Seven of psychology’s greatest lessons and what makes them great.

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We live in a time when psychological advice is offered in many different shapes and sizes. Whether it’s Psychology Today, the American Psychological Association’s Help Center or your local area’s mental health resource center, you can find suggestions for ways to improve your life on a daily basis.

Relationship advice and tips are by far the most sought-after by the public, as judged by the numerous columns on the topic and their high popularity. However, psychology goes well beyond the love department, offering ways to improve everything from your physical proficiency to your ability to manage your budget.

It’s perhaps an overly ambitious goal to sum up the greatest psychology advice in one short article, but I’m going to try anyhow. Sifting through the many theories and research findings, there are some basic truths that seem to rise up to the surface. See if you agree that these seven pieces of psychology-based advice deserve recognition as psychology’s “greatest”:

1. You can learn a lot about people by observing their behavior.

To a behavioral psychologist, the most important (if not the only) information you need to understand a person is to watch what he or she does. People spend money on things they care about, invest their time in projects that they regard as central to their well-being, and express their character in the ways they walk and talk. If you’re an inveterate people-watcher, you may even play Sherlock Holmes-type games in which you deduce something about a person you’re about to meet and test whether your hypothesis is correct. It’s true that people often try to disguise their true motives or are pressed into actions by circumstances over which they have no control. However, the choices people make when given complete freedom can tell you about their values, interests, and personalities.

2. Inner forces can drive outer behavior.

People can be driven by impulses and conflicts that even they don’t realize they have. Freud, who many credit with “discovering” the unconscious, pointed out how our repressed impulses leak out into that observable behavior I discussed in point #1. You don’t have to become a psychoanalyst to be able to understand the basics of defense mechanisms, or to recognize that there are times when issues that are painful or anxiety-provoking can fuel some of our most counterproductive (i.e. “neurotic”) behaviors.

3. Close relationships are important to well-being.

Self-reliance is a goal that many of us strive to achieve, and many people will make all kinds of sacrifices to be able to express their independence. However, as researchers have shown time after time, including a long-term study of intimacy and well-being I conducted, your ability to relate closely to others will carry you through many of life’s challenges. Perhaps this is one of the reasons so many people seek out relationship advice. When your closest relationship isn’t working, you become preoccupied and miserable, but when you have a partner you can rely on, you feel that you survive anything else that happens in the outside world.

4. Positive reinforcement is a great motivator.

Skinner showed many years ago that animals—including humans—would work hard to receive desired rewards. The philosophy behind Skinner’s work was that reinforcement, not punishment, is most likely to provide desired outcomes. Skinner designed experimental paradigms that showed precisely how to shape behavior by setting forth the consequences of that behavior. In your own life, you use positive reinforcement all the time even though you may not label it as such. Whether it’s by trying to entice your kids to study longer or to get yourself to kick an unwanted habit, positive reinforcement is an inherent part of life and one that works.

5. Use it or lose it.

This well-known phrase is typically associated with the mind, and the need for us to keep active in order to keep from losing such valued skills as memory and quick reaction time. The actual origin of the phrase, as far as I can tell, can be traced to the work of sex researchers Masters and Johnson in discussing sexuality in later life. Their studies of older adults showed the importance of staying sexually active, even if the individual’s physical stamina may be on the wane. However, we now know much more generally that mental activity does promote better cognitive functioning, no matter what your age. Giving up on your memory when in fact all it needs is a little tune-up is a way to ensure that your memory actually will suffer deleterious changes. One long-term study of middle-aged workers found that people in jobs requiring higher levels of cognitive activity actually showed fewer losses in intellectual ability well into their later years.

6. Be aware of how situations affect behavior.

Social psychology’s bread and butter is the demonstration of how individuals react similarly, no matter what their personalities, to situational effects. For example, the ingroup-outgroup bias causes people to herd together with others they see as similar to themselves and become angry, insulting, or dismissive of people they see as dissimilar. It doesn’t take true differences to cause this bias to take effect, though. Consider how you feel about pedestrians when you’re behind the wheel of the car (or on your bike), finding it annoying that they make you wait while they cross the street. On the other hand, when it’s you who’s on foot, you become enraged if a car or bike whizzes past you seemingly unaware of your presence. This and similar social effects on behavior abound and once we recognize their pervasive influence, we can be more accepting and empathetic to our fellow humans.

