1: Two-thirds of the housekeepers in Stanford Professor Alia Crum’s study believed they weren’t exercising regularly.
One-third said they got no exercise at all.
“Their bodies reflected this perception,” Kelly McGonigal notes in The Upside of Stress. “The average housekeeper’s blood pressure, waist-to-hip ratio, and body weight were exactly what you’d expect to find if they were truly sedentary.”
Their perception was their reality.
Which is different from … continue reading
1: Do people who have a positive attitude about aging live longer?
More than seven years longer, according to researchers at Yale University.
They followed middle-aged adults for twenty years. “Those who had a positive view of aging in midlife lived an average of 7.6 years longer than those who had a negative view,” writes Kelly McGonigal in her terrific book The Upside of Stress.
“To put that number … continue reading
1: Many people believe they are the only ones who don’t fit in.
“Feeling like you don’t belong can change how you interpret everything you experience,” writes Kelly McGonigal in her powerful book The Upside of Stress.
“Conversations, setbacks, misunderstandings,” she notes, “almost anything can be viewed as evidence that, in fact, you don’t belong.”
“The belief that you don’t belong also feeds into many destructive states of mind, … continue reading
1: You’ve got it all wrong.
You’ve been taught that stress is bad for you.
This belief is harmful, Kelly McGonigal argues in The Upside of Stress.
“The best way to manage stress isn’t to reduce or avoid it, but rather to rethink and even embrace it.”
The fight-or-flight survival instinct is part of your stress response. When something major happens, your sympathetic nervous system mobilizes your entire body.… continue reading
1: What we’ve taught about stress is wrong, Kelly McGonigal argues in her terrific book The Upside of Stress.
Despite what we’ve been taught and told, the latest science shows that stress, by itself, is not harmful. However, believing stress is harmful to your health is toxic.
So, how do you transform your view of stress? Are there actions you can take when you feel overwhelmed to direct your … continue reading
1: What is the effect of showing smokers graphic warnings on cigarette packs?
When doctors are asked this question, “In general, they believe that the images will decrease smokers’ desire for a cigarette and motivate them to quit,” writes Kelly McGonigal in her terrific book The Upside of Stress.
Actually, studies show the warnings have the opposite effect.
“The most threatening images (say, a lung cancer patient dying in … continue reading
1: In 1998, thirty thousand adults in the United States were asked a series of questions about stress.
How much stress had they experienced in the past year? Do you believe stress is harmful to your health?
“Eight years later, the researchers scoured public records to find out who among the thirty thousand participants had died,” Kelly McGonigal writes in her terrific book The Upside of Stress.
As predicted, … continue reading
1: “Shelley was speechless,” says Mike Oppedahl, the managing partner at GiANT Worldwide.
He had just introduced the 5 Gears tool, which we’ve been exploring this week in RiseWithDrew.
“Shelley is a rock star,” he says in Jeremie Kubicek and Steve Cockram’s book The 5 Gears: How to Be Present and Productive When There is Never Enough Time.
She’s “like a cruise missile as it pertains to … continue reading
1: What do you do when the battery turns red on your phone? You recharge it.
Yet, many people who are tired and overworked just trudge forward.
Which begs the question, “Why do you think you can force yourself to run well on empty?” Jeremie Kubicek and Steve Cockram write in their book The 5 Gears: How to Be Present and Productive When There is Never Enough Time.
“People … continue reading
1: Each day when he’s not traveling, Kevin Deshazo, CEO of Fieldhouse Media, drives his son Gabe to and from school.
“While in transit I normally check my phone at red lights for emails and posts, trying to see what the world is up to,” he explains.
“Everything changed,” he says after learning about the 5 Gears framework.
The 5 Gears is both the title and the central metaphor … continue reading
