Stubbornness and the Art of Beneficial Insistence

Stubbornness is a tricky thing. It can elevate you to greatness or guarantee persistent folly. Nelson Mandela endured nearly three decades in prison stubbornly realizing his dream of ending apartheid, however, Napoleon crippled his army by insisting they march on Moscow. Stubbornness is too often misunderstood and misused. Let’s look at how to use use it to our advantage and not our detriment.

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Myers-Briggs Personality Types: What They Are, Why They Matter

If you’ve had any experience with psychologists, councilors or corporate HR people, you’ve probably had your Myers-Briggs personality type assessed. Some people even know their type like they know their phone number.

But why? What is it? And why does it matter? The Wikipedia entry on the subject is over 6,000 words long, excluding notes and references. This article will attempt to be a little more understandable, and a lot more relatable.

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Why People Don’t Meditate and How to Anyway

I’ve long toyed with the idea of starting a meditation routine. After all, I’m not blind to the serenity on the faces of those who practice regularly. I’ve been to Buddhist teaching sessions, read books on meditation and listened to audiotapes. Yes, I even dug up my old tape deck to do so. I’ve always wanted to get into a steady routine, but never actually did. Was it a lack of time, dedication, or attention? No. It was because meditation, as it exists in the public eye, is whack. Yes, whack. The idea of meditation has mutated far beyond its sensible boundaries. The scientifically-confirmed capabilities of meditation are being obfuscated by cheap products, miracle claims, and cult-like visualizations. No wonder it only has fringe status in western cultures. So what if you want the benefits without the baloney. How do you get meditating without looking like you’ve fallen for a fad?

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Taking Your Happiness Seriously

I’ve always had a passion for charts and graphs. Lame, I know; yet my passion is justified. Every once in a while I learn that tracking results has played a big role in many diverse achievements. While commonplace in business, there are unconventional examples: Arnold Schwarzenegger won the title of Mr. Olympia seven times with the help of detailed training journals. Last Comic Standing winner Dat Phan went so far as to record the intensity of the audience’s laughter for each joke he told. So it follows naturally that if you’re motivated to achieve something more common — like happiness and mental well-being — tracking your progress can help.

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Mental… umm… Focus: A Pragmatist’s Guide

Have you ever noticed how hard it is to work when something is on your mind? Ever lay awake, desperate to sleep but finding no rest from your thoughts? Of course you have; we all have. Few things are as frustrating as having our own minds control us. Mental focus is a skill we overlook until it’s gone. Then, the loss of control becomes an all-consuming problem. But what is happening inside us? What is causing this loss of control? And how do we train ourselves to see past the distractions, clearly once again? This article will seek to explain the physiology of the situation and present a pragmatic solution to control our concentration.

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The Way Doctors Break Bad Habits

When I set out to break my nail biting habit once and for all, I came across a lot of advice. I looked at much of it with contempt; a long-time habit can’t be broken with tips alone. I knew there were experts who dedicated their lives to studying habits and finding cures. I knew there were regular people who conquered their habits as a result. So after I studied the basal reasons people have bad habits, I decided to troll even the dustiest medical journals and find a once-and-for-all, tried-and-true, real-deal solution. I set out to find how academics who specialize in breaking habits, break habits themselves.

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Boosting your IQ: The Science and the Scam

Q. Does clicking on a “Test your IQ” advertisement mean you’re smart or dumb? A. Probably the latter. For a variety of reasons, most IQ tests don’t offer any accurate insight into your intelligence. Similarly, many IQ training techniques often use deceptive means to artificially produce “higher” test scores. This article seeks to show why many of these tests are misleading, what IQ really is, and how to truly become smarter.

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Bad Habits: Know Your Enemy

When it comes to conquering bad habits, imagine yourself in an epic war battle. You’re located in a dynamic, varied landscape and up against an enemy equipped with many different weapons. A simple “just quit it” tactic is like fighting a sophisticated army solely with bayonets. To paraphrase The Art of War, “If you know your enemies and know yourself, you will win.” This article is about better understanding ourselves and the basal reasons for our bad habits, so that they can be confidently overcome.

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Brain Plasticity: You CAN Teach an Old Dog New Tricks

Not long ago I found myself speaking with a well-informed psychologist. We were discussing the topics of fate, destiny and feeling “doomed”. Many people who visit psychologists struggle with these concepts, sensing that they can only possibly be unhappy/worthless/you-name-it. In response to this troubling and common belief she mentioned the work being done the realm of neuroplasticity. I was intrigued by the innovative, ground-breaking nature of the research being done and set off to do some research of my own. What I found was both interesting and encouraging.

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The Enthusiasm Formula

Enthusiasm can play a make or break role in success. It acts as a multiplier of your chances: the higher your interest in a goal, the better your odds of achieving it. In my own pursuit of personal development I have noticed a distinct correlation to support this: Failure rates have been much higher in projects I begrudgingly undertake than in projects I wholeheartedly tackle. This inspired me to research enthusiasm’s contributing factors so I could steer it in productive directions. It turns out the unchanging foundation of enthusiasm is quite simple.

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