"Lots of people confuse moving on with quitting."

On Every Day Is Awesome, Paul Overton has penned another great post that speaks to me:

I stopped apologizing for being interested in things and I stopped kicking myself for losing some of those interests. I came to realize that this was just a cycle that would repeat itself, hardwired somewhere in my brain… Lots of people confuse moving on with quitting, just as they confuse fear with danger when, in actuality, those things are vastly different.

Read all of Flights of Fancy

Dopamine Makes You Addicted to Seeking Information

Interesting, perhaps especially for those of us who are constantly looking for new things online:

The myth — You may have heard that dopamine controls the “pleasure” systems of the brain: that dopamine makes you feel enjoyment, pleasure, and therefore motivates you to seek out certain behaviors, such as food, sex, and drugs.
It’s all about seeking — The latest research, though is changing this view. Instead of dopamine causing us to experience pleasure, the latest research shows that dopamine causes seeking behavior. Dopamine causes us to want, desire, seek out, and search. It increases our general level of arousal and our goal-directed behavior. (From an evolutionary stand-point this is critical. The dopamine seeking system keeps us motivated to move through our world, learn, and survive). It’s not just about physical needs such as food, or sex, but also about abstract concepts. Dopamine makes us curious about ideas and fuels our searching for information. The latest research shows that it is the opioid system (separate from dopamine) that makes us feel pleasure.

Read the full article here. 

Brene Brown on embracing vulnerability & feeling worthy of being loved

This is a fantastic talk that everyone should hear. A research-based explanation of the work that I am now doing. It's about examining shame, embracing vulnerability, the power of being fully seen, and believing we're each worthy of being loved.



I also highly recommend her books, The Gifts of Imperfection (especially for anyone who feels the need to get things "Right") and I Thought It Was Just Me - But It Isn't (written for women and useful to all).

Stumbling on Happiness by Dan Gilbert

"Stumbling on Happiness" is the funniest psychology book I've ever read. It's also dang smart and thought provoking.

The Creativity Crisis

This article in Newsweek talks about the decline of American creativity. Time to get creative about encouraging creativity!