7. Realize there’s more than just “book smarts” to intelligence.

For almost a century, the “g” factor theory dominated psychology’s view of intelligence. The idea of g was proposed by the British psychologist Charles Spearman, who proposed that intelligence consists of particular mental abilities. This idea under increasing fire in the 1990s when it became clear that g too heavily reflected academic knowledge (especially the way it was measured). Such esteemed critics as Robert Sternberg, Daniel Goleman, and Howard Gardner led a movement against g that eventually caused a rethinking of how we approach intelligence. Educators, theorists, and researchers now realize that it’s important to add “people smarts” and “street smarts” (among other qualities) to the now outdated intelligence quotient.

Psychology is a subject of endless fascination to many of us, and these 7 of its greatest lessons can help you resolve many of the endless dilemmas you come across in your daily life.

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By Susan Krauss Whitborune,

Ph.D. / Source: Psychology Today

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Haunting dragon trees from Yemen bleed when cut.

If I were in charge of promoting tourism in Yemen, I’d be using the native dragon tree, or Socotra tree, as my mascot. Native to the Socotra Island these unusual trees have evolved in isolation over millions of years.

The Latin name of the endangered Socotra dragon tree or dragon blood tree is Dracaena cinnabari and it is native to the Socotra archipelago of islands in Yemen in the Indian Ocean. It is called a dragon tree due to the red sap that the trees produce.

“If you prick us, will we not bleed?”

The sap is believed to have medicinal purposes.

The largest island of Yemen is also called Socotra and it comprises about 95% of the landmass of the archipelago.

Due to its isolation one third of its plant life is found nowhere else in the world. It has been described as “the most alien-looking place on Earth”.

This is what the dragon tree looks like when it is completely dried out.

If these dragon trees from Yemen don’t make you want to get out and do something to protect our earth, we don’t know what will.

Oleg Znamenskiy / Shutterstock.com; and images of dragon tree from Shutterstock

– See more at:

 

The old/young seem to have one thing in common and that is the desire to feel that they are special to someone.

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THERE IS AN INHERENT DESIRE IN EVERYBODY TO BE SOMEONE. TO BE SEEN AS A PERSON OF SIGNIFICANCE!

 

Most of us have an inherent need to feel accepted and recognized by others. Even the most introvert and unassuming person want to feel that he or she is someone special for somebody. Go to any playground and watch toddlers in action. Observe what they do to get the attention of their fellow toddlers. They often, bribe, sulk and fight for the attention of other toddlers. They sometimes try and kiss, smile or talk their way into the heart of a fellow toddler. It sometimes happens that they feel that more dramatic and drastic attention arousal methods would have the desired results. A swift shot on the ear with a heavy toy often does the trick when more subtle methods failed.

 

People of all ages also do the most amazing things in an attempt to get recognition and acceptance. Just like the toddler example above they also often sulk, fight or cry for attention. I have seen men the size of mountains that become like marshmallows when they fall in love or when they want someone close to their heart to tell them that they mean something special to them. Most of us need to feel that we are someone special to the people that are linked to us in the game of life. We all still have a child in our heart that begs for recognition and attention. We often play-act that we are totally independent, but deep inside we yearn for recognition, acceptance and a feeling that we are special. Even the homeless people on the street want dignity and respect from society. They might be down on their luck, but deep inside under the layers of dirt they still yearn to be someone special.

 

If you want to exert strong influence on others you will have to keep this in mind. Treat people as if they are someone special and you will be amazed how you will make their day.

I WILL FROM TODAY TREAT EVERYBODY THAT I MEET WITH DIGNITY AND COMPASSION. I WILL LOOK BEYOND THE FACADES AND MASKS AND FIND THE REAL PERSON HIDDEN IN HIS MIND OR HEART!

