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Philip Collier

Leonardo on taking action

“It had long since come to my attention that people of accomplishment rarely sat back and let things happen to them. They went out and happened to things.” Leonardo Da Vinci

Chasing that state called “flow”

For a long time I have searched for a reason for our goal-driven nature that went beyond a simple evolutionary psychology explanation: our hard wired drive to perpetuate our gene pool, our need to satisfy basic needs (food, shelter, sex). Goal oriented humans would have had a better chance of survival. Without a goal oriented nature we would not hunt or gather. But in the developed world at least, those basic human needs are generally taken care of (at least basically). A simple evolutionary explanation does not suffice.

In his book “Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience” Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi suggests that our prime goal has moved from basic survival to the desire for happiness. Yet we are no happier than our ancestors despite the trappings of the modern world. Happiness cannot be found in materialism. Happiness, according to Mihaly (and I tend to agree) is found in the state he calls flow. Much like Eckhard Tolie, flow is living in the “now” but is different in that Eckhard focuses on egolessness and Mihaly focuses on matching talent and challenge.

Much has been written on flow since Mihaly introduced the concept (although the fundamental idea is not new).Read More »Chasing that state called “flow”

Points to ponder: success or meaning

“Don’t aim at success – the more you aim at it and make it a target, the more you are going to miss it. For success, like happiness, cannot be pursued; it must ensue…as the unintended side-effect of one’s personal dedication to a course greater than oneself.” Victor Frankl (Man’s Search for Meaning)

Personal achievement through positive thinking

In my post “The power of the sub-conscious-fact or fiction” I mentioned how our “sub-conscious” attempts to ensure that our thoughts and actions are congruent with our self concept, and how positive affirmations are believed to “reprogramme” the sub-conscious. Claude Steele’s “Self-Affirmation Theory” has been very influential in promoting the idea of positive thinking. Knowingly or not, many self help books ascribe to Steele’s theory.Read More »Personal achievement through positive thinking

Being “in the zone” – on the field and in the boardroom

In an interview with the American Psychological Association, sports psychologist Dr. Shane Murphy talks about what it takes to be an Olympic athlete. The last question asked by the APA was “What does it take to do your very best when the pressure is on? You talk about being in ‘the zone’. Is that how athletes master the psychological skills that allow them to deliver their best in competition?” Dr Murphy’s response is quoted below…Read More »Being “in the zone” – on the field and in the boardroom

The power of the subconscious – fact or fiction

What role does the subconscious mind play in goal driven behaviour? SImply Google “subconscious” and you’ll find a host of self help sources promising to unleash the power of the subconscious, or as Anthony Robbins puts it “Awaken the Giant Within”. “Alternative” theories of the role of the subconscious in goal achievement abound. Wikipedia is somewhat scathing: “The idea of the ‘subconscious’ as a powerful or potent agency has allowed the term to become prominent in the New Age and self-help literature, in which investigating or controlling its supposed knowledge or power is seen as advantageous. In the New Age community, techniques such as autosuggestion and affirmations are believed to harness the power of the subconscious to influence a person’s life and real-world outcomes“.Read More »The power of the subconscious – fact or fiction

Holiday happiness

It seems to be human nature to compare everything. I see my two daughters doing it every day; “but she has more sweeties dad!”. Heaven help me if I don’t ensure that both girls have exactly the same size piece of cake. Adults are not immune and past studies of happiness have shown, rather cynically, we’re happiest when we’re doing better than our peers. This is a rather secular point of view on happiness and does not include any spiritual dimension that might mitigate against our urge to buy a bigger TV. Anyway, the point is that we do tend to compare what we have with what our peers have, and if we think they are better off we are miserable.Read More »Holiday happiness

Are you rational?

I’ve just read one of Seth Godin’s recent posts (you can find it here – http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2010/04/are-you-rational.html). His view is summed up in the last line of his post; “There’s room for both rational and irrational decision making, and I think we do best when we choose our path in advance instead of pretending to do one when we’re actually doing the other. The worst thing we can do is force one when we actually need the other.”
Read More »Are you rational?

Confucius says…

How many of us wonder what it must be like to be the guy who has the world’s best job? Usually, said person has found a way to earn a living doing something they love. And how many of us then think “lucky guy but that’s never going to happen to me?”Read More »Confucius says…