Are You Awakening Possibilities in Others?

Posted on 2012/12/312012/12/31 by Jason Hensel

The year is winding down, and I’m sure many of you are making plans and promises for next year. For example, like many writers, I’m planning on writing more.

However, there is one plan I will work hard at achieving next year, and that is to help awaken possibility in people. No, this isn’t some New Age-Kumbaya goal. It’s simply an effort to help others see how powerful they can be on their own. It’s a positive take on my philosophy that we don’t need hierarchies (in business or life) in order to be productive or better people.

I thought of this resolution yesterday when I was re-watching a classic TED video (embedded below) from musician and conductor Benjamin Zander on the transformative power of classical music. Toward the end of his presentation, he talks about you can tell if you’re awaking another’s spirit.

Now, I had an amazing experience. I was 45 years old, I’d been conducting for 20 years, and I suddenly had a realization. The conductor of an orchestra doesn’t make a sound. My picture appears on the front of the CD, but the conductor doesn’t make a sound. He depends, for his power, on his ability to make other people powerful. And that changed everything for me. It was totally life changing. People in my orchestra came up to me and said, “Ben, what happened?” That’s what happened. I realized my job was to awaken possibility in other people. And of course, I wanted to know whether I was doing that. And you know how you find out? You look at their eyes. If their eyes are shining, you know you’re doing it.

I think we’re all searching for excitement in life and avoiding routine when we can. Perhaps if we all help awaken possibilities in each other, we’ll have much more fulfilled and happier lives. That’s my goal for next year. What’s yours?

(Image via Flickr: Chris James / Creative Commons)

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An IQ Test Alone Can’t Explain Intelligence

Posted on 2012/12/192012/12/20 by Jason Hensel

We, as humans, tend to ascribe a lot of weight to numbers. Perhaps that’s an easy way for us to make sense of the world. Consider, though, IQ scores. Can you accurately judge a person’s intelligence by an IQ test?

Not according to a recent study from Western University scientists who found that measuring a person’s IQ by a single, standardized test is misleading.

The scientists–who used an online study open to everyone worldwide and included more than 100,000 participants–asked people to complete 12 cognitive tests on memory, reason, attention and planning abilities. Participants were also asked about their backgrounds and lifestyle habits.

“The uptake was astonishing,” said Adrian M. Owen, the Canada Excellence Research Chair in Cognitive Neuroscience and Imaging and senior investigator on the project at Western’s Brain and Mind Institute in London, Canada. “We expected a few hundred responses, but thousands and thousands of people took part, including people of all ages, cultures and creeds from every corner of the world.”

Result’s from the study showed

that when a wide range of cognitive abilities are explored, the observed variations in performance can only be explained with at least three distinct components: short-term memory, reasoning and a verbal component.

No one component, or IQ, explained everything. Furthermore, the scientists used a brain scanning technique known as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), to show that these differences in cognitive ability map onto distinct circuits in the brain.

With so many respondents, the results also provided a wealth of new information about how factors such as age, gender and the tendency to play computer games influence our brain function.

“Regular brain training didn’t help people’s cognitive performance at all yet aging had a profound negative effect on both memory and reasoning abilities,” Owen said.

“Intriguingly, people who regularly played computer games did perform significantly better in terms of both reasoning and short-term memory,” said Adam Hampshire from Western’s Brain and Mind Institute. “And smokers performed poorly on the short-term memory and the verbal factors, while people who frequently suffer from anxiety performed badly on the short-term memory factor in particular.”

If you’re interested in helping with this research, the scientists have launched a new version of the tests at http://www.cambridgebrainsciences.com/theIQchallenge.

(Story materials and image from Western University.)

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Become a Better Writer

Posted on 2012/12/182012/12/19 by Jason Hensel

I have the following poster hanging near my desk. I just need to remember to read it every day.

Like this infographic? Get more content marketing tips from Copyblogger.

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Women Identified As More Depressed Than Men

Posted on 2012/11/19 by Jason Hensel

A couple of weeks ago, Christa and I were chatting about how a majority of anti-depression medicine providers market themselves to women. We thought it was interesting that every commercial you see on TV features a depressed woman. It’s one of those things you probably don’t think about until it’s pointed out to you. Then you see it all the time.

And now I’ve seen a new study that fits with this observance. According to research from Viren Swami at the University of Westminster in the U.K., correctly identifying signs of depression depends on the gender of the identifier and the depressed person.

Swami presented study participants with one of two fictitious subjects, Kate and Jack. Both were described in non-clinical terms as having identical symptoms of major depression, the only difference being their suggested gender. For example, a sample of the test reads, “For the past two weeks, Kate/Jack has been feeling really down. S/he wakes up in the morning with a flat, heavy feeling that stick with her/him all day. S/he isn’t enjoying things the way s/he normally would. S/he finds it hard to concentrate on anything.” Respondents were asked to identify whether the individual described suffered a mental health disorder, and how likely they would be to recommend seeking professional help to the subject in the test.

