Advice for life

The Simple Phrase that Increases Effort 40%
From New York Times bestselling author Daniel Coyle’s Talent Code Blog …

“To their surprise, researchers discovered that there was one particular type of teacher feedback that improved student effort and performance so much that they deemed it “magical.” Students who received this feedback chose to revise their paper far more often that students who did not (a 40 percent increase among white students; 320 percent boost among black students) and improved their performance significantly. (See the study here.)

What was the magical feedback?

Just one phrase:

I’m giving you these comments because I have very high expectations and I know that you can reach them.

That’s it. Just 19 words. But they’re powerful because they are not really feedback. They’re a signal that creates something more powerful: a sense of belonging and connection.

Looking closer, the phrase contains several distinct signals:

1) You are part of this group.
2) This group is special; we have higher standards here.
3) I believe you can reach those standards.”

December 18, 2013Leave a reply
Losing Is Good for You
By Ashley Merryman, the co-author of the book “Top Dog: The Science of Winning and Losing,” and author of a recent NY Times Opinion piece “Losing is Good For You”

“In life, “you’re going to lose more often than you win, even if you’re good at something,” Ms. Twenge told me. “You’ve got to get used to that to keep going.”

“our job should not be to spin those losses into decorated victories. Instead, our job is to help kids overcome setbacks, to help them see that progress over time is more important than a particular win or loss”

November 28, 2013Leave a reply
“I think the best traveling tip I have been given is to take a photo of where you park your car.”
Tweet by Alan Lepofsky …

“I think the best traveling tip I have been given is to take a photo of where you park your car.”

November 17, 2013Leave a reply
Don’t worry about things we’ve already lost
From an article by Belle Beth Cooper in Fast Company titled 8 SUBCONSCIOUS MISTAKES OUR BRAINS MAKE EVERY DAY–AND HOW TO AVOID THEM …

“The term sunk cost refers to any cost (not just monetary, but also time and effort) that has been paid already and cannot be recovered. So it’s a payment of time or money that’s gone forever, basically.”

“The reason we can’t ignore the cost, even though it’s already been paid, is that we are wired to feel loss far more strongly than gain.”

For instance, if you buy a movie ticket only to realize the movie is terrible, you could either:

A) stay and watch the movie, to “get your money’s worth” since you’ve already paid for the ticket (sunk-cost fallacy)

or

B) leave the cinema and use that time to do something you’ll actually enjoy.

The thing to remember is this: You can’t get that investment back. It’s gone. Don’t let it cloud your judgment in whatever decision you’re making in this moment–let it remain in the past.

November 9, 2013Leave a reply
“Consider what people think of you, but don’t be afraid of what people think of you.”
Anders Holm, Comedian, “Workaholics” commencement speech at the University of Wisconsin-Madison …

“To get what you want out of life, all you can really do is find out who you are, and do that.”

“Practice being curious, want to know things, ask questions.”

“Consider what people think of you, but don’t be afraid of what people think of you.”

October 26, 2013Leave a reply
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