Understanding Self

Living where you live, and being brought up how you were - you have a certain perception of choice... but, not everybody shares that perception. 

Sometimes even the smallest event can change how we perceive something for the rest of our lives. Today, we talk a bit about that... this one is for (or, from) the birds! 

It's said that we make roughly 35,000 decisions a day... that's an awful lot of decision making. In the course of our lives we will make millions of decisions. How do our decision making processes and abilities change over time? 

Age, experience, context, and a near-endless stream of other factors play a role... so, let's dive into that... 

As humans, we're always looking for answers to life's questions... why am i here? Who am i? Where did i leave my keys? What do you want for dinner?

Our brains are wired to find solutions, and to find them fast - but what's the cost? The path we take to find our solutions not only influences the answers, it also shapes who we are and how we interact with the world around us. So get ready for more questions than answers, and see if you can solve them all! (hint: you really cant...) 

It's a fact of life we can't escape - we all make snap judgements based on appearances. It's a part of who we are - both our own appearance and how we are influenced by the appearance of others. 

So let's explore that and find out what we can do to better understand our own implicit beauty (and other) biases.

Ever wonder why some people are organized, and some are "all over the map" ? 

Organization can be a sign of conformity and level-headedness, but disorganization of your environment can also be a sign of some great (and useful) qualities. 

Stopping to smell the roses - or taking a pause to reflect and appreciate what you have in your life - plays a big role in how we deal with disappointment in our lives. How we deal with disappointment can shape our mood, attitude, and response to engage with the world around us. 

So how does this all work, and what can you do to better deal with disappointment?

Creativity is often thought of as an inherent trait - something we're born with. Research shows that it's much more than that, and like much of who we are - is a direct functioning of our past and present environment. "Well," you ask, " how can I become more creative?" - 

Time to put on our creative lens and get a closer look at who we are when we explore creativity. 

Language - the backdrop for all of our communication with the world, whether written, verbal, or otherwise, plays a significant role in shaping who we are; but how often do we actually think about the part it plays?

Today we dig into some pretty interesting perspective on language, and share this link to the TED talk with Lera Boroditsky. Check it out after the pod for an incredible look at languages outside of your own, and how different cultures and languages actually perceive the world differently as a result. It's pretty fascinating.... and elegant... and strong... 

Daydreamining is a skillset that is often thought to be detrimental, but the wandering mind actually provides us many great benefits - psychologically, physically, and creatively. So, what do we know about it, and how can we get better at allowing daydreaming to be a part of our lives?