Men and women were equally likely to classify Kate as having a mental health disorder, but men were less likely than women to indicate that Jack suffered from depression. Men were also more likely to recommend that Kate seek professional help than women were, but both men and women were equally likely to make this suggestion for Jack. Respondents, particularly men, rated Kate’s case as significantly more distressing, difficult to treat, and deserving of sympathy than they did Jack’s case.

The researcher also found that individual attitudes towards depression were associated with skepticism about psychiatry and anti-scientific attitudes. According to Swami, their results are significant for initiatives aimed at enhancing mental health literacy, which should consider the impact of gender stereotypes and attitudes towards help-seeking behaviors.

Have you noticed a bias toward women and depression in ads? Do you think women suffer more than men from depression?

(Quotes from the Public Library of Science. Image via Flickr: Luis Sarabia / Creative Commons.)

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Cross Post: Just a Little Patience

Posted on 2012/10/302012/11/01 by Jason Hensel

If you didn’t know already, I also write for the Dallas Comedy House’s blog, The DCH Rimshot! Yesterday, I wrote something that, while it directed at improvisers, it can be applied to any one who feels like he or she has never been given a fair shot.

Here’s what I wrote:

The other day I was checking out the ol’ Tumblr and came across a post via Improv is Easy citing The Broken Record. The post was about famed improv instructor Mick Napier and a two-word phrase he uses to remind people that improv “is the least important thing we’ll ever do in our lives and that even the name ‘longform’ is imbued with undue importance that impedes our ability to be free and just play.”

The post’s author goes on to write that Napier’s two-word motto will be her two-word motto going forward. After reading it, I believe I’ll make it my motto as well. And you may want to consider it, also.

The part of her post that really hit home was this declaration: “I won’t compare myself to my peers and feel jealous or envious when good things happen to other talented people. I will be patient in my own progress.”

I’ve been involved with DCH for almost three years, and being patient with my progress is something I’ve struggled with. I’m sure many of you have, too. You may see your friends being asked to be part of troupes. You may see others creating cool videos. And you may be wondering why it isn’t “happening” for you.

But you see, everyone’s educational path is different. Some improvisers get it right from the start, while some need more time to grow. The one deciding factor for success, I promise you, is consistent commitment. If you’re serious about the art form and you want to succeed (your definition of success is your own), then don’t worry so much about how well others are doing. Yes, please support them and sincerely congratulate them–we’re all a family here–but stop comparing yourself so much to others. Work on yourself at the pace that is natural for you and your strengths will be noticed.

It’s not a competition at DCH. It’s a group effort toward success. And I know it may sound backwards to say this, but sometimes the best thing you can do for a group is to work on yourself first. You have to be good to help the group be good, and the group can only be as good as the individual members.

I think we can all use a motto that reminds us to just let it go, that some things in life aren’t worth worrying over. That’s something that has taken me many years to understand, and I’m finally getting it.

What’s your life’s motto?

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Confucius on Reading

Posted on 2012/10/212012/10/23 by Jason Hensel

Whenever people tell me they don’t have time to read, I think of this quote.

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Foreign Lands

Posted on 2012/10/162012/10/19 by Jason Hensel

I saw this poster online the other day, and it grabbed my interest. I love the design. More so, I love the message.

this isn’t happiness™ (Foreign lands), Peteski.

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Being in Service to Others

Posted on 2012/10/092012/10/12 by Jason Hensel

Why? by Bart Everson

There’s been a lot of talk at this conference I’m attending about being in service to others. That helping others is the path to happiness and contentment.

I agree with that, and I do try to be of service as much as possible. Lately, though, I feel like I’m being in service just to make others look good. I have a problem with that, because it’s selfish.

Maybe it’s because I’m getting older and gaining experience, but I’ve been noticing this selfish behavior a lot more. It’s especially prevalent in the workplace. I know a lot of folks are trying to get ahead, get that big promotion, cash that big paycheck. I don’t care about any of that, so when I’m asked to do things for someone so he or she can get all those things, I feel disgusted. At the person and with myself for helping.

In the future, I’m going to start asking why a lot more. That way, I can figure out the real reason something is asked of me. Will that be annoying? Yes, but maybe in the end, the person doing the asking may realize how selfish some requests are and stop the behavior.

(Image via Flickr: Bart Everson / Creative Commons)

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A Visit to the State Fair of Texas

Posted on 2012/10/06 by Jason Hensel

I visited the State Fair of Texas today. I visit every year, primarily to taste the latest fried food creations. Out of the ones I tried, my favorites were the Deep-Fried Divine Chocolate Tres Leches Cake and the Picnic on a Stick. Both were good, though still not as good as fried butter or a fried peanut-butter and jelly sandwich.

There is also a Chinese Lantern Festival at the fair this year. It’s reasonably priced before sunset, but once it gets dark it gets expensive. Still, after dark offers opportunities for some good photos. I took the one below, and I like the Ferris wheel in the background, which everyone should ride once in their lives.

