Notes

Self help: ignore positive thinking, attempt positive action
اهمال کاری

For years self-help experts have actually preached the very same simple mantra: if you want to enhance your life then you require to change how you think. Force yourself to have positive thoughts and you will end up being happier. Visualise your dream self and you will enjoy increased success. Believe like a millionaire and you will amazingly grow rich. In principle, this idea sounds perfectly affordable. However, in practice it often shows inadequate.

Take visualisation. Numerous self-improvement books encourage readers to close their eyes and picture their ideal selves; to see themselves in a big workplace at the top of the corporate ladder, or sipping a cocktail as they feel the warm Caribbean sand in between their toes. Sadly, research study suggests this method does not work.




In one study led by Lien Pham at the University of California, trainees were asked to invest a few minutes every day imagining themselves getting a high grade in an approaching exam. Although the fantasizing exercise only lasted a few minutes, it caused the students to study less and acquire lower marks. In another experiment led by Gabriele Oettingen from New York University, graduates were asked to note down how frequently they fantasised about getting their dream job after leaving college. The students who reported that they often fantasised about such success got fewer job deals and wound up with significantly smaller sized salaries.

Why should this be so? Maybe those who fantasise about a wonderful life are ill-prepared for setbacks, or end up being reluctant to put in the effort needed to attain their goal. Either way, the message is clear-- envisioning the best you is bad for your life.

However, when it concerns change, the message is not all gloom and doom. Years of research show that there is undoubtedly a basic however highly efficient way to change how you think and feel. The method turns good sense on its head however is grounded in science. Oddly, the story starts with a world-renowned Victorian thinker and an fictional bear.

Operating At Harvard University in the late 19th century, William James, bro of the novelist Henry James, was drawn in to the non-traditional, often walking around campus sporting a silk hat and red-checked trousers, and describing his theories utilizing amusing prose ("As long as one bad cockroach feels the pangs of unrequited love, this world is not a moral world"). This unconventional approach paid off. First published in 1890, James's two-volume magnum opus The Principles of Psychology is still required reading for students of behavioural science.

Homepage: https://alimeschi.com/defenition-of-procrastination/