Exploring the unconscious patterns that drive human behavior | Team: Host and Executive Editor Shankar Vedantam & Executive Producer @taranoelleboyle
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Think about a high-pressure moment that you flubbed. An interview. A presentation. A game.
You already knew what to do. So why couldn't you do it?
There are techniques you can use to break that chain. Count backwards. Sing a song to yourself. Take deep breaths.
All these strategies give your mind something to do other than telling a story of failure.
In a medieval court, one person could tell the king the truth to his face without losing his head: the jester.
That’s because everyone agreed a joke didn't count. We still use this trick today. Here's why. 🧵
And a shared laugh does something strange. In one moment, a thing everyone had been keeping to themselves becomes something they all know they share.
Once the whole room laughs together, no one can pretend they didn't know.
Two groups were coached to save money. The first got standard advice about budgeting and compound interest. They saved twenty-two percent more.
The second group did something that had nothing to do with money. They saved more than three times as much. 🧵
We don't save for a spreadsheet. We save for a person, a place, a life we are quietly working toward. When money points at something you love, saving stops feeling like a loss.
“It appears that as a result of that missed sleep, the risk of a car crash goes up. And that's exactly what we observe in the data.”
Too many of us walk around in a sleep-deprived haze, thinking our fatigue only affects our own productivity or mood. But according to researcher Chris Barnes, the effects of sleep deprivation go far beyond the individual.
open.spotify.com/episode/4b3…
You probably recognize yourself in at least one of these. Maybe more than one.
And that's good news. The moment you can see the script you've been following, you can start to rewrite it. So which one is yours?
Some of us spend money out of anxiety, chasing a good feeling that never lasts. Others save relentlessly and never enjoy what they've stashed away.
There's a hidden pattern behind these behaviors: money scripts. Psychologist Brad Klontz has found four common scripts that can subtly shape our behavior. 🧵
The first script is money avoidance. Money avoiders believe deepdown that money is dirty and the rich are greedy, so they may earn less and sabotage themselves.
The second script is money worship. Money worshippers believe more money fixes everything, so they spend and chase and never feel full.
The third script is money status, where your net worth becomes your self-worth, and you spend to be seen.
The fourth and final script is money vigilance. If you follow this script, you save and plan and keep a cushion for the future. This is the most healthy script, as long as you're careful not to let it curdle into never letting yourself live.