“You’re a beautiful girl,” the old man from her ancestral country said. She felt the warmth of his compliment glow deep inside her. He continued, “Don’t ever shave your mustache.” Poof. It was out. Dr. Kristen Neff is a leading researcher on self-criticism and that’s one of her stories. It made me laugh out loud … Continue reading Self-Compassion > Self-Criticism
Tag: behavioral psychology
Feeling The Feels
I've felt like a real piece of you-know-what lately. I've let people down, gone back on promises, and figured new things out that made past beliefs look downright stupid. This life business... it's hard. There's a core idea I keep coming back to in order to help. Our thoughts and the facts about anything we … Continue reading Feeling The Feels
Nothing Has Value Until We Add This Word
“Mine.” That’s it. The shirt in the thrift shop? Somebody gave it away. It doesn’t even exist until we see it and pay for it. Now, from the point where we say, “that could be mine,” to the point where we have made the purchase and made it our own, the value has risen exponentially. … Continue reading Nothing Has Value Until We Add This Word
What’s Your Spoonful Of Sugar?
Your product or service solves a problem. Great. But, how are you going to get people to use it? The great philosopher Mary Poppins inspired my favorite question: What’s the spoonful of sugar? I see the medicine. I know how it works. I know why it works. I know they need to take it. But… … Continue reading What’s Your Spoonful Of Sugar?
You Can(‘t) Make It Up
Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction. Like those times when the sheer coincidence of things that are happening makes you feel like there’s a scriptwriter in the sky pulling your strings. Other times, fiction becomes our reality. This actually happens all of the time. This is what I'm thinking about today. Fiction becomes reality when … Continue reading You Can(‘t) Make It Up
The Drama Triangle (What It Is And How to Use It)
The Karpman drama triangle is one of those mental models that is so intuitive and yet so useful to understand you’ll immediately start seeing it everywhere. In any conflict, there are three roles to be filled, with each role also playing a part in creating the others (a subtle but critical point). I’ll list the … Continue reading The Drama Triangle (What It Is And How to Use It)
Applying Keith Johnstone’s Status Seesaw
A guy slips and falls on a banana peel. Classic. Well, classic-funny if it’s a fancy looking gentleman with a monocle and a top hat, but kind of sad and distressing if it’s a feeble old man with a cane. Why? Status. Every interaction is a status game. Keith Johnstone breaks it down better than … Continue reading Applying Keith Johnstone’s Status Seesaw
No More Dead Ends
One of the most undeniable feelings in the world is the anticipation created by a proper cliffhanger. What. Happens. Next?! Ohmygodohmygodohmygod… Our job probably isn’t to create the same emotional stir as the end of a Breaking Bad episode (unless of course, you’re Vince Gilligan and co. - I’m making assumptions about my readers here). … Continue reading No More Dead Ends
News Works Because It’s New
News is great for advertising because people will always pay attention to something they are told they don’t know yet. If you want to get someone’s attention, try signaling to them first that you have breaking news to tell them. Not in an overly dramatic way, but at least in a “You’ve really got to … Continue reading News Works Because It’s New
Breaking News: Human Nature Still Hasn’t Changed
So you think the world is changing? Well, humans aren’t changing nearly as much as whatever breaking/viral social moment or techno-gadget would have you think. Here’s advertising legend Bill Bernbach on the timelessness of humanity (emphasis added): Human nature hasn’t changed for 1 billion years. It won’t even vary in the next billion years. Only … Continue reading Breaking News: Human Nature Still Hasn’t Changed