Mind Hacker by Kátia Almeida

  Many of us grew up with the idea that to succeed in life we've got to work hard. Study many hours a day, be the nº 1 student in class, win the podium medals at all times, be the best player no matter what. The hard work idea, is embedded in performance cultures that are still dominant in the western world. Both in our homes and work settings. The emphasis is placed in results, often times undermining psychological safety. Even though the common language today is around the importance of experimentation and the search for new ways, specially in times of uncertainty, people often get punished for failures and mistakes. As a consequence, they become worried about proving their competence and protecting themselves. The pressure to conform to authority is real and our increasing lack of confidence in our expertise will lead to obedience to the norm and the death of creativity.  The idea of Hard Work, is associated with long working hours, placing work as the maximum priority and ...

Some of us live with this fantasy that days should have more hours, since we keep running out of time. Just think about it: What would you change if you've had more hours in a day? How would you use the extra time? What different choices would you make with more time? Or would you just use the extra time to add more things into your plate? The world today demands that we do things faster or add more things for the same amount of time. And we've never had as many tools and knowledge as today to get things done. But it seems like is even harder than before. The truth is it doesn't really matter how many hours a day have. Because there is no such thing as time management. We cannot manage something as predictable and unchangeable as time. The way we've framed the problem - time management - is causing us to fail continuously. In the late 80's, Stephen Covey introduced the idea of Importance and Urgency as the main measures to determine how to manage time and tasks. The...

 If you've gotten this far, thank you! I am grateful for the time you have dedicated reading my previous mind hacks. If this is your first time reading my posts, please go ahead and read the previous ones. If you are still interested, hope you like what I have to share with you over the next 5 weeks. This second season, will continue to tackle our beliefs and hopefully will guide you to a more open attitude towards life and what you consider to be the truth. It will also guide you to the amazing journey of recognizing what you do not know and embracing the magic of relearning as an attitude towards life. As I have mentioned before, if you are comfortable with your settled brain, you do not need to read my posts anymore. But if you want to be challenged to perceive yourself and the world differently, and continue to challenge your beliefs and perceived truths, then come with me on this journey. Because if you do not hack your brain, someone else will! For the next 5 weeks, I wi...

  Were you taught as growing up that bad things happen to bad people? If you do something wrong or misbehave, something bad will happen to you. You will be punished. If this was part of your education, you might believe that if something bad happens, you might have done something to deserve it. On the other hand, if you feel like you are well behaved and did nothing wrong, you might believe that you do not deserve whatever bad thing is happening to you. Why me? This is the daily life of a victim. And we have all been there.  Playing the victim rarely gets anyone what they want and ultimately, friends, family or coworkers will be pushed away. The victim will complain about complaining and then complain that they can't stop complaining. The place of a victim is an easy one to get into and a hard one to get out of. The "why me" victim style comes with this feeling that what you are going through is unique and it only happens to you. The truth is that everyone at any given ti...

Once upon a time, an old farmer lived in a valley with his son, a handsome and dutiful youth. They lived a peaceful life despite a lack of material possessions. They were very happy. One day, the old man borrowed money from the neighbors to buy a young and beautiful horse. The very same day he bought it, there was a huge storm. The frightened horse jumped the fence and escaped into the hills. The neighbors came to express their concern, "Oh, that's too bad. How are you going to work the fields now? And how are you going to repay us?" The farmer shrugged his shoulders and replied, "Good thing? Bad thing? Who knows?" A few days, while walking in the forest to gather new ideas, he bumped into his horse that was peacefully grazing the grass together with another eight fine horses. The farmer took them all, brought them back to the stable and built a taller fence so that the horses couldn’t escape. The neighbors again gathered around, "Oh, how lucky! We thought ...