School of Curiosity
Explore. Dream. Discover.
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The art of mental time travel
August 8, 2013
Hey, there’s no need to wait until you can afford that time machine you always promised yourself. Tali Sharot in The Science of Optimism: Why We’re Hard-Wired for Hope says that mental time travel is all part of our daily routine. It’s a double edged sword, it keeps us optimistic, yet warns us of the things to come. According to Sharot…
“Optimism starts with what may be the most extraordinary of human talents: mental time travel. That is, the ability to move back and forth through time and space in one’s mind. To think positively about our prospects, it helps to be able to imagine ourselves in the future. Although most of us take this ability for granted, our capacity to envision a different time and place is critical for our survival. It allows us to plan ahead, to save food and resources for times of scarcity, and to endure hard work in anticipation of a future reward.
While mental time travel has clear survival advantages, conscious foresight came to humans at an enormous price — the understanding that somewhere in the future, death awaits. This knowledge that old age, sickness, decline of mental power, and oblivion are somewhere around the corner, can be devastating”.
Have a curious day.
Don’t worry….be happy
August 5, 2013
There’s a Dutch psychologist called Ad Kerkhof who specialises in suicide prevention. Perhaps not the most perky subject for a Monday morning, but wait….the principles he has developed and proven, apply to less extreme situations too, like the worrying that we all do.
He has found that people worry about one topic more than any other – the future, often believing that the more hours they spend contemplating it, the more likely they are to find a solution to their problems. But this isn’t the case, and though his techniques may sound remarkably straightforward, they are all backed up by trials.
Here’s one of his ideas.
Set aside a time for worrying. Your worries relate to real and practical problems in your life, so you cannot rid yourself of them altogether, but you can learn to control when you think about them. Telling people not to think of their worries isn’t going to work. Instead Kerkhof recommends the opposite. Set aside 15 minutes in the morning and 15 minutes in the evening to do nothing but worry about the future. Sit at a table, make a list of all your problems and then think about them. But as soon as the time is up you must stop worrying, and whenever those worries come back into your head remind yourself that you can’t contemplate them again until your next worry time. You have given yourself permission to postpone your worrying until the time of your choice. Remarkably, it can work. It puts you in control.
Have a curious day.
Showing up is over-rated
February 19, 2013
Of course work and life are linked, but life and work is our responsibility, not theirs.
I know that you have the “turn up on time to do the work” part nailed, but we have moved on from this now. That was the status quo. Showing up isn’t your job, your job is to step out of the fringes to reframe expectations, change the agenda and create new ways to work.
Showing up is over-rated. Cut your hours in half, take some smart risks, invest as much emotionally as you do physically to make your limited time matter. – Ben Rennie CEO 6.2
Have a curious day.
I think therefore I am
December 6, 2012
You know that phrase “I haven’t got time to think?”
You have really. Make time for thinking.
Have a curious day.
Give time
October 5, 2012
With the weekend almost upon us, why not reflect on this…..
“The greatest gift a parent can ever give to a child, my father gave to us, time and time again – himself”
Monica Ali – More than a Hero.
Have a curious weekend.
The time machine
September 18, 2012
Imagine this. You are one hundred and ten years old. A time machine has just been invented, probably by Apple. The inventor tells you that you will be transported back in time. When you arrive you realise that it is today.
You with the wisdom of having lived and experienced life have the opportunity to speak to your younger self. You have just 60 seconds.
What do you say? What advice do you give yourself?
Have a curious day.
The big picture
September 12, 2012
According to a Guardian supplement on Time here are four ways to incorporate the bigger picture into the small aspects of our everyday lives….
1. Take your time: We tend to favour quick results, but what might we achieve if we decide to dedicate years, rather than months to something? What project can you start that will sustain your interest for a lifetime?
2. Expand your notions of success: Don’t limit yourself to the ideas of success held by your family or culture.
3. Contemplate death: If you knew you only had 12 months to live what would you do? What’s stopping you doing it now?
4. Build a legacy now: Why are you waiting? What legacy do you want to start creating now?
Have a curious day.