59 Seconds

Another self-help book that says other self-help books suck. It also sucks, but has some good things, too, fortunately.

There's a lot of research in this book, and the author generally gives you enough information about the studies for you to evaluate their process, which is nice. In addition to being backed up by one or more studies, the nuggets of advice are concrete and not always intuitive (for instance, people are much more likely to lie “to your face” than in an email because of the psychological weight of putting something in writing, and even judges and police officers are very bad at telling if someone is lying by their body language and physical appearance whereas vocabulary queues can be quite reliable [people who are not telling the truth tend to use far fewer first person pronouns but a lot more third person pronouns than normal], so email might actually be the best way to go next time you are looking to get to the bottom of something).

Some of the studies were new to me, others I've heard of at least a hundred times (like the infamous “marshmallow test”). Because a lot of the studies were conducted decades ago some of the advice feels old fashioned (the dating chapter in particular incorporates a lot of assumptions about heteronormative gender roles), but again at least the author provides enough information about the studies to let the reader see where that might be happening.

About the book: 59 seconds (2010) lays out some handy tips and insights backed by scientific research. Apply them today, and experience the change you want in your life.

About the author: Described by one of Scientific American's columnists as “the most interesting and innovative experimental psychologist in the world today,” psychologist and professor Richard Wiseman has given keynotes for the likes of Amazon and Google, and has written several bestselling books, including The Luck Factor and Quirkology.

The key message in this book: Many people are interested in self-help because it offers quick and easy solutions to various issues in their lives. The problem is most self-help techniques are ineffective. The most effective techniques come straight from the scientific community. You can significantly improve aspects of your life without much time or effort. The techniques in this book show you how to make quick and easy changes that enhance your creativity, likability, relationships and more.

My highlights:

Nail that interview by being more likable.
... there is one factor that trumps all others when it comes to landing a job: Likability
There were a few things that made them likeable: some spoke about interesting topics that were unrelated to the job, others maintained a genuine smile and some spoke highly of the organization they were applying to.
Another way to gain someone's favor in an interview is to reveal your weaknesses right off the bat.
save your positive aspects until the end of the interview. By doing so, it appears that you prefer letting your strong points come up naturally in conversation, which makes you more likable.

Occasional mistakes and avoiding gossip will make you more sympathetic.
competent people actually appear more attractive and likable when they falter, rather than when they try to be perfect.
another thing that'll make you more likable – avoid gossip.
So, if you want to be seen positively, simply say positive things about others.

Motivate yourself without useless fantasies.
visualization isn't all it's cracked up to be.
what does work to effect positive change? Creating a plan.
The best way to plan is to break down your goals into subgoals, and create a step-by-step process. With these less-intimidating steps, you'll feel less fear and hesitation.

Stimulate creativity by skipping brainstorming.
when we work in groups, responsibility becomes diffused. When we're alone, however, our success or failure is ours alone.
when you need to solve a problem, turn your attention to a puzzle or something that'll distract your mind from the issue at hand. Your unconscious mind will work away on the problem in the background and you'll have a greater chance of finding a solution.

Inspire creative thoughts by priming your mind and surrounding yourself with greenery.
Our environment shapes our mind, which in turn influences our reactions.
Being shaped by our environment is called priming, and it happens even when you're not consciously aware of it.So, for example, if you add a subtle scent of cleaning spray to the air, people in that atmosphere are primed to clean up more carefully.
You can use this knowledge by taking a few moments to describe a musician or artist. List their behavior, lifestyle and appearance. Entering that mindset will pave the way for your own creativity. Another quick way to foster creativity is to add plants and flowers to your surroundings. These reduce stress and induce good moods, thereby enhancing your creativity.

Focusing on benefits can make you happier.
try to single out positive aspects of the hurtful event. It's a quick method that has been shown to help people in even extremely trying circumstances.
those who focused on what they gained from their experience were better equipped to cope with their anger and unhappiness.

Improve your relationships by watching your words.
for a couple to live happily ever after, positive comments must outnumber negative comments by around five to one!
what else can keep your relationships healthy? Try writing about your thoughts and feelings.
Here's one final way to enhance your relationship: use the word “but.”
the successful relationships were those where the partners tended to qualify any criticism.

Use psychology to spot a lie.
A liar is likely to seem like he's thinking too hard for no good reason.
Liars also adopt an impersonal tone and try to evade questions. To lie, you need to keep in mind what other people already know, what they could discover, what is plausible and what matches what you've already said.
when you lie, your physiology responds in the same way it does when you think about a problem. Often this means that, when lying, people don't gesticulate as much, they take longer to answer and they pause and hesitate more often. Furthermore, they attempt to distance themselves from the lie by avoiding words like “I,” “me” and “mine.”Finally, liars tend to avoid answering questions about the issue and try to deflect attention from them by asking questions themselves.

Actionable advice:
Write your own eulogy. To help identify your long-term goals and progress toward making them happen, try an exercise where you write your own eulogy. Scientists believe that thinking about how you would like to be remembered after your death can reveal your true life-goals.
Trap liars by asking for emails. If you want to minimize the risk of someone lying to you, interact over email.

While the book is quite interesting, compiling a lot of work on human behavior, psychology and sociology, it tends to dwell to much into details while you'd expect something more straightforward. But while the path is windy, the arrival is still interesting and you'll learn some interesting tricks about yourself and how to, indeed, improve some parts of your life. Just not tremendously.

We all want to be happier, more creative, less stressed, and better parents, and we all want to be these things right now. Well, why not? Research about how to be a better person is out there, so why not write a book with the best quick ways to be better, ideas that can change a person in one minute or less? So went the thinking of Wiseman in creating this book.

My focus for the year is how to be happier, so I will share these tips here, in hopes of remembering them and practicing them in my own life. The power of positive thinking, for example, is a myth; instead, Wiseman proposes distraction. Also, writing about events is helpful in coming to terms with what happens. Keeping a list of things for which one is grateful led to greater happiness. Use money to buy experiences and not things; this leads to happiness. And, finally, “fake it till you feel it” is, apparently, quite valid.