INTERESTING TIMES

 

“The state of flow, like the path that bears its name, is volatile, unpredictable, and all-consuming.  Flow feels like the meaning of life for good reason.  The neurochemicals that underpin the state are among the most addictive drugs on earth.  Equally powerful is the psychological draw.  scientists who study human motivation have lately learned that after basic survival needs have been met, the combination of autonomy (the desire to direct your own life), mastery (the desire to learn, explore, and be creative), and purpose (the desire to matter, to contribute to the world) are our most powerful intrinsic drivers—the three things that motivate us most.  All three are deeply woven through the fabric of flow.  Thus toying with flow involves tinkering with primal biology: addictive neurochemistry, potent psychology, and hardwired evolutionary behaviors.  Seriously, what could go wrong?”
 

—Steven Kotler in The Rise of Superman; Decoding the Science of Ultimate Human Performance, p158, in Ch10 entitled The Dark Side of Flow.

Happiness, sadness, surprise, fear, disgust and anger. I have to admit, I have seen all these emotions on the faces of nonhuman primates, and some other mammals as well. Can you name another emotion? Or ten more? And do they break down to just this six??

What I thought of:
Jealousy. Is anger and fear and sadness.
Ecstasy. Is happiness and surprise.
Boredom. Is disgust and sadness. Or not an emotion, but rather a state of disinterest, a lack of focus or flow.
Confusion. Is not an emotion? Is a cognitive state of uncomprehending.

Maybe?

No one has to do everything but everyone has to do something.
--GreenDot

Delivering the Speech of Your Life
Dan Pallotta | Harvard Business Review, Friday March 4, 2011
http://blogs.hbr.org/pallotta/2011/03/delivering-the-speech-of-your.html
( awesome piece on public speaking )

7 Ways Being Unbalanced Can Make You More Productive
from an article by Zen Habits contributor Jonathan Mead
Short version:
1. Embrace imbalance.
2. Let everything else slide.
3. Isolate yourself so you can focus.
4. Stop caring about anything but what really matters for your task.
5. Triage ruthlessly.
6. Disconnect from the information superhighway.
7. Quit everything that isn't really important
( what you have to do to get through a major effort... )