Optimal Performance & Growth Mindset PDF

FLOW: OPTIMAL PERFORMANCE The flow book: conditions external and internal that lead to experiencing a state of flow WHAT IS FLOW? The midpoint between boredom and anxiety. It is the state where your skills are just adequate to the challenge. It is your optimal performance. -​ If anxious inc...

FLOW: OPTIMAL PERFORMANCE The flow book: conditions external and internal that lead to experiencing a state of flow WHAT IS FLOW? The midpoint between boredom and anxiety. It is the state where your skills are just adequate to the challenge. It is your optimal performance. -​ If anxious increase the skill -​ If bored increase the challenge -​ How do I shift into the Flow state on purpose and with purpose? -​ What is my Flow strategy? -​ Flow examples: -​ Creative activities (art, writing, sculpture) -​ Team sports (basketball, hockey, tennis) -​ Games (chess, poker, bridge) -​ Work (when the challenge is exciting) -​ Playing a musical instrument (piano, cello) -​ Gardening, cooking, painting, carpentry -​ Long distance running, mountain climbing RESEARCH BY MIHALY CSIKSZENTMIHALYI: experience sampling method, participants with vipers it will go off and people were asked to answer questions. ​ Work and active leisure are the most likely contexts within which Flow occurs. When we do things “for its own sake”. ​ Active leisure activities: include skill-based hobbies such as making music, playing games of skill, and learning a new language ​ Passive leisure activities: watching tv or streaming service, reading, going to a restaurant with friends. ​ Csikszentmihalyi concluded that this was because active leisure activities require skills and can be challenging, just like work, while we need passive leisure activities for relaxation; they don’t lead to Flow. ​ Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi: “If challenges are too low, one gets back to flow by increasing them. If challenges are too great, one can return to the flow state by learning new skill” ○​ “The ego falls away. Time flies. Every action, movement and thought follows inevitably from the previous one, like playing jazz. Your whole being is involved, and you're using your skills to the utmost”. ​ What were you thinking about? ​ Where were you? ​ What was the main thing you were doing? ​ Why were you doing this particular activity? ​ How well were you concentrating? ​ How self-conscious were you? ​ Did you feel good about yourself? ​ Were you in control of the situation? ​ Describe your mood ​ Challenges of the activity ​ Your skills in the activity BENEFITS OF FLOW -​ Better emotional regulation -​ Greater enjoyment and fulfillment -​ Greater happiness -​ Greater intrinsic motivation -​ Increased engagement -​ Learning and skill development -​ More creativity CONDITIONS FOR FLOW 1.​ Clear and attainable goals. 2.​ Your skills meet the challenge. 3.​ There are constraints involved in the activity, like rules or deadlines. 4.​ Timely feedback keeps you on track. 5.​ Personal control over the situation and outcome. IMPACTS OF FLOW -​ Intense concentration -​ Diminished self-consciousness. -​ Lack of awareness of your physical needs. -​ Distorted sense of time. -​ Deep fulfillment from engaging in an activity for its own sake  -​ Doing your personal best. INTRINSIC MOTIVATION AND THE POSITIVE FEEDBACK LOOP Doing something for its own sake and for your own reasons tends to lead to increased performance and positive experiences. -​ It also is a characteristic of flow. CHECKLIST FOR FLOW 1.​ Engage in clear, goal-directed, rule-bound activities. 2.​ Make the activity meaningful to you. 3.​ Attend feedback. 4.​ Ignore distractions and remain focused on the task. 5.​ Take creative control of the process or product. EXPLORING FLOW EXERCISE -​ Interview someone who frequently experiences flow. Perhaps a writer, a researcher, a colleague or mentor, someone who knits or cooks or gardens, an athlete, a musician, a teacher. Anyone who is deeply engaged in their lives. -​ One of the best ways to learn about flow is to tap into the wisdom and experience of others in our lives who have found their way into flow. What are they doing? What is their secret? Is there something in their insight that you can borrow and try? -​ What was it like to be in the presence of someone who lives in flow? What did you learn? What are your most memorable takeaways? -​ CONSIDER THREE QUESTIONS: -​ Where and when am I in the flow state the most? -​ What am I doing- on the outside - and on the inside? (Diane Allen) -​ Why is it so meaningful? CREATING SPACE FOR FLOW ​ Choose work you love ​ Choose an important task ​ Make sure it’s challenging, but not too hard ​ Find your quiet, peak time ​ Clear away distractions ​ Learn to focus on that task for as long as possible ​ Enjoy yourself, keep practicing, reap the rewards. JOY THE HAPPINESS PROJECT Bonnie ST John TWO TYPES OF HAPPINESS 1.​ Hedonic: happiness/ well-being refers to the pleasure we experience with momentary joys (fun, excitement, great food, sensory experiences). They are fleeting and don’t have a profound impact over time. 2.