All of us need some form of recognition and acceptance. We might have a history of failures and disasters, but deep inside the flame of being special to someone continues to flicker in the dark recesses of our minds. If you can understand this inherent need of people, you will select your words with much more care. You will take your own priorities out of the way for a while and rather focus on the dreams and aspirations of the people that share your journey on spaceship earth. Acceptance costs nothing and can be passed on with unbridled abundance. I have seen people that are seriously overweight that yearn for acceptance. They feel that they are a person with similar feelings like everybody else under the layers of fat. They cry for acceptance notwithstanding their problem, but are usually shunned by most people. They also want to feel special to others, but often bear the brunt of people with a warped sense of morality. I have seen the elderly treated like dirt by even their own family members. Because they have reached an advanced age does not mean that they are useless and stripped of their self-worth. You can become a motivator and exert a strong influence if you can learn to look underneath the surface and see if you can discover the real person hidden by his or her own history of fear and rejection. The old and the young seem to have one thing in common and that is the desire to feel that they are special to someone.

 

RENE

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Tap the Enormous Power of Your Subconscious Mind.

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You have available to you, right now, a power like a supercomputer that can enable you to solve any problem, overcome any obstacle and achieve any goal you can set for yourself.

This power has been used throughout history to take people from rags to riches, from poverty and obscurity to success and fame, from unhappiness and frustration to joy and self-fulfillment. And it can do the same for you.

This power has been called many things by many people in many places. It is the fundamental principle of most religions, philosophies and metaphysical teachings. It underlies much of psychology and is the cornerstone of all success and achievement.

In its simplest terms, it is called the “subconscious mind,” although this is a misunderstanding because the true subconscious mind is merely a memory bank of senses and impressions that reacts automatically based on your previous experiences.

It has also been called the “universal subconscious mind” and the “collective unconscious.”

The great Austrian psychoanalyst, Carl Jung, referred to this as the “superconscious mind.” He felt that the collective wisdom and knowledge of all the ages was contained in this superconscious mind and was available to everyone.

Ralph Waldo Emerson referred to it as the “oversoul” and wrote that, “We live in the lap of an immense intelligence that, when we are in its presence, we realize that it is far beyond our human mind.” Emerson, the great American transcendentalist, felt that all power and possibility for the average person came from using this mind on a regular basis.

Napoleon Hill, perhaps the greatest researcher on success of the 20th century, called this power the “infinite intelligence.” After spending more than 20 years interviewing 500 of the most successful men and women alive in America at that time, he concluded that, without exception, their ability to tap into this higher form of infinite intelligence was the primary reason for their great success in life.

The Infinite Intelligence of Your Superconscious Mind is Available to You in Every Moment

Whatever you choose to call it, this power is as available to you at this very minute as it ever has been to anyone, anywhere. I refer to it as the “superconscious mind,” the mind that is above and outside all other minds or intelligences.

The superconscious mind is the source of all examples of pure creativity. It is the superconscious mind that is functioning at the creation of anything that is completely new in the universe. The superconscious mind was tapped into and used by all the great inventors, writers, artists and composers of history on a regular basis, right up to the present day. Every great work of art or creativity is infused with superconscious energy.

Thomas Edison used his superconscious mind regularly to come up with hundreds of brand new ideas and inventions, more than 1,000 of which completely transformed America at the beginning of the 20th century. More recently, William Gates came up with an idea for a basic operating system for the early computers, which he called “MS-DOS.” It was so unique and revolutionary that he and Paul Allen were actually writing the program on the airplane as they flew to their meeting with their first customer.

Today, Bill Gates is the world’s richest man, and it all came from a superconscious flash of insight. Bach, Beethoven and Brahms tapped into the superconscious mind regularly to write some of the finest music ever heard. Mozart was so finely tuned into his superconscious mind that he could both see and hear the music in his head and was then able to write down some of the most beautiful music of the ages, note perfect, the very first time he put pen to paper.

Your Superconscious Mind Can Access Every Piece of Information in the Universal Mind

Whenever you see, read, listen to, or experience a great achievement of any kind that touches something deep inside you, you are witness to a superconscious creation.

