The World's Best Book Summaries
If love is not a feeling, what is it? Is “falling in love” genuine? In The Road Less Traveled, psychiatrist M. Scott Peck argues that love is not a feeling. We have feelings that we associate with love, but they are not love itself, and they might not even be based in reality. Peck asserts that real love is an act of will—a committed action that we take even when we’re not “feeling it.” Keep reading to learn how love is not a feeling.
What is the carrot and stick motivation? Is the reward-and-punishment approach to motivation still effective? Carrot and stick motivation is an old-school motivational approach that involves offering rewards for desirable behavior, and inflicting punishment for undesirable behavior. According to Daniel H. Pink, the author of Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us, the carrot and stick approach is still generally effective but carrots (extrinsic rewards) aren’t the main driver of performance. Rather, they act as a “baseline reward” or a “hygiene factor.” In this article, we’ll take a look at the psychology behind the carrot and stick motivation approach
What is the Haddon Matrix? How does it make change easier? The Haddon Matrix is a thought process that prompts you to think about pre-incident, incident, and post-incident. You can use it to change behavior by considering how to prevent bad behaviors from occurring, reduce harm when the bad behavior does occur, and respond in a way that minimizes the negative effects of the bad behavior. Read more to learn about using the Haddon Matrix model to change behavior.
How does visualizing goals make them more attainable? How can short-term guidelines also help you get there? Goals are hard to reach when they are ambiguous. It helps to make objectives clear and measurable. A great way to do this is to visualize goals, basically painting a picture of your destination. This technique, along with short-term guidelines, puts real change within grasp. Keep reading to learn about visualizing goals.
What makes an idea sticky? What are some examples of sticky ideas? What is the secret to making a story or a message “stick”? Sticky ideas are concepts, messages, and stories that “stick” in the public’s consciousness: they are understandable, memorable, and have a lasting impact. One of the most notable examples of sticky ideas are urban legends. Urban legends are easy to understand and remember, people buy into them and share them. Keep reading to learn about the six traits of sticky ideas.
Is self-sacrificing love genuine? Where can it lead? In The Road Less Traveled, psychiatrist M. Scott Peck asserts that self-sacrificing love is a myth. It’s not genuine love. If you believe it is, you are likely to end up with two destructive results: social sadomasochism and destructive nurturing. Read more to learn about this view of self-sacrificing love.
How can we keep reflexive thinking from causing us to make irrational decisions? What can poker teach us about this? Deliberative thinking involves logic and careful consideration. On the other hand, reflexive thinking leads us to act quickly and instinctively. Because reflexive thinking drives most of our decisions, we have to figure out how to keep it in check. Poker teaches us how. Keep reading to learn about reflexive thinking in regard to decision-making.
What is purpose in the context of motivation? How does having purpose motivate behavior? According to Daniel Pink, purpose is the third pillar of his Motivation 3.0 framework. In the context of motivation, purpose is a deep, underlying reason why you perform a behavior or engage in an activity. A particularly common and especially motivating purpose is helping other people. In this article, we’ll consider the role of purpose in motivating behavior.
What do leaders fear the most? What are their top insecurities? Leaders may seem invincible but they are also prone to fears and insecurities. In their book The Practice of Adaptive Leadership, leadership experts Alexander Grashow, Marty Linsky, and Ronald Heifetz point out five main fears that come with leadership: 1) disappointing people, 2) incompetence, 3) hard decisions, 4) failure, and 5) exhaustion. Without further ado, let’s take a look at the five toughest leadership fears.
Are you the kind of person who puts a lot of effort into making sure things stay as they are? Do you resist change? When you need to overcome resistance to change, it can help to appeal to identity—what kind of person someone is, what they value, and how they make decisions. You need to either align your proposed change with someone’s identity or align their identity with your proposed change. Keep reading to learn how to cultivate identity to overcome resistance to change.