Outsmart Yourself: Brain-Based Strategies to a Better You

What if you aren’t as in control of your actions as you think you are? What if your subconscious is driving your decisions without your approval? Is there a way to “hack” your brain to perform better, live healthier, and break your bad habits? We all can think of things about ourselves we’d like to change, but as neuroscientists are coming to realize, changing our behaviors isn’t as straightforward as you might think. Many of our everyday decisions are rooted in the subconscious, which means we have to “outsmart” our own brains to see results.

Outsmart Yourself: Brain-Based Strategies to a Better You will give you insights into how your mind works and the tools you need to make lasting change. Taught by Professor Peter M. Vishton, Associate Professor of Psychology at William & Mary, these 24 exciting lectures give you a wealth of practical strategies for enhancing your thinking and improving your well-being. You’ll see how the subconscious guides much of our behavior, leading to a kind of autopilot through much of life, including when it comes to making important decisions.

The brain is an amazing instrument, and neuroscientists today have more information than ever about how it works—as well as strategies for helping us live better every day. The surprising thing is just how counterintuitive some of these strategies can be. For instance, the best way to combat procrastination is often to…do nothing for 20 minutes. By forcing yourself to do nothing, you won’t get caught up in time-sucking avoidance behaviors like checking email. After 20 minutes, you’ll find yourself focused and ready to get to work.

Neuroscientists have stumbled onto countless insights for living better, many of which go against the grain of what you might think you know. Examine why exercise is less helpful for weight-loss than we had previously believed (but is valuable in other ways), why talent is an overrated predictor of success, how the effects of mindfulness meditation have benefited us since our hunter-gatherer days, what procrastination can do for your creativity, and more.

Whether we’re distracted by too many tasks, being influenced by crafty marketers, or simply living in a rut of bad habits, our conscious brains aren’t always guiding us toward the best actions. Fortunately, Professor Vishton offers the latest in scientific research to outsmart the automatic workings of your brain. Outsmart Yourself: Brain-Based Strategies to a Better You empowers you take charge of your life and harness your brain’s full potential.

LECTURE 1 Take Control of Your Automatic Brain
LECTURE 2 Beat Procrastination by Doing Nothing
LECTURE 3 Train Yourself like a Dog
LECTURE 4 Clean Your Kitchen, Improve Your Diet
LECTURE 5 Eat Slow, Eat Small, Eat Smart
LECTURE 6 The Myth of Multitasking
LECTURE 7 Future You and Better Decisions
LECTURE 8 How to Become an Expert on Anything
LECTURE 9 Tune Up Your Brain with Meditation
LECTURE 10 Take the Sleep Challenge
LECTURE 11 Boost Insights and Creativity
LECTURE 12 Enhance Performance with Imagery
LECTURE 13 Overcome Your Aging Brain
LECTURE 14 Grow Your Brain Out of Depression
LECTURE 15 Hack Your Brain to Unlearn Fear
LECTURE 16 Use Your Body to Alter Your Mind
LECTURE 17 Suppress—Don’t Repress—Anger
LECTURE 18 How Little Things Cause Big Persuasion
LECTURE 19 How Framing Changes Decisions
LECTURE 20 How Language Changes Your Brain
LECTURE 21 How Your Brain Falls in Love
LECTURE 22 The Neuroscience of Lasting Love
LECTURE 23 How Your Brain Creates Happiness
LECTURE 24 Happy Brains Are Smart Brains

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