​ Eudaimonic: happiness/well-being refers to the happiness and fulfillment we experience from pursuing our deeply-rooted goals. These are based on our values and give us our sense of purpose and meaning. We often experience Flow when we are engaging in these meaningful goal-directed activities. WHAT ABOUT SYNTHESIZING HAPPINESS? (Gilbert, 2012) Our psychological immune system facilitates our capacity to be resilient after adversity and to return to positive emotions after exposure to stressful or challenging circumstances. Gilbert reports research data that demonstrates that we can feel happy about our circumstances through the stories we tell ourselves about our experience despite things not going according to plan, dealing with disappointment, facing restricted choices, or even significant loss. This happens because our psychological immune system enables us to feel joy and synthesize happiness, even when things go wrong. THREE THEORIES OF HUMOUR There are several theories of humour, all posited by Martin and Ford (2018): ​ Relief theory: when laughter relieves the tension of the situation. ​ Superiority theory: when we increase our self-esteem by putting down others. ​ Incongruity theory: when we don’t expect the punchline, and it takes us by surprise. HOW CAN HUMOUR IMPROVE WELL-BEING? ​ It can help us deal with medical problems, as a patient (Herth, 1990) and as healthcare givers (Schulman-Green, 2003). ​ It can enhance our ability to cope with mental illness (Gelkopf, Gonen, Kurs, Melamed, Bleich, 2006). ​ It can enhance relationships on the job (Cooper and Sosik, 2012) ​ It increases life satisfaction and engagement (Ruch, Proyer, Weber, 2010) ​ In post-secondary education (specifically, learning another language), students reported that humour helped them feel more engaged with the material and the instructor, enabling them to learn more easily (Askildson, 2005). ​ It is associated with higher immune function in cancer patients (Bennett et al, 2003) ​ It is among the top eight character strengths associated with well-being (Samson and Antonelli, 2013) TWO MODELS OF RESILIENCE RESILIENCE ON A CONTINUUM 1.​ Micro-resilience: strategies for the day-to-day need to reset your mood and energy after a setback. 2.​ Five Factor Model of Resilience: Cultivating mindfulness, gratitude, optimism (and hope), self-compassion and grit over time. 3.​ Multisystemic Resilience: Navigating and negotiating community resources by developing the 2 R’s, ruggedness and resources. 4.​ Post Traumatic Growth: AKA resilience 2.0 and antifragility, developing a new perspective, perhaps even wisdom and a change in how you navigate the world. RESILIENCE: A FUNDAMENTAL SKILL THAT CAN LEAD TO THRIVING ​ Psychological capacity to adapt to stressful circumstances and to bounce back. ​ A muscle that contracts during good times and expands during bad times. ​ Downside: Stick to impossible goals for too long, and tolerate counterproductive circumstances. EXPERIENCED AS A FORM OF OPPRESSION ​ Minimizes one’s history and lived experience. ​ Resilience is a term used to marginalize, oppress, or trivialize individual and community suffering and ignore the needs of the community.  ​ Has been used as a form of structural racism. MICRO-RESILIENCE (St John and Haines) Simple and small, everyday strategies to help us to cultivate resilience and bounce back after stress, using research in neuroscience, psychology and physiology. -​ 16 second cure: energy recovery, baseline reset, positive focus -​ Refocus your brain: Use your brain effectively -​ Reset your primitive alarms: stop being hijacked by your primitive impulses. -​ Reframe your attitude: Spiral into positive rather than negative. -​ Refresh your body: increase your fuel efficacy. -​ Renew your spirit: tap into the power of your purpose. PROCRASTINATION: needless, voluntary delay of our goals. TWO KEY BIASES 1.​ Affective forecasting: Present self has beliefs about future self. a.​ “I’ll feel like doing it tomorrow” 2.​ Preserve your self-esteem: by reducing effort or time, and thereby explaining poor performance. REFOCUS YOUR BRAIN Win battle with procrastination -​ Follow your plan not your mood -​ Use the 15 minute rule -​ Invest in your future self -​ Build the willpower muscle (a finite resource) 1.​ Get 7-9 hours sleep nightly. 2.​ Do the hardest things earlier in the day (exercise, tough assignments, job search) 3.​ Do some things that help you to feel good/optimistic- willpower is easier when you are feeling positive. 4.​ Make a When… then plan and follow it. 5.​ Attend to the body- drink water prior to a complex task and eat protein to fuel willpower. 6.​ Focus on your values and goals and let them motivate you. 7.​ Practice a self-regulatory task and stick to it for a few weeks (Good posture, writing with your non-dominant hand). RESET YOUR PRIMITIVE ALARM Fight - Flight - Freeze: what’s really happening when we go into “survival mode” -​ Learning/thinking Brain: Prefrontal cortex, the logical smart part of the brain goes offline. -​ Limbic system: lower brain functions take over. WHAT STRATEGIES DO YOU USE TO FOCUS YOUR BRAIN Progressive Muscle Relaxation -​ Focus by fixing posture, visualizing and breathing. REFRAME YOUR ATTITUDE: JOY KITS Micro-Resilience Tip: a medical first-aid kit is handy for cuts and bruises. Similarly, create a First Aid Kit for your Attitude to shift from feelings of pessimism, rejection and frustration to positivity, gratitude, and creativity. Fill it with items that inspire joy - such as photos, souvenirs, mementos, and music. REFRESH YOUR BODY -​ Drink water strategically: before complex tasks to boost concentration and focus. -​ Get the sleep you need.  -​ LEARNING, MEMORY AND CREATIVITY. 1.​ Getting a good night’s sleep (so we wake up feeling alert in class the next day) helps us to absorb and learn new information easily). 2.​ While we are sleeping (specifically during the deep sleep cycles), we consolidate the information we learned (future-proofing that information). 3.