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Time is on Your Side

Posted on 2012/10/052012/10/05 by Jason Hensel

One of my pet peeves is people saying they don’t have time to do something. Whenever someone says that, I immediately want to reply that it’s not that they don’t have time, it’s that they’re choosing one thing over another. We all have the same amount of time. It’s what we choose to do with that time that determines our lives. That’s why I love the following quote so much. Remember it the next time you want to say you don’t have time for something.

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I Was Born This Way

Posted on 2012/04/11 by Jason Hensel

I have trouble being mean. It’s next to impossible to not be nice. Sure, I get in bad moods and can be snippy at times, but overall I’m a nice fellow, you know, finishing last in all. And I’m okay with that most of the time, especially now that I’ve learned I was born this way.

According to psychologists at the University at Buffalo (UB) and the University of California, Irvine, a reason some people are nice is because of their genes. The study “The Neurogenics of Niceness,” appearsthis month in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.

The researchers studied the behavior of subjects who have versions of receptor genes for two hormones (oxytocin and vasopressin) that are associated with niceness and to find out if these chemicals nudge other forms of pro-social behavior in us.

Subjects were surveyed as to their attitudes toward civic duty, other people and the world in general, and about their charitable activities. Study subjects took part in an Internet survey with questions about civic duty, such as whether people have a duty to report a crime or pay taxes; how they feel about the world, such as whether people are basically good or whether the world is more good than bad; and about their own charitable activities, like giving blood, working for charity or going to PTA meetings.

Of those surveyed, 711 subjects provided a sample of saliva for DNA analysis, which showed what form they had of the oxytocin and vasopressin receptors.

“The study found that these genes combined with people’s perceptions of the world as a more or less threatening place to predict generosity,” said Michel Poulin, PhD, assistant professor of psychology at UB. “Specifically, study participants who found the world threatening were less likely to help others–unless they had versions of the receptor genes that are generally associated with niceness.”

These “nicer” versions of the genes, Poulin says, “allow you to overcome feelings of the world being threatening and help other people in spite of those fears.”

“So if one of your neighbors seems really generous, caring, civic-minded kind of person, while another seems more selfish, tight-fisted and not as interested in pitching in, their DNA may help explain why one of them is nicer than the other,” he said. “We aren’t saying we’ve found the niceness gene. But we have found a gene that makes a contribution. What I find so interesting is the fact that it only makes a contribution in the presence of certain feelings people have about the world around them.”

(Story materials provided by the University at Buffalo.)

(Image via Flickr: Jason Liebig / Creative Commons)

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Jeans for When You’re Feeling Blue

Posted on 2012/03/14 by Jason Hensel

There are a lot of depressed women in the world. I can tell, because they’re wearing jeans.

According to a study conduced by Professor Karen Pine at the University of Hertfordshire in the U.K., women choose to wear clothes based on their emotional states. When surveyed, more than 50 percent of surveyed women said they wore jeans when depressed. One third of them only wore jeans when they were happy.

Match those jeans with a baggy top–57 percent of women said they wore those when depressed–and you have one really sad female.

If you want to change your mood, though, change your clothes. Yes, it’s really that simple. Science wouldn’t lie to you.

“This finding shows that clothing doesn’t just influence others, it reflects and influences the wearer’s mood too,” Pine said. “Many of the women in this study felt they could alter their mood by changing what they wore. This demonstrates the psychological power of clothing and how the right choices could influence a person’s happiness.”

Your happy clothes should enhance your figure, be well cut and made from bright and beautiful fabrics, says Pine, who obviously doesn’t know about Rocky Mountain jeans from the 1990s.

“Jeans don’t look great on everyone,” Pine said. “They are often poorly cut and badly fitting. Jeans can signal that the wearer hasn’t bothered with their appearance. People who are depressed often lose interest in how they look and don’t wish to stand out, so the correlation between depression and wearing jeans is understandable. Most importantly, this research suggests that we can dress for happiness, but that might mean ditching the jeans.”

While you’re ditching those jeans, you might want to watch your typing, too. New research shows that “words spelled with more letters on the right of the keyboard are associated with more positive emotions than words spelled with more letters on the left.” (Beautiful Mind moment: Jeans, the word, has more letters on a keyboard’s left side.)

Cognitive scientists Kyle Jasmin of University College London and Daniel Casasanto of The New School for Social Research, New York showed that there is a link between a word’s meaning and how it’s typed.

Why should the positions of the keys matter? The authors suggest that because there are more letters on the left of the keyboard midline than on the right, letters on the right might be easier to type, which could lead to positive feelings. In other words, when people type words composed of more right-side letters, they have more positive feelings, and when they type words composed of more left-side letters, they have more negative feelings.

Well, then, that explains the seesaw of emotions I’ve experienced writing this entry.

(Photo via Flickr: Kshitij Dewan / Creative Commons)

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