Category Archives: Life

Articles and thoughts about LIFE and living it to its fullest.

Pride and Prejudice

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Those who exhibit genuine pride in accomplishment and good honest toil tend to exhibit far less prejudice and far more empathy toward others.

Those who exhibit genuine pride in accomplishment and good honest toil tend to exhibit far less prejudice and far more empathy toward others.

It seems that the kind of pride you have affects how you perceive others. No surprise there if your sense of the world is anything like mine. What is interesting, however, is that this study by a group or researchers from the University of British Columbia is the first to identify and test for two specific types of pride: hubristic pride, attained by less authentic means such as power, domination, money or nepotism; and authentic pride, the kind derived from personal achievement based on genuine effort and honest work.

“These studies show that how we feel about ourselves directly influences how we feel about people who are different from us. It suggests that harmful prejudices may be more flexible than previously thought, and that hubristic pride can exacerbate prejudice, while a more self-confident, authentic pride may help to reduce racism and homophobia.” (Claire Ashton-James, postdoctoral researcher in UBC’s Dept. of Psychology.)

Apparently, when you exhibit prejudice, you’re also exhibiting your level of hubristic pride – the more pride, the stronger the prejudice. Conversely, those who exhibit genuine pride in accomplishment and good honest toil tend to exhibit far less prejudice and far more empathy toward others.

I’m not at all surprised. As usual, scientific inquiry confirms what many of you know already.

Source: University of British Columbia. (2012, April 13). “Racism, Homophobia, Pride And Prejudice.” Medical News Today. Retrieved from http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/244054.php.

Reach for the Sun, Partner!

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Reach for the Sun to Feel Better

Reach for the Sun to Feel Better.

Researchers at the Max Planck Institute have discovered that when you are involved in movements in an upward direction you are more likely to have positive emotions and thoughts; and conversely, working in a downward direction tends to elicit more negative emotions and thoughts – metaphoric movements that match our language, feeling “up” or feeling “down.”

“These [study] data suggest that spatial metaphors for emotion aren’t just in language,” researcher Daniel Casasanto says, “linguistic metaphors correspond to mental metaphors, and activating the mental metaphor ‘good is up’ can cause us to think happier thoughts.”

I’m reminded of the Yogic Sun Salutation exercise in which one stretches one’s arms upward toward the sun as far as he/she can reach in a gesture of acknowledgement of the sun. The movement is also used to elevate mood and elicit more positive emotions during times of depression.

Perhaps one way to beat depression is to simply salute the heavens by reaching up as far as you can often during the day – while simultaneously elevating the thoughts and emotions. It’s certainly worth a trial run, I figure.

Study Source: Daniel Casasanto, Ton Dijkstra, Max-Planck-Gesellschaft

The Gift of Insults

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I just had to share this wonderful parable. It caught me at that “just right” time to help me appreciate it. I’ve never really looked at insults as gifts, but what would happen to me if I did? And what would happen to you if you did?

There once lived a great warrior. Though quite old, he still was able to defeat any challenger. His reputation extended far and wide throughout the land and many students gathered to study under him.

One day an infamous young warrior arrived at the village. He was determined to be the first man to defeat the great master. Along with his strength, he had an uncanny ability to spot and exploit any weakness in an opponent. He would wait for his opponent to make the first move, thus revealing a weakness, and then would strike with merciless force and lightning speed. No one had ever lasted with him in a match beyond the first move.

Much against the advice of his concerned students, the old master gladly accepted the young warrior’s challenge. As the two squared off for battle, the young warrior began to hurl insults at the old master. He threw dirt and spit in his face. For hours he verbally assaulted him with every curse and insult known to mankind. But the old warrior merely stood there motionless and calm. Finally, the young warrior exhausted himself. Knowing he was defeated, he left feeling shamed.

Somewhat disappointed that he did not fight the insolent youth, the students gathered around the old master and questioned him. “How could you endure such an indignity? How did you drive him away?”

“If someone comes to give you a gift and you do not receive it,” the master replied, “to whom does the gift belong?”

Anonymous

Taking Responsibility

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I like the idea of saying to myself (maybe as a mantra), “I am experiencing EXACTLY what I WANT to experience right now or I’d be experiencing something else. I am doing exactly what I most want to do right now or I’d be doing something else. I have exactly what I want to have right now or I’d have something else.” (BE-DO-HAVE) I believe that when you adopt this as a personal truth, you tend to take responsibility for your life and magical things start to happen. For one, when YOU are the responsible party, YOU have the power to make changes – NOT because you don’t like what you have; rather, because you LOVE what you have and want to experience something ELSE you love.

If you want to make a substantial change in your life, consider taking responsibility for your life – acknowledge that you are, do, and have what you currently experience because you WANT TO. How you feel about what you experience is your PAYOFF. Embrace your payoff – you love it, after all – and you’ve gone to some effort and energy to achieve it. Then look into what OTHER PAYOFF you might enjoy JUST AS MUCH and begin embracing that instead. You might also enjoy achieving your current payoff in a different manner. Like the kid in the sandbox making a sand castle, you can play with your design as much as you wish until you get it “just right” – that is, you experience sufficient sensational payoff.

Avoidance May Be the Best Cure

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Avoidance may be the best cure for temptation.

Avoidance may be the best cure for temptation.

Avoidance may be the best cure for temptation, that is.

A study, led by Loran Nordgren, senior lecturer of management and organizations at the Kellogg School, examined how an individual’s belief in his/her ability to control impulses such as greed, drug craving and sexual arousal influenced responses to temptation. The research found the sample, on average, displayed a “restraint bias,” causing individuals to miscalculate the amount of temptation they could truly handle, in turn leading to a greater likelihood of indulging impulsive or addictive behavior.

“People are not good at anticipating the power of their urges, and those who are the most confident about their self-control are the most likely to give into temptation,” said Nordgren. “The key is simply to avoid any situations where vices and other weaknesses thrive and, most importantly, for individuals to keep a humble view of their willpower.”

Furthermore, this research suggests, “observers should think twice before judging those who fall prey to temptation because most people overestimate their capacity to control their own impulses,” Nordgren concluded.

The study appears in Psychological Science. Nordgren co-authored the research with Joop van der Pligt and Frank van Harreveld of the University of Amsterdam.