Marty Nemko's Blog, page 313

Feeling Good After Thanksgiving and Black Friday

Millions of Americans overeat on Thanksgiving and overspend on Black Friday. Come Saturday, it's regrets time.

How might you feel good on Saturday? I’m under no delusion that a how-to article can outweigh years of bad habits, peer pressure, and the desire for instant gratification. But perhaps one or more of the tactics I offer in my PsychologyToday.com article today might be of value.

Why Even Some Smart People Are Superstitious

Today, when science and rational thought are extolled, why are many people still superstitious? 

And as University of Chicago behavioral scientist Jane Risen documents, 

Superstitions are not limited to individuals with mental deficits. More than half of surveyed Americans, for example, admit to knocking on wood and almost one in four avoid walking under ladders. Approximately one-third of surveyed college students regularly engage in exam-related superstitions.

In my PsychologyToday.com article today, I offer a number of possible explanations. 

Toward Constructive Conversation with The Other Side

In the abstract, everyone asserts belief in constructive dialogue, in the free marketplace of ideas. But the nation has become very polarized. We are doing a poor job of talking with people across the aisle.

Our best chance at societal improvement may be through respectful dialogue with people who hold views different from our own. In the aftermath of the Trump election, I’ve written two articles in an attempt to encourage that:

Communication Lessons from the Trump Win : and Ten Questions in the Time of Trump .

In the final article in this PsychologyToday.com series, I offer an activity designed to get people to better understand perspectives other than their own on four contentious issues: climate change, affirmative action, the Palestinian/Israeli conflict, and illegal immigration.

When You Feel Powerless: 11 ways to get more powerful

Many people go through life wishing they had more power. For example, in the aftermath of the recent U.S. presidential election, many people wish they could wave a magic wand and change the results. So they protest but quietly believe their impact will be too small.  And they may be right.

What can we do to make a difference despite a macro lack of power?

As is my wont of late, I like to propose a buffet of ideas---My sense is that an article that presents a list of options may yield greater benefit than would a comprehensive exploration of a single one. In my PsychologyToday.com article today, I offer 11 options for getting more powerful.

Getting Deep Fast: Key to effective networking

Everyone knows they should network, especially if they are or could be looking for work.

Key is to get deep with a number of people quickly, which boosts your odds that one of the people will care enough about you and have the power to help you get good work.

Some people are naturals at getting deep fast. My PsychologyToday.com article today is for everyone else.

40 Words to Move You To Action

Sometimes, years of psychotherapy and other major interventions are required to move a person to action.

But occasionally, all that’s required to get you unstuck is a trigger word, something that lights a fire under you. 

In my PsychologyToday.com article today, I offer 40 such words.

Your Board of Advisors: why monthly teleconferences with friends enrich your life.

For the past three years now, every month, I meet for an hour by teleconference or Google Hangout with my Board of Advisors. 

It sounds fancier than it is. I simply chose the half-dozen people whom I most respect and who would be respectful participants in a group.

In my PsychologyToday.com article today, I describe how it works.

Even the Brainiest May Need Help... And Maybe You Can Help

The Society for Neuroscience is a prestigious organization for scientists studying the brain. More than 30,000 people from 80 countries, mainly hard-science PhDs. attend its annual conference, which will end tomorrow morning. 

Yesterday and today, I was privileged to do 15-minute one-on-one career coaching with attendees.  

In my PsychologyToday.com article today, I offer summaries of some of the sessions. It should offer career lessons for a broader audience as well to remind us that if even top scientists can benefit from help from not-technical people, perhaps you can too. It also suggests that you may be able to help technical people even if you're not technical.

What's Behind Our Snap Judgments

Malcolm Gladwell wrote of the power of snap judgments in his book, Blink. Jon Freeman’s research is identifying the physiological underpinnings. He is my PsychologyToday.com Up-and-Comer interview today. 

Ten Questions in a Time of Trump

The election of Donald Trump has evoked more emotion than in any election in my lifetime. While sometimes violence and revolution yields net good---witness the Revolutionary War or the war against the Nazis--more often, violence and even verbal violence yields a net negative.

That was Nelson Mandela's conclusion in, after apartheid, calling not for retaliation but reconciliation.

In a small effort to encourage more light than heat, my PsychologyToday.com article today offers ten questions aimed at encouraging the inclusive, full-dimensioned, truly diverse thinking so often extolled but too rarely followed when passions are high, when zeal (ahem) trumps statespersonhood.