Motivate Yourself

Merry Christmas 2012

It's December, which of course means it's Christmas! And has been since bonfire night, at least that's when the shops started playing Christmas music and selling decorations. This is something that has been going on for a few generations now and yet still tends to get on peoples nerves.

It's a common belief in the modern world that the more choices we have the better we feel. Visit your local supermarket and you'll probably find at least 100 different choices of butter and 250 different types of crisps, all in varying sizes and types. It has been long perceived that more choice means that we'll buy more products. But experiments undertaken a few years ago by Columbia and Stanford Universities show otherwise. In what is often called 'The Jam Experiment' (although there was more to it than that), 3 experiments attempted to monitor buying habits, satisfaction and even motivation when given little choice and when given more choice. The first experiment is what gives them it's popular name. Shoppers in a supermarket were given the chance to taste samples of different types of jam, and every hour the displays were changed to give them the choice of either 6 different types or 24 different types. What was discovered was that 30% of shoppers given the choice of 6 jams went on to purchase some. But only 3% of shoppers offered the 24 went on to purchase any. It seemed that having too much choice actually hampered their later motivation to buy. If you've ever looked at a menu through a restaurant window and walked away because there's too much choice you'll understand what went on.

Did you know that having a name that sounds a little bit like the word Dentist, such as Denise or Dennis would mean that you are more likely to become a Dentist than if you're called Brian? And also that having a surname that begins with an early letter of the alphabet, A, B or C would lead to greater confidence and success in life than if your surname starts with X, Y or Z. But why??

Shyness can be crippling, and can cause low self-esteem, anxiety and depression. But it doesn't have to be this way! This month Richard talks about how to learn to overcome shyness and becoming a more confident you.

In this months Podcast Richard talks about how to boost your mood and how holding a pencil can make you enjoy a joke more!

Ever wondered how you can hear a piece of music or smell some perfume and it generates an emotional response? In this podcast Richard talks about how the brain makes this work and how to create new ones that you can use anytime you like.

Motivate Yourself 57: Negativity And Perspective

Motivate Yourself 56: Health And Happiness

Motivate Yourself 55: Imagination vs Reality