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SAYING NO: INTERTWINED BEHAVIORS

  Not doing something will always be faster than doing it. The same philosophy applies in other areas of life. For example, there is no meeting that goes faster than not having a meeting at all.This is not to say we should never attend another meeting, but the truth is that we say yes to many things we do not actually want to do . There are many meetings held that do not need to be held. How often do people ask you to do something and you just reply, “Yes, OK.” Three days later, you are overwhelmed by how much is on your to-do list. We become frustrated by our obligations even though we were the ones who said yes to them in the first place. It is worth asking if things are necessary. Many of them are not, and a simple “no” will be more productive than whatever work the most efficient person can muster. But if the benefits of saying no are so obvious, then why do we say yes so often? Why We Say Yes We agree to many requests not because we want to do them, but because we do not wa...

NEUROSCIENCES BASED BRAIN/ MIND REGULATION: BEHAVIORS ASSOCIATED

  Navigating Modern Stress—Understanding the 'Fight or Flight' Response Picture this: you are driving when a car suddenly cuts into your lane. Your heart pounds, muscles tense, and you react in a split second to avoid a crash. That is the fight-or-flight response—our brain’s ancient survival system, wired to protect us from immediate threats. While this instinct once served us well, today it can backfire. In a world filled with injustice and constant stress, reacting from the primitive “survive mind” can trigger impulsive, irrational—even dangerous—behaviour. Left unchecked, this survival-driven response can overpower our empathy and fuel actions rooted in fear and division—from hate crimes and violent protests to systemic racism, police brutality, and terrorism. Understanding the 'Survive Mind' and 'Thrive Mind' The 'Survive Mind' The 'Survive Mind' refers to a state dominated by the fight or flight response. In this mode, our reactions are sw...

DECISION MAKING: COGNITIVE BEHAVIOURS INVOLVED - (CHAPTER 02)

  ***Continued from Chapter 01 (Covered previously: Decision Making, its styles, different Cognitive Biases) Link to Chapter -01 Common Patterns in Decision Making The upside of understanding various patterns in decision-making is that they lead us to think about how the mind preforms its many complex functions in countless situations and how our awareness of time, space, and the various narrative and cognitive frameworks can help decode the factors that shape our decisions. Here is a graphic presentation of what author Venkatesh Rao puts forward in his book. The graphic shows “Information Location” across the x-axis going from Internal to External and “Visibility of Mental Models” on the y-axis going from Low to High. The distinctions among the four classes of basic decision patterns (above) are not arbitrary. They are based on the distribution and visibility of situational information . Information originates either in the decision-maker’s head or in the environment , and we ei...

DECISION MAKING: COGNITIVE BEHAVIORS INVOLVED - (CHAPTER 01)

Decision making  is a cognitive process leading to the selection of a course of action among alternatives . It is a method of reasoning which can be rational or irrational, and can be based on explicit assumptions or tacit assumptions. Common examples include shopping, deciding what to eat, when to sleep, and deciding whom or what to vote for in an election. Decision making is said to be a psychological construct . This means that although we can never "see" a decision, we can infer from observable  behavior  that a decision has been made. It is a construction that imputes commitment to action. Structured rational decision making is an important part of all science-based professions. For example,  medical decision making  often involves making a diagnosis and selecting an appropriate treatment. Some research using naturalistic methods shows, however, that in situations with higher time pressure, higher stakes, o...

COMPASSION TRAINING: HOW TO BUILD RESILIENCE, EMPATHY, AND EMOTIONAL STRENGTH

  Discover what compassion training is, how it rewires the brain, and explore proven techniques to boost empathy, emotional resilience, and mental well-being daily. What is Compassion Training? Compassion is an ever-growing area of interest within psychology and psychotherapy. Definitions of compassion within psychology are varied and divergent, with some researchers considering it to be an emotion, a biologically based characteristic, or a multidimensional construct. There is, however, a broad agreement that compassion is comprised of a combination of affective, cognitive, and motivational components. A simple statement is that compassion  is a concern for the wellbeing of others . A panel of researchers in 2012 defined compassion as a complex multidimensional construct comprised of four components: Differentiating Compassion From Related Emotions Compassion is often misunderstood and easily confused with other related but distinct constructs. While it is important t...