The Power of Perception
What if I told you that wounds don’t heal according to time, but according to your perception of time.
According to Dr. Ellen Langer, that is indeed the case, and she’s got all sorts of experimental data to back it up. Langer, who earned her Ph.D. in Social and Clinical Psychology at Yale before joining the staff at Harvard in 1977, has devoted her life to studying this phenomenon, and during that time, she has designed and conducted a variety of experiments to study of the power of human perception.
There are other individuals studying this field from a variety of perspectives, but for the skeptic, Langer’s work presents compelling evidence of the power of perception, and how we can transform our lives through our awareness of our surroundings.
Langer’s work is complemented nicely by the perspective of Shaolin Master Shi Heng Yi, who offers interesting views on what sort of awareness we ought to embrace, once we realize that possibility exists.
If you feel untethered in life, and unsure of how to proceed, my hope is that these discussions can help you start charting a course; I know that I found this wisdom invaluable in my own life.
Building Habits
Have you ever tried to take up a workout routine, or learn a new skill, only to give up by Day Three?
You’re certainly not alone. And part of the reason is that there are some fundamental misunderstandings about habit formation in our popular culture; for instance, while we often point to “will power” as critical to change, many thought leaders in this space suggest that is not a sustainable solution, and that habit change is much more about designing your routine/environment.
Understanding how to change habits isn’t a be-all cure - ultimately, you have to put the time in - but with the right approach, you can make Habit Change far easier by slanting the board in your favor.
Optimizing Daily Activities
Any plans to breathe today? To see the sun? Or to go to sleep at some point or another?
Most of us take these activities for granted - I certainly did - but daily activities can become powerful modulators of mental, physical, and emotional health with some simple tweaks - it just takes a little extra knowledge.
The best part? The only cost you have to pay to acquire this upgrade is the time it takes to acquire the information (this isn’t a perfect guideline - if you’re sleeping four hours a night, some/most experts would suggest you spend more of your time on sleep - but for the most part, these Foundational Habits won’t require you to spend time or money in the future to keep up the practice.
“Foundational Habits” covers seven behaviors: (1) sleeping, (2) breathing, (3) walking, (4) sunlight exposure/circadian rhythms, (5) cold/hot exposure, (6) meal timing/fasting, and (7) hydration.
With our Foundational Habits optimized, we’re going to direct our attention to some Habits that require more upfront education and/or cash costs, as well as daily (or near-daily) reinvestments of your time.
What are these habits? We are going to learn from experts on (1) meditation, (2) movement/exercise, and (3) nutrition in this section, with the movement/exercise and nutrition topics starting with more general topics before diving into the specifics of the many different modalities and perspectives that fit under these headings.
Why did I pick these three habits? Essentially, these are the three regulators of my life; I’m not going to suggest my life is somehow perfect when I take the time to meditate, move around, and eat well, but I certainly feel better and make better decisions about life when these three areas are in balance.
NOTE: I’m currently building out this section; check back for updates!
Next Level Habits: Investing in Yourself
