The Decision-Making Flaw in Powerful People
The decisions made by powerful people in business and other fields have far-reaching effects on their organizations and employees. But new research finds a link between having a sense of power and having a propensity to give short shrift to a crucial part of the decision-making process: listening to advice. Power increases confidence, researchers say, which can lead to an excessive belief in one's... posted on Oct 26 2011, 11,133 reads

A Case Study of Anonymous Giving
"Giver Girl" and her husband "Giver Boy" came up with a simple yet powerful idea: donating $52 to a different charity every week for a year. After each experience, they post their moving reflections, invite others to join in, and maintain total anonymity. The brilliance of their project is captured in a week when they spontaneously decide to make that week's gift a $52 tip to a waitress serving th... posted on Oct 25 2011, 15,607 reads

The Limitations of Positive Thinking
"Perhaps the statement that best exemplifies positive thinking is "When life hands you a lemon, make lemonade." It seems so self-evident that this is a good thing that we never question the wisdom of the adage. But it does not take a whole lot of digging to unearth the flaws in this reasoning. First, did fate really hand you a lemon or was this merely your initial, unthinking response? Second, is ... posted on Oct 24 2011, 44,439 reads

A College Degree 23 yrs After Memory Loss
A freak accident involving a ceiling fan may have taken Su Meck's memory of everything that happened for the first 22 years of her life, but it did not rob her of her determination. Since the accident that left her with amnesia, the 45-year-old from Maryland, has had to relearn how to walk, talk, read, write and drive. But Meck, whose identity was once as a mother and homemaker, carved out a place... posted on Oct 23 2011, 9,703 reads

A Tokyo Teacher's Lessons in Empathy
"What's the most important thing this year?" asks Toshiro Kanamori to his students? "To be happy!" comes the joyous response. The class goal truly is to understand how to be happy and care for other people. It sounds like the sort of class a stressed or overworked adult would find, long after they graduated school. Instead, it is a different teaching approach taken by a grammar teacher in Tokyo, T... posted on Oct 22 2011, 5,523 reads

Secrets of the 100-yr-old Marathoner
Most people hang up their boots as they get older, but Fauja Singh only began running in his eighties. At the age of 94, he ran a full marathon in less than 5 hours, but on 16 Oct 2011, at the age of 100, he still has it in him. Singh did what no other person has done: he became the oldest person and the first centenarian to finish a marathon. Along the way, he's received sponsorship deals, but he... posted on Oct 21 2011, 42,099 reads

7 Ways Sharing Can Make You Happy
One silver lining in dark economic times is that as people learn to make do with less, they are discovering the many benefits of sharing. New psychological research suggests that sharing fosters trust and cooperation in the community and contributes to personal well-being. Researchers are finding that sharing impacts people in the very specific ways that are closely linked to increased happiness.... posted on Oct 20 2011, 0 reads

Why Do Some People Learn Faster
Why are some people so much more effective at learning from their mistakes? A new study by Jason Moser at Michigan State University is premised on the fact that there are two distinct reactions to mistakes, both of which can be reliably detected using EEG. The first reaction is called error-related negativity (ERN). It appears about 50 milliseconds after a screw-up and is mostly involuntary. The s... posted on Oct 19 2011, 13,471 reads

Becoming a Presence Activist
"A friend of mine is visiting from out of town and staying in East Oakland, in an area that's infamous for its gang violence and unrest. This friend happens to be a monk. He shaves his head and dresses in the traditional brown robes of his monastic order -- not the kind of person who blends easily into the background. Having spent many years making compassion a conscious practice, his response to ... posted on Oct 18 2011, 22,470 reads

Time is Precious: Dr. BJ Miller's Journey
Dr. BJ Miller is only 40 but he thinks about death a lot. He is the new executive director of the Zen Hospice Project in San Francisco and a palliative care specialist at UCSF Medical Center. He is also a triple amputee, co-founder of a tea company, owner of a farm in Utah and a newlywed who still looks like the Ivy Leaguer he once was. "I have no fear of death," Miller said. "I have a fear of not... posted on Oct 17 2011, 44,036 reads