Darya Sinusoid

Darya’s love for reading started with fantasy novels (The LOTR trilogy is still her all-time-favorite). Growing up, however, she found herself transitioning to non-fiction, psychological, and self-help books. She has a degree in Psychology and a deep passion for the subject. She likes reading research-informed books that distill the workings of the human brain/mind/consciousness and thinking of ways to apply the insights to her own life. Some of her favorites include Thinking, Fast and Slow, How We Decide, and The Wisdom of the Enneagram.

Popularity 101: How to Be Liked by Everyone

Liking Bias: Why We Ignore Faults in People We Love

How do you get people to like you? What is it about likable people that makes them that way? We all want to be liked and socially accepted—it’s a fundamental longing. Psychologist William James once said, “One of the deepest drives of human nature is the desire to be appreciated.” Though you won’t get everyone to like you, there are ways to make yourself into a person who gets along well with others, even if you’re not very social or are considered “difficult.” In this article, we’ll explore what it takes to become likable, drawing on sources from popular literature.

5 Hindrances to Success: Don’t Let Them Trip You Up

What are the biggest obstacles to success? What are some of the universal things people do that prevent them from achieving their goals? Everyone encounters challenges on the road to success. Of course, every situation is different, and whatever roadblocks you face in your quest for success are uniquely personal. However, there’re some hurdles that can trip up virtually anyone. The following are some of the most common hindrances to success, according to Jeff Olson.

Managing Cross-Cultural Teams: Strategies and Tips

Do you manage a team made up of people from different cultures? How do you deal with cultural differences between team members? If you are a manager of a team represented by people from different cultures, it’s important to anticipate potential clashes that could happen between team members due to cultural differences. In her book The Culture Map, Erin Meyer presents several strategies managers can use when their teams need to work with different cultures or consist of people from different cultures. In this article, we’ll present the key strategies Meyer recommends when creating and managing cross-cultural teams.

Maxwell Maltz: Why Do We Self-Sabotage?

Is there any goal that you want to achieve yet you keep sabotaging yourself by engaging in behavior that takes you further and further from the desired end result? Why do we self-sabotage? According to Maxwell Maltz, the author of Psycho-Cybernetics, people self-sabotage when their conscious goals are in contradiction with their internal programming. He argues that the reason this incongruence occurs is one’s self-image. In this article, you’ll learn how your self-image impacts your programming and, consequently, your progress toward achieving your conscious goals.

How to Heal Emotional Trauma: Forgive and Forget

How do people form emotional scars? Why do some people move on from emotional hurt relatively quickly while others form emotional scars that last a lifetime? Emotional scars—otherwise known as psychological trauma—result from situations that threaten your sense of emotional or physical safety. Psychologists argue that your subjective emotional experience of a situation defines whether you find it traumatic—the more powerless you feel, the more likely you are to feel traumatized and form an emotional scar. In this article, we’ll explore what determines your ability to heal from emotional trauma and how to speed up your recovery.

How to Build Trust in a Cognitive Culture

What is cognitive trust? How do cognitive cultures approach professional relationships? Erin Meyer, the author of The Culture Map, describes cognitive trust as trust that develops based on behaviors (as opposed to personal feelings). Cognitive cultures strictly delineate their personal and professional relationships. In this article, we’ll look at how members of cognitive cultures build trust and present some tips you can use to build trust in a cognitive culture.

The 2 Word-of-Mouth Marketing Strategies That Work

What is word-of-mouth marketing? What are the best ways to generate word-of-mouth referrals? Word-of-mouth (WOM) marketing is a way of promotion where customers spread goodwill about a brand and its products through conversations. There are two primary channels you can use to create a word-of-mouth marketing strategy for your business: vertical media and business press. We’ll discuss both of these strategies below.

Communicating With High- and Low-Context Cultures

A woman speaking to a group at an art gallery illustrates positional bargaining

Do you often communicate with people from other cultures as part of your job? What differences have you noticed between different cultures’ communication styles? Learning how to communicate effectively is essential for good business. But contrary to popular belief, the techniques for good communication vary depending on the place you’re in. Cultural communication expert Erin Meyer places cultures on a communication spectrum and defines the two extremes as “high-context” and “low-context.” In this article, we’ll look at the difference between high- and low-context cultures and present some strategies for working well with people whose communication styles differ from yours.

Is There a Link Between Good Health and Happiness?

What role does mental attitude play in physical health? Is it true that happy people tend to be physically healthier? Looking after your body (eating well, getting enough sleep, and exercising regularly) is just one side of the coin when it comes to good health. The other side of the coin is how happy you feel internally—your mental attitude influences the way that your body heals. In this article, we’ll explore the link between good health and happiness, and how your mental attitude influences your physical health.

Conflict and Culture: How Different Cultures Disagree

How do different cultures approach conflict? Does the culture you come from tend to express disagreement openly or tacitly? Conflict and disagreement are necessary realities in the business world. But the rules for appropriate disagreement vary across cultures. In discussing conflict and culture, cultural communication expert Erin Meyer divides disagreement styles into two extremes: “confrontational” and “avoids confrontation.” In this article, we’ll look at why it can be so hard to determine where a culture falls on the disagreement spectrum and present some strategies you can use to ensure that disagreements don’t harm your business relationships.