The Voice: Dan Palmere's Blog

Giving thanks helps your psychological outlook

In the spirit of the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, I thought I would share this topical piece: a collection of psychology research reports in this article point to the fact that by exhibiting gratitude in our everyday lives, we can experience a more heathly and positive outlook on life. You may begin to feel more alert, alive, interested, and enthusiastic.

Some ways to begin, as suggested by the article:

Gratitude journal/diary

• List weekly or nightly what you are thankful for.      
• Write down 3 things that went well on a particular day and why they went well. 

Letter of thanks

• You have one week to write and deliver in person a letter of gratitude to someone who has been especially kind to you, but you never thanked. 

 

Living in the moment really does make people happier

Psychologists have found that people are distracted from the task at hand nearly half the time, and this daydreaming consistently makes them less happy. 

Read more, here.

Psychologist Shows Why We 'Choke' Under Pressure—and How to Avoid It

This is a pretty interesting article; I'm fascinated by many elements of psychology and learning about ways one could move past habitual patterns of thinking and become as Matthew Kelly describes in his book, "The Rhythm of Life", the "best version of ourself". 

This is just a small example of something I think many people (not just athletes and performers) encounter periodically, if not on a daily basis.

Read more about it here.