10 Brain Hacks That Can Dramatically Improve Your Life
I just finished reading the book: Brainhack: Tips and Tricks to Unleash Your Brain's Full Potential and it spawned this article about psychological life hacks and my continued love for an excellent brain-based hack that can dramatically improve your life.
I love studying the complexity of the human mind through the lens of behavioral psychology and understanding why people do (and say) what they do. Their emotions, actions, and thoughts are all responsive to both outside stimulus as well as what we control ourselves - aptly called "lifehacks". Many of these can be considered psychological life hacks.
life·hack:noun - a strategy or technique adopted in order to manage one's time and daily activities in a more efficient way.
The list of psychological life hacks that currently exist is quite long and exhaustive but after wading through some of the more silly ones, there are indeed some practical and easy ones to apply. Several psychological life hacks stand out among these examples, showcasing various psychological techniques that can help in daily life.
Here are 10 psychological hacks that can dramatically improve your life today:
If you are doing something that normally makes you feel nervous, you should eat a snack or chew some gum. A part of our brains are primal, and chewing tricks that part of the brain into thinking everything is safe. This is one example of psychological life hacks.
Paraphrase to show you're listening. Part of being a good listener is actually listening to what others have to say. You will come off as sincere and genuine when you listen to a person if you can paraphrase what they said back to them in agreement. However, don't take it too far and repeat everything they've said verbatim, find a balance.
The actions associated with emotions will create that emotion. If one wants to be happy, they should try to smile more, another of the psychological life hacks.
Before an interview, imagine you are old friends with the interviewer(s). This will help you to feel more comfortable and comfort is infectious.
Take the time to notice a person’s eye color when you first meet. Most people will appreciate the increased eye contact. It signifies trust. This is a small but significant psychological life hack.
When a group of people laughs, people instinctively look toward the group members they feel closest to (or want to feel closest to).
If somebody is angry at you and you stay calm, they’ll probably get angrier, but they’ll be ashamed at themselves later. Although not scientifically proven, always use your best judgement to avoid upsetting another person.
If you ask someone a question and they only give you a partial answer, maintain eye-contact and stay silent. The person answering will usually assume that the original answer wasn’t good enough, and they’ll keep talking.
Don’t say or write, "I think" or "I believe". It’s implied anyway, and it sounds like you lack confidence.
Many physical effects of stress are the same as those of exhilaration (e.g. heavy breathing, speeding heart, etc.) If you reframe your threatening situation as a challenging one, your stress will become exhilaration. These are just a few examples of psychological life hacks.