

Techniques to help you think better (google tech talk) - dpatru
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XeJSXfXep4M&feature=sub

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dpatru
Here's what I got out of the video:

_Principles_ 1\. Stress hurts problem solving. So minimize stress. Best state
is to be a little happy. 2\. Creativity is the ability to notice faint
connections/associations. It helps to be calm and to dampen first responses.

_Useful Techniques to Calm Down_ 1\. Label your experiences and feelings. It
helps to dampen the feelings and engage reasoning. 2\. Reappraise stressful
experiences. Ask how can I see this experience differently? Find something
humorous.

_Useful Habits_ 1\. Pay attention to how you're thinking. Practice for a few
minutes a week being in the two modes of thinking (direct and narrative).
Direct thinking: focus on sensory information without judging it. Narative
thinking: Analyze, label, reason, narrate. 2\. Social pain and pleasure is as
real as physical pain and pleasure. Notice changes in Status, Certainty,
Autonomy (availability of choices), Relatedness (are the two in the same group
or different group?), and Fairness. Changes in these cause stress in people.
When you experience changes in these practice labeling and reappraising to
reduce the stress. Avoid stressing out others in these ways.

_Insight_ When the Dali Lama was asked, "Why are you so happy?" He answered,
"Because it feels better."