Your superconscious mind can access every piece of information stored in your conscious and subconscious minds. It can also access data and ideas outside your own experience, because it actually lies outside your human mind. This is why it is called a form of universal or infinite intelligence.

You will often get ideas that come to you from far beyond you. It is not unusual for two people separated by thousands of miles of distance to come up with the same idea at the same time. When you are well-attuned to another person, such as your spouse or mate, you will often have thoughts identical to him or her at the same time during the day, and you will only find out that you had reached the same conclusion when you compare notes hours later.

This is an example of your superconscious mind at work. Your superconscious mind is capable of goal-oriented motivation. When you are working determinedly toward a goal of your own choosing, your superconscious mind will generate a continuous flow of ideas and energy to help you move onward. In fact, your superconscious mind is a form of “free energy.” This free energy becomes available to you when you become excited or inspired about achieving something that is really important to you. You seem to be able to continue hour after hour without fatigue.

Sometimes you even forget to eat, and you need far less sleep than you would normally. After you have achieved your goal, you may collapse in exhaustion, but while you are moving toward it, you seem to be flowing with continuous energy and enthusiasm.

Your Superconscious Mind Automatically Solves Every Problem on the Way to Your Goal

Your superconscious mind automatically and continually solves every problem on the way to your goal, as long as your goal is clear. Your superconscious mind will also give you the lessons and experiences that you need to succeed, in the form of setbacks, problems, frustrations and temporary failures.

Your superconscious mind will also bring you the exact answer you require to solve your problem or achieve your goal, exactly when you are ready for it. When your superconscious mind gives you a hunch or an inspiration, remember, this is time-dated material. You must act on it immediately.

I’ve had many experiences of wrestling with a problem that I have been unable to resolve until the last minute. Then, right when I need it, the answer becomes perfectly clear. This will happen to you as well when you use the power of your superconscious mind.

The critical factor in using your superconscious mind is your attitude. Your superconscious mind functions best with an attitude of calm, confident expectations. When you adopt an attitude of faith and acceptance, when you confidently accept and believe that everything that is happening to you is moving you progressively toward the achievement of your goal, your superconscious mind seems to come alive, like all the lights have been turned on in a room.

This is why successful people seem to have tremendous clarity concerning what they want, along with tremendous calmness and confidence regarding their ability to achieve it. This combination of attitudes will throw the power switch on your superconscious abilities.

Because of your superconscious powers, anything that you can hold in your mind on a continuing basis, you can have. Emerson wrote, “A man becomes what he thinks about, most of the time.” Earl Nightingale wrote, “You become what you think about.” In the Bible it says that, “Whatsoever a man soweth, that also shall he reap.” And this law of sowing and reaping refers to mental states; to your thoughts. Of course, there is a potential danger in the use of your superconscious mind. It is like fire – a wonderful servant, but a terrible master. If you use it improperly, and think negative, fearful thoughts, your superconscious mind will accept your thoughts as a command and go to work to materialize them into your reality.

The Difference Between Successful People and Unsuccessful People

What is the difference between successful people and unsuccessful people? It is as simple as this: Successful people think and talk about what they want, and unsuccessful people talk about what they don’t want.

So here is a 10-step plan for plugging into your superconscious power to get what you truly want in life. Make this plan a regular habit, and you will be astonished at the results.

1. Decide exactly what you want. This is usually the biggest problem that people have. They don’t know what they want and then they’re surprised when they don’t get it.

2. Write your goal clearly in every detail. A goal that is not written down is merely a wish. When you write it down, you signal to your superconscious mind that you really want to accomplish this particular objective.

3. Write your goal in simple, present tense words on a three-by-five index card and carry it with you to read and re-read throughout the day whenever you get a chance.

4. Make a list of everything you can think of that you can do that will move you toward your goal. Making a list intensifies your desire and deepens your belief that the attainment of the goal is possible for you.

5. Organize the list by priority. What is more important and what is less important?

6. Resolve to take action every day on one of the items on your list. Do something every day that moves you toward your goal so that you can maintain your momentum.

7. Visualize your goal repeatedly. See it in your mind’s eye as though it were already a reality. The more clear and vivid your mental picture of your goal, the faster it will come into your life.

