David

How can you use Elon Musk's design principles to make your life better? In an interview with The Everyday Astronaut (video below) Elon Musk outlined his 5 step process to making things in a better way. A lot of engineers who've responded to it were blow away by the directness and simplicity of these rules. Even though they were created for engineers and designers I thought they might apply well to make a good and enjoyable life ... and they DO! Let's begin with an overview of each of these 5 step and go over how each step can be applied to make your life better. 1. Make your requirements less dumb - Your requirements are definitely dumb - Its particularly dangerous if a smart person gave them to you as you might not question them enough  Insight: We all want to do great things. Build a business, make money, have lot's for friends, have a fulfilling romantic life... Get rich off crypto and drive a Lamorgini. Many of us have a LOT of things we think we need to be happy and when listed all together they look overwhelming, overly complicated ... and DUMB. Maybe it's possible to "have it all" but for most of us it seems exhausting. The solution is to ask yourself "What is the least I need to have a fulfilling life?". Personally, I've reduced my requirements down considerably to three things: 1) Provide security and support for myself and family, 2) Try to make the world slightly better and 3) Be a decent and kind human being.  Knowing I am working on all of those things gives me an immense feeling of satisfaction (Your results may vary). 2. Delete the part or process - If you're not adding back then you're not deleting enough [...]

How to be happier than most people. I have a theory. The person who posesses these three qualities has a more enjoyable life than most people. The three qualities are: High Self Esteem High Self Effacacy Internal Loci of Control I'm going to describe each of these personality traits and then suggest a methology of how to improve them in yourself. In short, you will read a proposal of how to be happier than most people. Let's begin. High Self Esteem Let's remember the word "esteem" means "respect". Thus self-esteem describes how much we respect ourselves. It follows that someone who respects themself is likely to have strongs boundries that prevent others from abusing them for any length of time. Self-esteem would also help us moderate how we abuse ourselves in the form of shaming self-talk or self-blame by living within personal boundries for our own behavior. Knowing this, are you overly critical with yourself? It is normal to hold ourselves to high standards but when you fall short do your berate and belittle yourself? Are the things you say to yourself the same things you'd want a stranger to say to your child? Are you as encouraging with yourself as you are critical? Self-Respectful behavior includes acknowledging shortfalls, then planning for improvement and providing encouragement. High Self Effacacy According to Albert Bandura, self-efficacy is "the belief in one's capabilities to organize and execute the courses of action required to manage prospective situations." Self-efficacy is a person's belief in his or her ability to succeed in a particular situation. Having a "Can Do" attitude is a good of way thinking about High Self Effacacy. When introduced to a new challenge people with high self effacacy are more likely to face it than to shrink away from it. Self Esteme and [...]

This question was asked in a man-on-the-street type of video and it got me thinking. What are the skills and practices anyone can use to improve and maintain their mental health? Two skills immediately occured to me That anyone can  begin to Implement. They are practicing  Mindfulness  and setting good boundaries. Mindfulness Mindfulness is the practice of observing your thoughts and your reactions to things around you. Being mindful creates an objective distance between what happens around you and how you respond to it. Mindfulness allows us to see how we are responding to experiences and gives us time to evaluate if we could do better.  As an example a person Maybe in a conversation with someone who is very angry and if set.  For many people this Might become defensive and overly  aggressive. mindfulness would allow  that person to evaluate what would be a response to the situation. How to practice mindfulness. Mindfulness requires a quiet mind. Thus you would first take time to simply observe your thoughts and feelings. This observation would be done without judgement. If you are feeling angry you would say to yourself “This is me feeling angry”. If you are feeling frustrated by another person's constant interruption you would say “This is me feeling frustrated”.  Mindfulness, is about observing, not reacting. If you are in a situation where you must react or respond having a clear set of boundaries will help guide you.  Boundaries Boundaries are a clearly defined set to responses that you see as acceptable or unacceptable. Knowing when to firmly say “no” is a simple way to understand boundaries. Boundaries are designed to help you navigate the complexities of human interactions.  External and Internal Boundaries External Boundaries are the set of acceptable behaviors we expect of others. An example of an External [...]

Experience vs Information We all tend to know what the right, or healthiest, thing to do is. We know it's healthier to be a non-smoker than to smoke or vape, yet for a lot of smokers just having the information isn't enough to make changes. Likewise, most of us have learned that we would be healthier and more productive if we did a certain list of recommended activities: eat healthy and in moderation, exercise, get enough sleep, etc. There is no lack of information about what is healthy and what we should be doing. Yet the information doesn't connect with us enough to make any lasting change. What does make us change is having a meaningful experience. Imagine, for example, you are walking from a corner market having just purchased cigarettes and pastries. You suddenly halt with a searing pain in your arm and chest. You feel your knees hit the ground. The next moment you awaken to paramedics pounding your chest and giving you CPR. The next few days follow in the hospital connected to heart monitors and surrounded by tearful family members. Finally, you leave the hospital with the urgent words of your doctor telling you if you don't live a healthier lifestyle, you likely won't live past the next 4 years. We are also told that by taking on healthier habits we will have more energy and feel better. But for most of is it is hard to truly connect with that feeling of joy, self-esteem, pride and accomplishment a healthy change would inspire. There is a vast difference between knowing what to do and making it important enough to do it. We don't change by having the right information. We change through meaningful experiences.  Even though all hypnosis happens within the mind, it is engineered to make [...]

For some reason it starts off as one bad night of sleep. Then two nights. Before long it becomes an cycle of sleepless night followed by days of fatigue and dread. That is what it was like for my client, Chandran. Sence working with New Hampshire Hypnosis he has tracked his sleep cycle and gotten an average of 8 hours every night! Hypnosis is a great tool to help people change thought patterns. That makes hypnosis suitable for dealing with insomnia, quitting smoking and habit control. Call us today for more information (603)589-8033. Disclaimer: Every hypnosis client is different and result can vary.  As a hypnosis subject you can contribute to you success by 1) being sincere about your goal of sobriety and 2) committing to the hypnosis process 100%.

Can hypnosis be a useful tool against alcohol addiction? Yes! Here are some clients who've experienced amazing success using hypnosis to overcome alcohol addiction. But Wait! There's more. Disclaimer: Every hypnosis client is different and result can vary.  As a hypnosis subject you can contribute to you success by 1) being sincere about your goal of sobriety and 2) committing to the hypnosis process 100%.