​ During the REM cycle (while dreaming) we generate creative ideas and problem solve solutions to our problems. RENEW YOUR SPIRIT Choose any strategy and intentionally apply it to renew your spirit -​ Spend time in nature -​ Watch a video that inspires awe -​ Inspirational images/messages -​ Read something that stirs your imagination -​ Meditate, create music, art, or anything that fulfills you. -​ Focus on living according to your values. MULTYSYSTEMIC RESILIENCE (Michael Ungar) We must navigate and negotiate for these 12 dimensions of resilience in order to thrive. These elements function as protective factors that can prevent a more severe impact of adversity. -​ Structure, accountability, intimate relationships, other relationships, identity, power and control, belonging/culture, rights and responsibilities, basic needs, physical wellbeing, financial wellbeing, positive thinking We must include the context within which the individuals lives, and address their access to the resources they need. Ungar refers to the process of resilience as a way to bring out their best selves, navigate resources and negotiate what we need. RESEARCH UNGAR (2013) ➔​ Pathways to Resilience Project ◆​ Five countries (Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, Colombia, and China) exploring resilience of youth ages 13-19. ◆​ They used Pathways to Resilience Youth Measure (PRYM), which explores resilience, risk, support, and service use patterns of these youth. ➔​ Mixed methods: surveys, interviews and longitudinal study. Conducted focus groups of these youth, their caregivers and service providers. ➔​ Results: the team identified seven components of resilience that youth needed to thrive: ◆​ Access to material resources ◆​ Relationships ◆​ Identity ◆​ Power and control ◆​ Cultural adherence ◆​ Social justice ◆​ Cohesion ➔​ Exercise (Reivich and Shatte 2003): worst case scenario, best case scenario, most likely outcome and action plan. POST TRAUMATIC GROWTH BOUNCING FORWARD, RESILIENCE 2.0 ANTIFRAGILITY (AKA RESILIENCE 2.0) -​ Nassim Nicholas Taleb (2012) coined the term antifragility. He says “Some things benefit from shocks; they thrive and grow when exposed to volatility, randomness, disorder, and stressors, and love adventure, risk, and uncertainty. Yet, in spite of the ubiquity of the phenomenon, there is no word for the exact opposite of fragile. Antifragility is beyond resilience or robustness. The resilient resists shocks and stays the same; the antifragile gets better” -​ Tal Ben Shahar (2020) describes it as “... when hardships and painful emotions arise, we can try to be tough but put under enough pressure and we crack. We can be resilient and bounce back. Or we can be antifragile and use the experience to grow stronger. -​ Tedeschi and Calhoun (2004) state: Posttraumatic growth is the experience of positive change that occurs as a result of the struggle with highly challenging life crises” “out of loss there is gain” POSTTRAUMATIC GROWTH AREAS 1.​ Personal Strengths: increased resilience, self-reliance, confidence, humility, deepended meaningful narrative, more authentic. 2.​ New Possibilities: new interests, new perspectives, adaptability, openness to new ways of living and working. 3.​ Improved relationships: increased sense of belonging, increased emotional vulnerability, loving, empathetic, supportive, stronger bonds. 4.​ Spiritual Growth: deeper developed and meaningful beliefs and philosophies of life, deeper level of awareness, deeper faith, clearer purpose. 5.​ Appreciation for life: increased gratitude, altruism, clear sense of priorities, appreciation for what’s good. THE MODEL OF LIFE CRISIS Crisis - stress - coping -​ Personal factors: optimism, self-efficacy, emotional regulation, self-expression, confidence, radical self-acceptance. -​ External factors: family, friends, relatives, colleagues, teachers, community. TEDESCHI (1996): “People develop new understandings of themselves, the world they live in, how to relate to other people, the kind of future they might have and a better understanding of how to live life”. BOULDER CREST FOUNDATION “Based on decades of researching and learning about post traumatic growth, Tedeschi and colleagues collaborated with others to create a series of treatment centres (Boulder Crest Foundation) for first responders and military veterans that are designed to help traumatized people from both groups experience post traumatic growth. It is a weeklong residential program, free for participants (through generous donors), to live on a ranch and learn from trained peers (who went through the program themselves) to work through their traumas differently - and experience a transformation associated with post-traumatic growth. After the 7-day intensive training, participants are followed by 90 days of online training, support and accountability” -​ RESEARCH TEDESCHI: Boulder Crest Foundation for first responders and military veterans. -​ Free, weeklong residential program, to live on ranch and learn from trained peers to work through traumas and experience transformation associated with post-traumatic growth. -​ After the 7-day intensive training participants are followed by 90 days of online training, support and accountability. -​ PATHH programs (Progressive and Alternative Training for Helping Heroes) “from struggle to strength” -​ For the 1,000 responders and veterans who took the program, they found: -​ 56% increase in post traumatic growth. -​ 51% reduction in PTSD symptoms. -​ 41% reduction in anxiety. -​ 35% less stress -​ 21% increase in self-compassion -​ 51% felt more connected with their families.  -​ 142% improvement in how rested they felt. -​ At 18 month follow up: -​ 52% reduction in depression. -​ 30% reduction in insomnia. TAL BEN SHAHAR SPIRE: Happiness is a lot likely beauty, you know it when you see it. ​ Spiritual: leading a meaningful life and mindfully savouring the present. ​ Physical: caring for the body and tapping into the mind/body connection ​ Intellectual: engaging in deep learning and opening to experience. ​ Relational: nurturing a constructive relationship with self and others. ​ Emotional: feeling all emotions, reaching towards resilience and optimism. 4 WAYS TO LIFT YOUR SPIRIT 1.​ Permission to be human 2.​ Simplify your life 3.​ Exercise regularly 4.​ Focus on the positive HIGH INTENSITY INTERVAL TRAINING -​ Exert yourself at 90% of your capacity for 1 minute, and then rest and repeat. -​ True in sports and in other areas, studying, music, writing or management. INNER RESOURCING A healthy nervous system: we are always pendulating (Dr. Peter Levine). -​ inhaling/ exhaling, expansion/contraction, stressed/settled. PENDULATION Start with the discomfort, focus on it. Redirect attention to another part of the body (or something external). Shift attention back to discomfort and notice any shifts. -​ Smell the rose, blow the candle. -​ Alternate Nostril breathing. -​ Calms your mind, increases focus, relaxes your nerves, helps with meditation, balances your left and right brains. -​ ALternate hand clasp breath -​ Butterfly hug (Antigas 2000) DELIBERATENESS HABITS AND WILLPOWER HABITS -​ Mental shortcuts that involve behaviors that we do without thinking over and over again. -​ When we engage in new behavior, we create an association between these actions and our context. -​ The reward we get each time we do the behavior reinforces us to keep doing it until it is automatic. WHAT PERCENT OF OUR TIME IS ON AUTOPILOT? THE INTROSPECTION ILLUSION (Wood, 2019) ​ The belief that conscious planning will lead to our goals. The thought that we can build new habits through willpower and determination. ​ We can accomplish “one-off” new behaviors through willpower and determination, but making behaviors automatic requires controlling the context, using friction and repetition until we no longer have to think about it. WHAT IS WILLPOWER AND HOW DOES IT WORK? “At its essence, willpower is the ability to resist short-term temptations in order to meet long-term goals” (Weir, 2012). WILLPOWER Limited resources that can be depleted. -​ Delayed gratification -​ Impulse control -​ Self-regulation COMPONENTS OF HABIT FORMATION 1.​ Context: cue to act a.​ Organize your context i.​ Anything and everything around you: location, time of day, other people, moods, temptations, and motivations. 2.​ Reward: our incentive to act  a.​ Wood 2019: “Rewards don’t have to be intrinsic to the behavior, they can be extrinsic rewards too, so long as they are immediate. And it’s that immediacy that matters. There’s also a neural process that happens, when you are rewarded, your brain releases dopamine, which is a neurochemical, that actually binds together the context that you’re in and the response that you gave in order to get that reward. That’s one of the reasons why rewards are so important and so useful for forming habits” b.​ Invest in rewards i.​ Rewards drive habits. We engage in specific routine behaviors in order to get the reward. If it is fun, pleasurable or rewarding, you’ll do it. ii.​ Dopamine spikes predispose the brain to anticipate and crave the behavior again and again. This association builds the habit. c.​ Research: rewards can drive routines even when the reward is no longer there. i.​ In one study, Neal (2011), subjects followed their habit and ate stale popcorn while watching a movie, even though they didn’t like it. 3.​ Routine: the behavior itself, mental shortcut a.​ Involves the specific actions that earn the reward. Because our brain enjoys the rewards so much, it stores these specific behaviors in our sensory motor system and hunks these behaviors to ensure success next time. b.​ Stack your habits i.​ Take advantage of an existing habit to cue to you to start a new one. (Use brushing your teeth as a reminder to take your medication). c.​ Swap your habits i.​ When you want to break a bad, replace it with something similar but aligned with your goals. 4.​ Friction: obstacles or clear path a.​ Use friction (proximity, barriers, timing, effort): Friction is what makes it easier or harder to behave in accordance with your goals. i.​ How? 1.​ Recognize driving forces (things that make it easier to act). 2.​ Recognize restraining forces (using obstacles to make it harder to give into temptations, and easier to stick to your goals). b.​ Increasing friction i.​ Insert friction into access to cigarettes (taxes, ban in public places, put behind counter in stores) ii.​ Delete social media apps you want to stop checking. iii.​ Turn off phone, and war a watch so you don’t need to check your phone iv.​ Reducing number of open tabs on screen. c.​ Reducing friction i.​ Sleep in your running clothes to start the day with a run. ii.​ Business models: Netflix (new episode starts after current episode ends), Uber (one button press product, no need for cash). Wood (2019): “We are all dependent on the context in which we live. We form habits based on what’s easy and rewarding, what’s easy for us to do repeatedly and what’s rewarding in our context in the places where we live” KEYSTONE HABITS -​ Keeping to a sleep schedule, organizing your day, preparing meals in advance, exercising regularly, meditating daily. -​ HOW MANY REPETITIONS? 21 times is a myth. -​ 65 days for it to feel automatic to eat something healthy -​ 59 days for it to feel automatic and take a healthy drink. -​ 91 days for exercise to feel automatic. BUILDING HABITS 1.​ Organize your context 2.​ Invest in rewards 3.​ Stack your habits 4.​ Swap your habits 5.​ Create or eliminate friction 6.