #GeorgeHarris #Gerousia #Golding #Herodotus #HotGates #Leonidas #Salamis #SirWilliamGolding #Sparta #Spartan #Sperthias #Theban #Thermopylae #Thespian #Xerxes #ZackSnyder #TheBattleOfThermopylae #RussellNewton #NewtonMG #Old-SchoolGrit

• Geniuses come in all shapes and sizes, from all walks of life and all historical periods, but they can all be seen to possess certain predictable characteristics and mindsets. • If we can model our own lives on the traits we find in great and successful thinkers, we too can learn to fulfill more of our intellectual and creative potential.• The first trait is a lust for learning and an insatiable curiosity about how the world works, and why. This is knowledge and understanding pursued for its own sake, and not because it indirectly leads to another goal like fame or money. Such inspiration and passion gives incredible stamina to any effort. • Another trait is diligence, patience, dedication and self-discipline, i.e. everything associated with consistent hard work. Without detail-oriented and practical action taken daily, and a willingness to delay gratification, success will never materialize.#Copernicus #Darwin #Descartes #Experiment #Genius #Geniuses #WhatMakesAGenius? #RussellNewton #NewtonMG #TheScienceofSelf #PeterHollins

• We need distress tolerance skills to help us cope with extremely trying or painful moments, or emergency situations. When we’re distressed, it’s easy to default to clumsy, destructive, or unconscious ways of coping—these are false coping mechanisms. • Self-soothing is a way to acknowledge and accept pain that is inevitable—without making it any bigger than it should be. It is not distraction or avoidance, but about anchoring in the present using your five senses—a technique called grounding. • TIPP stands for temperature, intense exercise, paced breathing, and paired muscle relaxation, all of which can help lower physiological arousal. Try cold water, vigorous movement, or breathing exercises to calm the limbic system.• Practice radical acceptance, which doesn’t mean we like what is happening, only that we have agreed to not fight with reality. Acknowledge how you feel and the reality of the situation and remind yourself of what matters.• The ACCEPTS acronym (Activities, Contribute, Comparisons, Emotions, Push away, Thoughts, and Sensations) can help you better tolerate momentary distress—although not for the longer term.• With anxiety, our goal is not to force ourselves not to worry, but to worry more efficiently. Scheduling worry time puts you in proactive control and helps you gain distance. • Notice the anxiety, write down the time you’ll postpone to—with the duration and content—then follow through as agreed. • Mental noting and focused mundane tasks can help you turn anxious moments into opportunities for mindfulness. #ACCEPTS #Selfsoothing #StopNegativeThinking #TIPP #MasterTheArtOfDistressToleranceAndSelf-Soothing #RussellNewton #NewtonMG #StopNegativeThinking

• No matter how bleak things look, stay calm and take heart.: you always have the power to choose your response, and you can often turn a disadvantage into an advantage simply by changing your perspective.• When faced with a challenge or obstacle, try to think outside of the box and imagine a solution beyond your current way of thinking. Understand the rules, like Caesar, and then be brave and audacious enough to rewrite them completely to your advantage.• There is never any reason for despair or giving up – things can and often do change at a moment’s notice. Stay alert and take whatever action you can, reminding yourself that, if there are no opportunities on the table that you like, you can create opportunities. The double rampart idea didn’t exist before the battle of Alesia – what novel solution to your own current problems is just one ingenious idea away?Get the audiobook on Audible at https://adbl.co/3NBG3vWShow notes and/or episode transcripts are available at https://bit.ly/self-growth-homePeter Hollins is a bestselling author, human psychology researcher, and a dedicated student of the human condition. Visit https://bit.ly/peterhollins to pick up your FREE human nature cheat sheet: 7 surprising psychology studies that will change the way you think.#Alesia #Caesar #Grit #Oldschool #JuliusCaesarAndTheBattleOfAlesia #RussellNewton #NewtonMG #Old-SchoolGrit

• According to author Max Gunther, there are 13 attitudes, traits and habits that set lucky people apart from unlucky ones. Lucky people clearly understand the difference between luck and planning, and never confuse them. They repeat hard work that gets results, and are grateful for luck when it happens, knowing they weren’t responsible. • Lucky people find the “fast flow” of people and information and position themselves within it, being extroverted and sociable and building connections with others to maximize possible channels for luck. Lucky people take appropriate risks – neither overextending themselves nor being too hesitant. They allow data and research to guide them.• When something isn’t working, know when to cut your losses and move on. Quit while you’re ahead rather than risk losing it all on a bet that your luck will continue. On a related note, “select” your luck by cutting ties with any course that is 100% not going anywhere, rather than wasting more time and effort on it. • The path to success is usually a zig-zag and not a straight line, so relax and become curious about the most optimal – even if unexpected – path from A to B. Superstitions can help you make decisions in impossible situations, since they encourage you to act rather than freeze with indecisiveness. A little irrationality won’t hurt if it ultimately gets you to do the right thing! • Pessimism can be a useful thing if it helps you to protect yourself and plan for when things go well. Lucky people plan for the worst but expect the best. Gunther also believes that lucky people don’t narrow their possibilities by talking indiscriminately about controversial or divisive topics – it makes sense if you’re trying to connect optimally with people!• Recognize a “non-lesson” which is just bad luck but doesn’t mean anything. Don’t twist yourself in knots trying to understand it. Likewise, accept that you are owed nothing and that none of us “deserves” luck or a charmed life. • Avoid idleness and stay busy to increase your exposure to lucky new opportunities. Finally, partner up with people that seem to improve your luck, or pass opportunities your way.Get the audiobook on Audible Show notes and/or episode transcripts are available at https://bit.ly/self-growth-home#BeingLucky #Superstitions #MaxGunther #Superstition #StrategicLuckPlanning #RussellNewton #NewtonMG #TheScienceofBeingLucky