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.  

2: Four weeks later, Alia checked … continue reading

1: Scientist Alia Crum has an unusual track record of high-profile findings.

“By changing how people think about an experience, she can change what’s happening in their bodies,” Kelly McGonigal observes in The Upside of Stress.  “Her work gets attention because it shows that our physical reality is more subjective than we believe.” 

What is the single idea that motivates Alia’s research?

How we think about something can transform … continue reading