The Best of Ness Labs

A digital detox is a period in which a person voluntarily refrains from using digital devices including smartphones, computers and social media platforms. However, recent research has shown that…

«The internet has made it possible to talk at length with strangers who share your passion for any subject—make the most of it»

Here lies the paradox of goals: Setting goals is a guarantee for disillusionment whether we reach the desired state or not, and yet working toward goals is an important part of evolving as a person.…

The Abilene paradox describes the unfortunately common situation where a group of people agree to an idea, despite most of them not fully believing that it is the best decision.

«The power of social conformity can persuade us to agree to the perceived general consensus and can lead to extremely poor group decisions.»

In a world driven by rapid changes in technology, being a generalist is no longer enough. To support the fast-moving targets of global businesses, the versatilist now prevails.

Racing pulse, tense muscles, dry mouth, restlessness, irritability, difficulty concentrating… The symptoms of anxiety are many, but sometimes we can’t pinpoint why exactly we experience this panicky…

Status anxiety occurs when we fear that we are not meeting society’s standards for success. This leads to shame, which impacts our mental health.

«A person’s environment can intensify status anxiety. For instance, income inequality and social media both exacerbate status anxiety»

Building a reward system for self-motivation is a powerful way to boost your productivity, reducing the need to rely on intrinsic motivation to complete the work you need (and want) to do. However,…

«A reward does not need to be expensive. If it appeals to you, then you will be motivated to reach your goal so that you can treat yourself.»

Systematically comparing ourselves to others can make us feel less capable. To avoid comparison anxiety, it’s helpful to be aware of how assessing our success based on a subjective view of how we…

«growth.Partner with a goal buddy. Choose one person to buddy up with and support each other in your self-development journey.»

We are experiencing change fatigue at an unprecedented scale. The cognitive system that allows us to deal with acute stressful situations has been drained. Our “mental surge capacity” is depleted.

«Instead of resisting change, adding to the load we put on our adaptive systems, we can strive to accept, embrace, and even foster change in a way that leads to personal growth.»

The framing effect is considered one of the largest biases in decision making. Many of our decisions are impacted by this cognitive bias.

«the framing effect: a cognitive bias where people decide on options based on whether they are presented in a positive or negative way.»

The need for cognitive closure is the motivation to find an answer to ambiguous situations — any answer that aligns with our existing knowledge. Not only can it lead us to make mistakes based on…

«we should seek knowledge to resolve questions regardless of whether that new knowledge points to an answer that aligns with what we believe or what we want»

What happens in liminal spaces? Doubt, discomfort, unfamiliarity, anxiety. But also growth, change, and discovery. Liminal spaces offer all of the ingredients for creativity.

«What happens in liminal spaces? Doubt, discomfort, unfamiliarity, anxiety. But also growth, change, and discovery. Liminal spaces offer all of the ingredients for creativity.»

“When I achieve this goal, then I will be happy.” We often mistakenly believe that achieving our goals will make us happy. That tendency is called the arrival fallacy.

«Although completing a goal may lead to the arrival fallacy, Dr Tal Ben-Shahar maintains that having objectives is essential to personal growth.»

Fear setting involves identifying and defining your fears so that you can overcome them. It's a process of reflection to step away from the everyday grind to gain perspective on your fears.

«The good news is that if you can identify which fears are rational, and which are irrational, you can exert some level of control over them.»

Self-reflection should not be reserved for our personal lives only. It can also be richly rewarding for our professional careers.

The present bias is our tendency to seize short-term opportunities, settling for a small present reward rather than waiting for a larger future reward.

«staying mindful of your long-term goals so you don’t fall prey to the dangers of instant gratification»

Learn how to think better with a guide on decision-making frameworks, cognitive biases, mental models, and tools for thought.

«metacognitive skills allow people to bring their thought processes to the foreground, so they can be analysed, and potentially improved.»

When facing a difficult dilemma, Creative Problem Solving offers a structured method to help you find an innovative and effective solution.

«With brainstorming, Osborn suggested that it’s better to bring every idea you have to the table, including the wildest ones, because with just a little modification, the outrageous ideas may later become the most plausible solutions. In his own words: “It is easier to tone down a wild idea than to think up a new one.”»

When talking about creativity, many people will tell you: “Think outside the box!” The catchphrase is so common in management consulting and business environments, it has become a bit of a cliché.…

«Thinking inside the box often provokes resistance as it runs counter to some of the most ubiquitous intuitions about innovation. However, it’s a formidable creative thinking tool which is actually fun to use.»

Temptation bundling is a productivity technique that involves combining an activity that gives you instant gratification, such as watching TV, with one that is beneficial but has a delayed reward,…

«trying to reply to important work emails while watching one of your favourite TV shows may not be the best combination, as your concentration levels are likely to be affected.»

Motivation only starts to build again once we have taken the first steps and gained some momentum in our task. It's all about getting started and consistently taking action, making sure we get back on…

«three innate psychological needs which must be satisfied to enhance self-motivation and mental health: competence, autonomy and relatedness.»

When negative thinking becomes the norm, it can contribute to mental health problems including social anxiety, low self-esteem, and even depression. To avoid falling into that pattern, let’s explore…

«when you’re already feeling anxious or depressed, succumbing to negative thought patterns is unfortunately likely to worsen the way you feel.»

Most people would agree: praise is one of the most effective ways to build children’s self-esteem. We are told to be generous with our praise, and to find as many opportunities as possible to praise…

«Adults are inclined to give children with low self-esteem person praise (e.g., “You’re smart!”) and inflated praise»

Many of us would like to have more time to read, but life can get in the way of picking up a book. What are strategies that actually work?

«However, speed reading limits your comprehension of the novel, reducing the accuracy of what you read and hindering how much you retain of the story»

Our brain is wired to reduce uncertainty. The unknown is synonymous with threats that pose risks to our survival. The more we know, the more we can make accurate predictions and shape our future. The…

«Put simply, their results suggest that our brain redirects its energy towards resolving uncertainty, at the expense of other cognitive tasks.»

“Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom,” once said Aristotle. Introspection is the act of looking inwards to examine one’s own conscious thoughts and feelings.

«Reflecting on past experiences may help us to recall similar situations in which we either solved an issue or found our attempts fell short.»

Trying to multitask can not only hurt our productivity, but also our ability to learn. Fortunately, there is an alternative way to boost your efficiency: single-tasking.

«That’s why multitasking leads to decrements in performance when compared to performing tasks one at a time.»

The importance we confer to prestige makes sense from an evolutionary perspective. For our ancestors, being more popular was a survival advantage. Social status offered greater group protection and…

«However, now that status is not so closely linked to our survival, pursuing goals based on the assumed prestige our success will confer can be a bad idea.»