psychology

The noted archaeologist Richard Leakey ascribes the essence of what makes us human to the reciprocity system. He claims that we are human because our ancestors learned to share food and skills “in an honored network of obligation.” Cultural anthropologists such as Lionel Tiger and Robin Fox view this “web of indebtedness” as a unique adaptive

What we learn from the past is to maximize the qualities of our future memories, not necessarily of our future experience. This is the tyranny of the remembering self.

This, too, is evolution at work. It’s not that evolution ever lets us stop playing the “get more resources” game, it’s that our strategy evolves. Once baseline needs are met, you can devote yourself to ways to get, well, you guessed it, seriously more resources—for yourself, for your family, for your tribe, for your species. As high-minded as

You know the old saying “The enemy of my enemy is my friend”? A study titled “I Feel Like I Know You: Sharing Negative Attitudes of Others Promotes Feelings of Familiarity” showed that’s true.

In other situations, perhaps when a good relationship is already in place, the goal of reducing uncertainty may be a priority.

1)Identify your self-limiting beliefs. 2)Question these beliefs and ask yourself: “Is it that I can’t improve my concentration and memory or is it that I won’t make the time to do so?” 3)What else do you believe about your mind and your potential? 4)Memorize this quote by Jim Rohn: “If you don’t like how things are, change it! You’re not a tree.”

Tomorrow you may want to persuade somebody to do something. Before you speak, pause and ask yourself: ‘How can I make this person want to do it?’

Exceptional work is always associated with periods of deep concentration.

People would rather hear the story about what happened to you last night than about what happened to your friend Pete last night, even if Pete’s story is better than your own. There is immediacy and grit and inherent vulnerability in hearing the story of someone standing before you. It is visceral and real. It takes no courage to tell Pete’s story.