​ Accountability, support, identify someone else’s habit and hitch a ride on their habit until you are ready to solo. EXAMPLES -​ ATM sequence of tasks, set up so you don’t leave your card in the machine. -​ On a diet, use smaller plates. -​ Nurse study (reducing the number of errors made when distributing medication). RESEARCH ON “CHANGING THE PATH” NURSES RESEARCH ​ Becky Richards, director of Adult Clinical Services at Kaiser South San Francisco Hospital, was concerned about the number of errors made by nurses when they were giving out medication. The yearly average was about 250 errors across the hospital, and even one of these could have very serious consequences. ○​ Richard ran a 6 month pilot study, which required the nurses to wear orange vests while distributing the patients medication. ○​ All staff were told that they cannot disturb a nurse when they are wearing the orange vest. ○​ After six months, errors dropped by 47%. The orange vest intervention was subsequently adopted throughout the hospital and they saw a drop in medication errors across the board by 20% in the first month. ​ Conclusion: changing people’s behaviors by shaping the path was very effective. The orange vests were friction for all who tried to interrupt the nurses doing this task. No one needed self-control or willpower to avoid interrupting a nurse while administering medications; they only needed to pay attention to a bright orange vest and act accordingly. DECISION FATIGUE WHAT IS DECISION FATIGUE? The notion that making choices can be effortful and can therefore deplete resources (Vohs, Baumeister, 2005) -​ “There is no denying that choices have proliferated, in terms of the number of decisions one can make in life or even throughout the day. The diversity of product selection has expanded exponentially, such that the average American supermarket in 1976 carried 9,000 different products, whereas fifteen years later that figure had ballooned to 30,000 (Waldman, 1992). The average produce section alone had risen from 65 items to 285 items. The coffee shop chain Starbucks boasted in 2003 that it offered each customer 19,000 beverage possibilities at every store, and this was before the new superheated option multiplied the number even further. Approximately 50,000 new products are introduced every year in the US whereas the number 30 years ago was only a few thousand”. ENERGY CONSERVATION As Baumeister puts it, think of willpower as a form of energy. -​ Which makes habits a form of energy conservation, they are what Wendy Wood calls those mental shortcuts. -​ Step one: what might you adjust in your day to reduce willpower/energy expenditure? SCALE DOWN CHOICES Use habits and stick to those pre-decisions (instead of micro-reconsiderations), to reduce the number of (depleting) choices you must make in a day, like doing the hardest work first. Cal Newport would give the example of doing the hardest (or most creative) work first.  -​ The difference between being physically tired and decision fatigue is that you are often completely unaware that you are experiencing decision fatigue. This depletion of mental energy leads to one of two choices: -​ Become reckless (ignoring any risks and just choosing to do something on impulse). -​ Do nothing and hope for the best. IMPORTANT URGENT MATRIX AKA prioritizing revealed - what is the hardest work to do first? ​ Urgent and important ​ Important but not urgent ​ Urgent but not important ​ Not important, not urgent. DECISION MAKING SUPPORT Wondering about when we’re stuck on a decision? Or when we’re not sure where to start when faced with (too) many choices? Or how to simplify the choices in your day? VOHS RESEARCH (2005) ➔​ Vohs, Baumeister and Twenge, the experimental group asked to make a series of small choices between multiple different objects (one of which they would be allowed to keep at the end of the experiment). candles, T-shirts, pens and the like. The control group look through the same items but were not asked to choose which they wanted most. ➔​ put their hands in a bucket of ice water as long as they could stand it. impulse was to pull their hands out as soon as possible, so it would take considerable self-control to stay. The experimental group stayed for less than half as long as the control group (28 sec vs 67 sec). ➔​ Conclusions: the decision fatigue that resulted from deciding what object they wanted most reduced their mental energy to use self-discipline to keep their hands in the ice water. When we exhaust our mental energy making countless small decisions we don’t have the capacity to use-self-control to make other decisions. DANZINGER RESEARCH (2011) ➔​ He analyzed the decisions made by judges on parole boards based on the time of day, whether or not they had had a lunch break It turns out that glucose can decrease decision fatigue temporarily. ➔​ Participants: 1,112 judicial rulings by eight judges, collected over 50 days over ten months. As a result, they discovered that the pattern of decisions on parole of prisoners it was based on the time of day. ◆​ Prisoners who appeared before the judge late in the day got parole 10% of the time, in contrast to prisoners who were paroled early in the day getting parole 70% of the time. ➔​ Conclusions: The researchers speculated that these decisions were so erratic because the judges experienced decision fatigue; the effort involved in constant decision-making wore out the judges, and as time went on, they chose not to decide. It was too much work and defaulted to the status quo-keeping prisoner in prison, with the possibility of parole at some later date. Having a snack or a meal affected their