But the catharsis hypothesis is a myth – a plausible one, an elegant one, but a myth nonetheless. Scores of studies have shown that venting doesn’t soothe anger; it fuels it.
Amazingly, neuroscientists have even found that people who use Botox, which prevents them from making angry faces, seem to be less anger-prone than those who don’t, because the very act of frowning triggers the amygdala to process negative emotions.
Enjoyment appears at the boundary between boredom and anxiety, when the challenges are just balanced with the person’s capacity to act. – MIHALY CSIKSZENTMIHALYI.
Purification and redemption are such recurrent themes in ritual because there is a clear and ubiquitous need for them: we all do regrettable things as a result of our own circumstances, and new rituals are frequently invented in response to new circumstances.
Why shouldn’t quiet be strong? And what else can quiet do that we don’t give it credit for?
Another study, of 38,000 knowledge workers across different sectors, found that the simple act of being interrupted is one of the biggest barriers to productivity.
The “Bus to Abilene” anecdote reveals our tendency to follow those who initiate action – any action.
Of course, there’s another word for such people: thinkers.
People who pass us on the street can’t know that we’re clever and charming unless we look it.
Don’t mistake assertiveness or eloquence for good ideas.
Some people are more certain of everything than I am of anything. – ROBERT RUBIN, In an Uncertain World.
Try to think of happy things,” he says, caressing my forehead. I stare at the ceiling, tears welling. What happy things? Who could be happy in a world of podiums and microphones? “There are a billion people in China who don’t give a rat’s ass about your speech,” Ken offers sympathetically.
But exceptional performance depends not only on the groundwork we lay through Deliberate Practice; it also requires the right working conditions. And in contemporary workplaces, these are surprisingly hard to come by.
The Subarctic Survival Situation may sound like a harmless game played inside the ivory tower, but if you think of meetings you’ve attended, you can probably recall a time – plenty of times – when the opinion of the most dynamic or talkative person prevailed to the detriment of all.
So? You don’t have to be an extrovert to feel alive!” True enough. But it seems, according to Tony, that you’d better act like one if you don’t want to flub the sales call and watch your family die like pigs in hell.
At IBM, a corporation that embodied the ideal of the company man, the sales force gathered each morning to belt out the company anthem, “Ever Onward,” and to harmonize on the “Selling IBM” song, set to the tune of “Singin’ in the Rain.
Quiet demonstrates just how deep and disturbing is this plague of extroverts – the showoffs, risk-takers, salesmen, charmers, charlatans and politicians.” – New York Post.
What is the inner behavior of people whose most visible feature is that when you take them to a party they aren’t very pleased about it?
The secret to life is to put yourself in the right lighting. For some it’s a Broadway spotlight;.
Brainstorming had four rules: 1. Don’t judge or criticize ideas. 2. Be freewheeling. The wilder the idea, the better. 3. Go for quantity. The more ideas you have, the better. 4. Build on the ideas of fellow group members.