8. Get the feeling of pleasure and enjoyment that you would have if your goal were realized at this very moment. Create the emotion of happiness, satisfaction, and pleasure that you would have if you really achieved your goal.

9. Confidently behave as if your superconscious mind were bringing your goal into reality.Accept that you are moving toward your goal and it is moving toward you.

10. Release your goal completely to your superconscious mind. When you turn your goal over to the power of the universe and just get out of the way, you will always know the right actions to take at the right time.

Starting today, try this power of yours, your superconscious mind, on one goal or idea, and practice it continually until you succeed in achieving that goal. By doing so, you will move from the “positive thinking” of the hopeful person to the “positive knowing” of the totally successful person.

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Source: The Millionaire’s Brain

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The greatest power of all is the power to control your own mind.

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The difference between winning and losing is mental. Ask any Navy SEAL and he will tell you that. The greatest power of all is the power to control your own mind. If you can do that, you can be prepared for anything.

Learn the following skills to train your mind for whatever happens.

1. Take Yourself Out

This doesn’t mean you should punch yourself out. It means you should take yourself out of the environment. You can do this even if you have to remain in the environment. In fact, it’s a pretty cool thing to learn and you can use it at any time. Does the person in front of you at the grocery store have thirteen items? Take yourself out. Did you just miss the green light because someone’s BFF in the car in front of you at the light didn’t put her foot on the gas because she was talking to Brad? It is time, my friend, to take yourself out.

Taking yourself out is a mental game. Like most mental games, the better you get at it the more fun it becomes. Not that everything is fun and games. Being able to take yourself out of a given situation is a
powerful skill to have especially when things get dark. Dark could be literal or figurative. Consider a ten day power outage like they had in Western Massachusetts a couple years ago. Think things got stressful? You bet. Were people chaining their generators to trees? Yes, they were. This gives you an idea as to how quickly civilization with all its colorful trappings begins to erode. It doesn’t take long at all.

A Navy SEAL is trained to control the situation. The situation never controls him. He enters an environment with an open mind, without an agenda, and reads what is going on. He makes a critical assessment and forms a necessary plan of action. Nothing is extraneous. He doesn’t judge except with logic, and he doesn’t use emotion except to motivate.

2. Shake Hands With Fear

Fear is difficult. It’s hard to talk about, think about and admit to. But it does exist and it is real. And that’s okay. Why? Because there’s a reason we feel it. Don’t fall for any products or gurus who tell you that the way to survive is to do away with what makes us human. That right there is crazy talk. There’s no doing or turning away from anything, including fear. Fear is good. Not like fast car on a Friday night good, but good in its own quivering little way.

Fear means pay attention. It’s not something you toss aside like a broken tree branch. No. When fear arrives, acknowledge it. Then figure it out.

Your reptilian brain is telling you that something is wrong, or off or dangerous. Or anything, actually. It’s telling you something though, and the way to shake hands with fear is to understand exactly where it’s coming from and why. You do this by assessing the situation and looking for weaknesses. If you don’t find any the first time, go back and look again. Look until you find it, because here’s the thing. Our reptilian brains are actually pretty cool. They notice things on a subconscious level that we often don’t simply because we are focusing too hard. The little lizards up there focus on other things that are small, but just because they’re small doesn’t mean they aren’t deadly.

3. Let The First Thought Go

How many times have you been in a situation where you had to respond and you wound up doing the first thing you thought? Most people operate this way. It can be an effective way to operate but it’s not the only way.

Sometimes we have to get the initial thoughts that pop into our minds out of the way so the good ideas can show up. It’s a process, and if you let it proceed wonderful things might come of it.

Navy SEALS don’t invest in the first thought that crosses their minds. They wait and see what else shows up. They might wind up going back to the original idea, and that’s fine. But they might just discover a new hiding place or a different code. This is what can happen when you control your mind. You can watch thoughts pass as if they are on a river, floating out of sight. When you can pick and choose which thought you want to act on, that’s when you know you are Navy SEAL prepared.

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Source: Survival Life

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