choices as well. When the parole hearing occurred after the judge had a break and something to eat, they were more likely to offer the prisoner parole. HEALTHFULNESS SLEEP AND EXERCISE SLEEP “Sleep is the Swiss army knife of health. When sleep is deficient, there is sickness and disease. And when sleep is abundant, there is vitality and health” - Walker 2019 “Human beings are the only species that deliberately deprive themselves of sleep for no apparent gain” - Walker 2019 SLEEP QUIZ (Carney and Manber 2013) -​ How many hours of sleep do you typically get on the weekdays? Weekends? -​ How many mornings a week do you typically wake up refreshed? Most Mornings? -​ Do you wind down before bed? -​ Do you do any of these activities in bed: eat or drink, text, talk on the phone, watch streaming service, work on to do lists? -​ How often do you nap, or doze off without planning? -​ How often do you use the snooze button? -​ In what ways does your sleep pattern shift on holidays? -​ How long does it take you to fall asleep and typically how many hours do you sleep? WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU SLEEP? ​ Memories are consolidated and stored (necessary for learning) ​ ABility to concentrate and pay attention is restored ​ Muscles repair and recover ​ Metabolism is regulated ​ Maintain better mental health and physical health. WHAT PRODUCES SLEEP? CIRCADIAN RHYTHMS ➔​ Midnight ◆​ Deepest sleep (2:00 am), lowest body temperature (4:00 am) ➔​ 6 AM ◆​ Melatonin secretion stops (7:30 am), highest testosterone secretion, highest alertness (10:00) ➔​ Noon ◆​ best coordination (14:30 pm), Fastest reaction time (15:30 pm), greatest cardiovascular efficiency and muscle strength (17:00 pm). ➔​ 6 PM ◆​ Highest blood pressure (18:30 pm), highest body temperature (19:00), melatonin secretion starts (21:00 pm). BIOLOGICAL CLOCK Regulates routine of sleeping and waking, controls body temperature, blood pressure, the release of hormones (melatonin, which helps you sleep and cortisol, which activates the body), circadian rhythms make the desire for sleep strongest between midnight and dawn and mid-afternoon MELATONIN: hormone produced in a predictably rhythm by the pineal glands. -​ Increases in the dark, decreases in the light, large doses can induce drowsiness in some people, and it has also been shown to reset the circadian clock. WHAT IS SLEEP DRIVE? CYCLES OF SLEEP WHAT IS THE BRAIN DOING AS WE SLEEP? ➔​ Light sleep: clears away unnecessary information  ➔​ Deep sleep (NREM): helps us store new information in long term memory ➔​ REM: provides insights and creative, innovative solutions to problems. Provides emotional regulation (resets and recalibrates emotional networks in the brain) FOUR FACTORS OF SLEEP: regularity, continuity, quantity, quality WHAT IS THE IMPACT OF SLEEP ON PHYSICAL HEALTH? ​ Helps us deal with stress ​ Maintain a healthy immune system ​ Curb our appetite ​ Maintain healthy blood pressure and cardiovascular health. ​ Protect cognitive function as we age. WHAT IS THE IMPACT OF SLEEP ON MENTAL HEALTH? -​ Decreases: moodiness, stress, anger, impulsivity. WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF ADEQUATE SLEEP? -​ More alert, performance increases, energy increases, more resilient, healthier and boost immune system. -​ Memory, concentration and creativity are all improved. HOW MANY GET ENOUGH SLEEP? Net: at least a few nights a week 76% -​ Every night/almost every night 34% -​ A few nights a week 42% -​ A few nights a month 12% -​ Rarely 10% -​ Never 2% BUFFER ZONE STRATEGIES: 1 hour buffer zone ➔​ Read a relaxing book, meditate, take a hot bath, journal, stretch your body. SLEEP DEBT AND DEPRIVATION 1.​ Sleep debt: miss sleep and function without it, but you have to pay it back 2.​ Sleep deprivation: need sleep and deny yourself, leads to exhaustion. RESEARCH: DRUNK OR SLEEP DEPRIVED? ➔​ Fairclough and Graham 1999 ◆​ Two groups of subjects: one kept awake for 28 hours and the other intoxicated. ◆​ Both groups tested for driving performance ​ Sleep deprived results similar to those who were given 10-15 grams of alcohol at 30 minute intervals until their blood alcohol content (BAC) reached 0.10. ◆​ Conclusion: sleep deprivation can cause significant impairment in driving. HOW DOES SLEEP CHANGE AS WE AGE? ​ Quality declines: sleep becomes fragmented due to discomfort, pain or more frequent bathroom trips. ​ Quantity declines: as we age, we need as much sleep as before, but our brains can’t produce it. So we tend to get less sleep than we used to. ​ Deep sleep declines: compared to our teens ○​ In our 50s we lose up to 50% of deep sleep. ○​ In our 70s we may lose up to 90% of deep sleep. ​ Harder to fall asleep and stay asleep: we tend to struggle to fall asleep, wake up earlier and don’t feel as restored or rested after sleep. WHAT ABOUT FALLING (AND STAYING) ASLEEP? -​ Falling asleep -​ 10 no more caffeine -​ 3 no more food -​ 2 no more work -​ 1 no more screen time -​ Falling back asleep: ABC (apple, beach, car), 1:2 breath start at 4:4, -​ Waking up: 3 M’s -​ Movement, mindfulness, mindset. -​ BEST PRACTICES: set a regular sleep time, stay in bed long enough to get the sleep you need, sleep in your optimal sleep window, exercise during the day, limit caffeine to daytime, reduce screen time at night, keep bedroom a bit cool, create a buffer zone, use relaxation strategies, leave bed if you can’t sleep. TIMING CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE Know your when (Daniel H Pink): when should you tackle that challenging assignment, organize your desk, or study for that exam? THREE STAGES OF THE DAY: CHRONOTYPES Start of the day - Peak (analytic and focused work) - Trough (administrative and routine work - Recovery (insight and creative work) - End of the day. -​ Reverse pattern for night owl -​ Morning lark: tired by 9:30 pm and up by 6:30 am (20%) -​ Introverted, conscientious, agreeable, persistent, emotionally stable. -​ Over 60s, children. -​ Third bird: tired by 11 pm and up by 7 am (60%) -​ Night owl: tired by 2 am and up by 10 am (20%) -​ Open, extrovert, neurotic, impulsive, sensation-seeking -​ Teenagers morph into owls -​ Owliness peak at 22 years old. MORNING LARKS AND THIRD BIRDS (opposite for night owls) 1.