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How the Brain Uses Glucose to Fuel Self-Control
The Wall Street Journal: Steam power sets massive, clunky turbines into motion. Horsepower involves explosions of work, with engines hurtling cars down a freeway. Solar power taps the awesome might of the sun itself and may someday light entire cities. But willpower seems different. For one thing, it more often describes disciplined inactivity, such as resisting a temptation, than some observable action. While metaphorical horses produce horsepower and the sun solar power, it’s not easy to frame “wills” in an equivalent way.
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The Power in Writing About Yourself
The Atlantic: "This is not a replacement for people or human contact," said the designer Albert Lee of his new creation, an app called Emojiary. I wanted to believe him. Every day you get a text from the Emojiary bot. It asks how you're doing. You write it back, texting out your most visceral feelings, and it accepts them without judgment. At least, none that I was able to sense. ... Though, it makes sense. There is a lot of research on the health benefits of introspective writing of the sort you do when keeping a journal (the term journaling just never felt okay to me).
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Thanksgiving and Gratitude: The Science of Happier Holidays
The Wall Street Journal: As the holiday shopping season moves into high gear, it’s easy to get caught up in the rush of spending. But consider this conclusion from recent scientific research: Materialistic people are less happy than their peers. They experience fewer positive emotions, are less satisfied with life and suffer higher levels of anxiety, depression, and substance abuse. Why is this the case—and how can we avoid falling into the unhappiness trap of materialism this holiday season? One answer has been emerging from social science: Cultivate a mind-set of gratitude.
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Being a Good Leader Makes You More Attractive
Harvard Business Review: Pretty people do better. Whether interviewing for a new job, applying for a promotion, or, in the world of politics, seeking voters’ support, people with good looks tend to reap more rewards. It pays to be physically attractive. Previous studies bear this out. But, from my own research, which is forthcoming in The Leadership Quarterly, I’ve discovered that things aren’t so cut and dried, beauty isn’t a fixed trait as many of us tend to believe, and that our perceptions of one’s attractiveness can be enhanced in positive ways depending on the situation.
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Facts? We Don’t Need No Stinking Facts!
Pacific Standard: Are your opinions solidly based in fact? Most everyone likes to think so. Yet plenty of research suggests our beliefs are driven more by psychological needs than objective assessments. To cite just one example, if our desire for security requires us to perceive our society as fair and just, we’re likely to dismiss complaints about economic inequality or police brutality. Entertaining such ideas would mean challenging a comforting premise that fulfills a deep-seated need. Ah, but what happens when the facts clearly contradict our assumptions? Do we rethink our opinions at that point?
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Revisiting the Land of Opportunity
The Huffington Post: "Our success should depend not on accident of birth, but on the strength of our work ethic and the scope of our dreams." So President Obama proclaimed in his 2014 State of the Union Address, adding: "Opportunity is who we are." Yet in the same speech, just a few paragraphs before, the president acknowledged that the American Dream is elusive for many: "Average wages have barely budged," he noted. "Inequality has deepened. Upward mobility has stalled." President Obama is not alone, neither in his yearning nor his gloom. Many Americans echo his view that economic realities are falling far short of the American Dream that defines our national ethos.
