I curate articles from around the web that present an interesting perspective or helpful information using technology to improve our wellbeing. Each of these articles were featured in my January 2020 newsletter. I send out an update twice a month along with some notes on my latest work. Sign up for my newsletter here.
JANUARY I
A Better Way to Think About Self-Improvement
"Self improvement is about so much more than yourself. Surround yourself with who and what you want to become. Better yet, realize that in many ways, you ARE your surroundings! To change yourself, change your surroundings."
I really like the work of Brad Stulberg. He's the author of The Passion Paradox: A Guide to Going All In, Finding Success, and Discovering the Benefits of an Unbalanced Life, and he's also a columnist for Outside Magazine.
In this article, he makes the case that self-improvement is more than internal work. It's heavily influenced by the people, places and things we choose to surround ourselves with. Creating changes in those areas makes behavior change infinitely more easier.
On the Journey to New Habits, Take Tiny Steps
New Year’s resolutions fail because people aim too high and get discouraged quickly. Instead, celebrate small accomplishments.
In this essay for the Wall Street Journal, Dr. BJ Fogg writes about how celebrations "reinforce the habit by tapping into the reward circuitry of your brain, causing it to recognize and encode the sequence of behaviors you just performed."
The piece is adapted from his book, Tiny Habits: The Small Changes that Change Everything, which dropped this month and has become an instant New York Times Best Seller.
Having trained with Dr. Fogg and taught his Tiny Habits® method across the world the past several years, I'm very happy to see he finally has his work published because I've seen how impactful it has been for so many (plus I get a shout out in the acknowledgments for contributing, so that's a bonus :).
JANUARY II
Introduction to The Optimized Brain, with Steven Kotler
A flow state, or being in the zone, is an optimal state of consciousness - one where we feel our best and perform at our best. Flow is the source code of intrinsic motivation.
In this 5 min video, Rise of Superman author Steven Kotler, talks about Transient Hypofrontality, aka the deep now, when we are in flow and performance skyrockets, creativity increases and learning accelerates. It's our brain actually slowing down and where your sense of self and ego temporarily disappears unleashing your natural skills.
Kotler is also Executive Director of the Flow Research Collective which I am currently working with on a research project. His new book is out today, The Future Is Faster Than You Think: How Converging Technologies Are Transforming Business, Industries, and Our Lives. I've been reading an advanced copy I received a few weeks ago, and so far I've found it a fascinating and helpful read for any entrepreneur and leader to understand how rapidly changing technologies will shape our future.
Controlled articular rotations can help loosen up all that neck tension
Does your neck hurt from sitting at the computer too long. Even as you're reading this, you know you'd welcome a nice neck stretch. Controlled articular rotation (CAR), "is the practice of moving your muscle group or joint through its entire range of motion, which helps with your mobility."
“Oftentimes people will see massage therapists who will make everything loose and happy, but at some point the body needs to be able to fire into action, which is the other side of the coin. The CARs movement is helping to integrate those two worlds,” says Aaron Alexander, a movement coach and author of The Align Method.
This article shows you how to perform CAR and has a short video to demonstrate. From a habit building perspective, I'd recommend pairing sitting down at your desk with doing the CAR exercise. Your neck will feel good, and your brain will reward you with some positive neurochemicals.