​ Peak (early morning): complex analytical work (writing a report, analyzing information, planning a complex process, focusing deeply on new material). You are often in a good mood. 2.​ Trough (mid afternoon): administrative task, email, scheduling, organizing your desk. Often cranky or irritable.  3.​ Recovery (late afternoon and early evening): great for brainstorming and creative work because we are looser and more flexible in our thinking. Your mood improves when engaged in creative thinking. WHEN SHOULD YOU WORKOUT? ​ Morning: best time to create a new habit, lose weight, get a mood boost. ​ Evening: avoid injury, enjoy the workout, find it less effortful. DATA ➔​ Only 16% of young adults (18-34) get the recommended amount of physical activity per week, adults need about 2.5 hours of moderate-intensity physical activity spread over the week. ➔​ Students who exercise regularly do so because it is a habit, then enjoy it, and it is part of their daily life. TMU RECREATION Andrew Pettit : Research consistently demonstrates that physical activity declines with age. However, such declines do not occur linearly. The transition into early adulthood is one period in which disproportionate declines in physical activity have been evident. Physical activity patterns during the young adult years are likely to be important influences on habitual physical activity during overall adult life and consequently, have significant implications for long-term health outcomes. WHAT ABOUT STRESS? Kelly McGonigal, a psychologist and Stanford University instructor suggests that our perception of stress and the associated symptoms (racing heart rate, dry mouth, shallow breathing and perspiration) can determine whether or not stress is good for us. -​ For example, suppose we see stress as our friend and tap into the naturally occurring oxytocin release that occurs when we are under stress. In that case, it can lead to improved performance, better health, longer life span and more significant connections with others. -​ This is particularly noteworthy since oxytocin, often referred to as the love hormone, makes us ant to reach out and connect with loved ones. OPEN-HEARTEDNESS GROWTH MINDSET MINDSETS: Dweck reveals a false dichotomy. “In a growth mindset, people believe they can develop their brain, abilities and talents. This view creates a love for learning, a drive for growth, and a resilience that is essential for great accomplishments” - Dweck Mindset Works (2017) “If you get a failing grade, you think, I am nothing, I am nowhere. But if you get the grade “Not yet” you understand that you are on a learning curve. It gives you a path into the future” - Carol Dweck (2014) -​ Fixed mindset: you have ability or you expend effort, effort is for those without ability. -​ “I am either good at it or I am not” -​ “When I am frustrated, I give up” -​ “When I fail, I am not good” -​ Growth mindset: we all need to expend effort to improve. The orange color of the growth mindset brains reflects the greater activity in the brain with more intensity and attention to error. -​ “I can learn anything I want to” -​ “When I am frustrated, I persevere” -​ “I want to challenge myself” WHAT CULTIVATES GROWTH MINDSET? 1.​ Process praise for effort, strategies, focus and perseverance. 2.​ Remembering “not yet” 3.​ Effort and deliberate practice lead to rewiring the brain to become smarter. 4.​ Mistakes are an essential part of the learning process. PRAISE ​ Process praise ○​ Great Job, you must have worked really hard.  ○​ I like the way you tried all kinds of strategies on that math problem ​ Person praise ○​ Great job, you must be smart at this. ○​ See, you are good at English. You got an A on your last test. EFFORT ➔​ Fixed: abilities are established early on, nothing much will change. ➔​ Growth: You can learn and grow if you invest effort, deliberate practice pays off. FAMOUS FAILURES -​ Michael Jordan: after being cut from his high school basketball team, he went home, locked himself in his room and cried. -​ The Beatles: Rejected by decca Recording Studios, who said “we don’t like their sound”, they have no future in show business. -​ Eminem: A high school dropout, whose personal struggles with drugs and poverty culminated in an unsuccessful suicide attempt. -​ Oprah Winfrey: Was demoted from her job as a news anchor because she “Wasn’t fit for television”. -​ Albert Einstein: He wasn’t able to speak until he was almost 4 years old and his teachers said he would never amount to much. -​ Walt Disney: Fired from a newspaper for “lacking imagination” and having no original ideas. -​ Steve Jobs: at 30 years old he was left devastated and depressed after being unceremoniously removed from the company he started. SELF-FULFILLING PROPHECY Attributed to the sociologist Robert K Merton. -​ “...prediction that directly or indirectly causes itself to become true, by the very terms of the prophecy itself, due to positive feedback between belief and behavior”. -​ SELF-FULFILLING PROPHECY FIXED MINDSET -​ Belief: I am bad at stats. -​ Behaviour: Give up trying to improve. -​ Result: Lack of progress on my assignments and projects. -​ SELF-FULFILLING PROPHECY GROWTH MINDSET -​ Belief: Researching and writing a paper or doing stats are skills. -​ Behavior: With practice and support I will learn the skills I need. -​ Result: Make progress on assignments and complete them with time and practice. FROM A FIXED TO A GROWTH MINDSET Learn: ​ About the basic structure and function of the brain ​ How thinking, learning, and memory work. ​ How to change the brain  ​ To reflect on challenges ​ To practice what you have learned ​ To understand that you have untapped potential ​ To use learning strategies to achieve your goals MISTAKES SO FAR -​ Not reading the course outline, ignoring the assignment directions, blowing off readings, not checking D2L, not attending class, leaving everything to the last minute. BOUNCING FORWARD -​ Review course outline, stay on top of your upcoming assignments, use an assignment calculator, do all the readings, check email, announcements and D2L. EXERCISES TO CULTIVATE A GROWTH MINDSET 1.​ Picture your brain forming new connections as you meet a challenge and learn. 2.​ Seek out constructive criticism. 3.​ Ask: what can I learn from my failure? 4.​ Think about effort as a positive constructive force. 5.​ Plan to do something that you are afraid to do, because you might not be good at it, and do it anyway. 6.​ What you say to yourself matters. WHAT WE SAY TO OURSELVES CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE ★​ I'm not good at this = what am I missing? ★​ I give up = I’ll use a different strategy ★​ It’s good enough = Is this really my best work? ★​ I can’t make this any better = I can always improve. WHAT BEHAVIORS AND ATTITUDES MIGHT HELP YOU TO CULTIVATE A GROWTH MINDSET? 1.​ Process praise for effort, strategies, focus and perseverance. 2.​ Remembering “not yet” 3.​ Effort and deliberate practice lead to rewiring the brain to become smarter. 4.​ Mistakes are an essential part of the learning process. -​ Get 8 hours of sleep regularly -​ Exercise regularly, meditate daily. -​ Start a study group, read material before lecture, attend every lecture and take notes, exchange notes with friends, make a study space at home, and give feedback. -​ Develop a due date calendar, ask for clarification or feedback. RESEARCH ON IMPACT OF MINDSET ON LEARNING FRACTIONS (O’Rourke 2014) -​ 15,000 children in elementary schools - refraction: game to learn fractions. -​ Brain points (experimental condition) rewarded for effort, strategies and perseverance. -​ Control condition: rewarded with points for how well they were doing.  -​ Performers from brain points stayed with the game much longer, and kept trying and completed more levels than the control group. NATIONAL RESEARCH STUDY ON GROWTH MINDSET INTERVENTION (Yager 2019) Random sample of 65 public schools across the US, with 12,490 9th grade students. Growth mindset 50 minute intervention vs control group. -​ Increased GPAs and most took advanced math courses the following year. MINDSET OF FACULTY IMPACT ON STEM STUDENTS How can the mindset of faculty impact students’ capacity to learn? “Faculty mindset beliefs predicted student achievement and motivation above and beyond any other faculty characteristic, including their gender, race/ethnicity, age, teaching experience, or tenure status” - Canning 2019 EXCEPTIONAL PERFORMANCE (10 YEARS+) (Ericsson 1993) ➔​ 11 years: chess players first learning the rules to become an international master. ➔​ 20 years: between first studying music to composing an outstanding piece. ➔​ 24 years: average age poets publish first piece ➔​ 34 years: average age the same poets created their greatest works DELIBERATE PRACTICE: Requires focused attention and effort and is conducted with the specific goal of improving performance. -​ Set a goal, focus 100% on the goal, get feedback, reflect and refine. GROWTH MINDSET AND DELIBERATE PRACTICE What area of your life could you embody more growth mindset and deliberate practice? What will you do to cultivate that practice? OPEN-HEARTED LEARNING: EXPLORING OPEN-HEARTEDNESS AS -​ Vulnerability, recognizing, allowing what is, equanimity. -​ A beginner’s mind is a core characteristic of open-hearted learning. -​ Resilience and growth mindset are in a reciprocal relationship. -​ Reframing mistakes using a growth mindset approach can help us acquire knowledge, experience and skills. DR. LARRY BERKELHAMMER from psychoneuroimmunology research: the most important thing we can do that improves physiological functioning and health is to actively do everything possible to livefully engaged in activities and relationships that are rewarding and meaningful. bring conscious awareness to every activity throughout the day and to focus on the activities that were most aligned with my personal life values. Where obligation necessitated certain unpleasant activities, I looked inward and found new meaning in them and realized that I was consciously choosing virtuality for all my activities. From new advances in psychology, we know that the brain not only determines how we think, but that how we think creates anatomical and physiological changes in the brain, the way we think influences our state of health. thinking we “have to” do things, we reinforce neural circuits that make it more likely we will continue to think that way in the future. The two practices that improved my quality of life consisted of the following: 1.​ Cultivate openhearted curiosity about everyone with whom we interact throughout the day. 2.​ search for new meaning in that activity,despite the fact that you may dread that activity, you are consciously choosing to do it.