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Fun Workplaces Also Promote Learning
A growing body of research has shown that fun in the workplace has important consequences for learning and motivation.
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When There’s No Therapist, How Can The Depressed Find Help?
NPR: For a revolutionary, Deepali Vishwakarma is more quiet and reflective than you might expect. She's in her 30s, small, with a round face that holds intense brown eyes and a shy grin. Vishwakarma is a lay counselor in the state of Madhya Pradesh, India — a well-trained community member who goes out daily to fight what novelist William Styron once called a "howling tempest in the brain." She's part of an effort by the Indian nonprofit group Sangath to provide mental health treatment to poor people in India and to show that people with much less training than a psychiatrist or psychologist can deliver effective care. Vishwakarma had 40 hours of training for her role as a counselor.
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How to Become a ‘Superager’
The New York Times: Think about the people in your life who are 65 or older. Some of them are experiencing the usual mental difficulties of old age, like forgetfulness or a dwindling attention span. Yet others somehow manage to remain mentally sharp. My father-in-law, a retired doctor, is 83 and he still edits books and runs several medical websites. Why do some older people remain mentally nimble while others decline? “Superagers” (a term coined by the neurologist Marsel Mesulam) are those whose memory and attention isn’t merely above average for their age, but is actually on par with healthy, active 25-year-olds.
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Living With Purpose Yields a Longer Life and Higher Income
New York Magazine: Purpose isn’t just a virtue confined to ear-burrowing pop songs and best-selling self-help books: According to a pair of studies, it approximates the proximity of your grave and the size of your bank account. As noted on Minds for Business, both studies were done by Patrick Hill at Carleton University in Canada and Nicholas Turiano at West Virginia University. They used a national, longitudinal survey called Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) as their data set for each. The first study, published in 2014 in Psychological Science, looked at longevity. Read the whole story: New York Magazine
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Angela Duckworth: ‘A Passion Is Developed More Than It Is Discovered’
NPR: I spoke to Angela Duckworth, the New York Times bestselling author of Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance, about the importance of controlling your own destiny, why she decided to pursue writing her book, why you need to have a deep passion in your work to be successful, why it takes time to discover your sense of purpose, and her best advice to you. Duckworth is a 2013 MacArthur Fellow and professor of psychology at the University of Pennsylvania. She has advised the White House, the World Bank, NBA and NFL teams, and Fortune 500 CEOs.
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Teachers Are Stressed, And That Should Stress Us All
NPR: We all experience stress at work, no matter the job. But for teachers, the work seems to be getting harder and the stress harder to shake. A new report out this month pulls together some stark numbers on this: Forty-six percent of teachers say they feel high daily stress. That's on par with nurses and physicians. And roughly half of teachers agree with this statement: "The stress and disappointments involved in teaching at this school aren't really worth it." It's a problem for all of us — not just these unhappy teachers.
