The Grounding Trick is a simple yet effective way to reduce feelings of stress and anxiety by bringing you back to the present moment.When you're feeling overwhelmed, take a moment to:<ul><li class="ql-align-justify">Name 5 things you can see</li><li class="ql-align-justify">4 things you can touch</li><li class="ql-align-justify">3 things you can hear</li><li class="ql-align-justify">2 things you can smell</li><li class="ql-align-justify">1 thing you can taste</li></ul>This trick helps to break the cycle of feeling stressed and anxious because it forces your mind to focus on the present, rather than dwelling on the past or worrying about the future. Give it a try next time you feel overwhelmed!

The Grounding Trick

Stress can hit unexpectedly, but you have a powerful tool in your pocket: a sensory anchor. This can be a small object like a stone, coin, ring, or keychain that you touch when you feel overwhelmed. Over time, your brain will associate this object with calmness. Therapists use this for trauma work, and athletes use it to stay focused. It's not a fidget, but a tailor-made solution for the present moment.This simple tool can help you reset and take control of your anxiety. Next time you feel overwhelmed, reach for your anchor. Let its presence remind you that you are in control of your thoughts.

Sensory Object

Instead of listening to the negative voice in your head that tells you you're a lazy, dumb failure, try naming it. Give it a silly name like "Anxious Andy". This tricks your brain into creating distance and realizing that the voice is just noise.
Studies have shown that giving your inner critic a name helps you take back control and recognize that its words are not true. Don't let your inner critic bring you down and hold you back from achieving your goals.

3.Inner Critic Trick

Neuroscience says that most emotional reactions are anger, fear, and sadness. These emotions peak and fade in just 90 seconds, unless you keep feeding them. That's the trick.If you get mad and replay the same insult again and again, you spiral and the emotion sticks around way longer than it needs to.Next time it hits, set a timer and breathe. Instead of suppressing it, just let it pass.

The 90 Second Rule

If your feed is full of rage bait, drama, fakeperfection, and people who drain you, that's not entertainment, that's emotional pollution. A 2023 study found that even short bursts of online negativity increase cortisol and lower focus. So clean it up. Replace doom scrolling with creators who teach you, inspire you, or calm you.

5. Digital Declutter

Ever lie in bed trying to fall asleep while your brain is still running a marathon in your head?
Right before bed, do a 5-minute brain dump. Grab a notebook or open your notes app and write down everything bouncing around in your head. It doesn't have to be in any particular order or grammatically correct, just put everything you're thinking down.
This trick clears your mental RAM.
A study shows that it reduces nighttime rumination by 35% and improves sleep quality.

6. Clear All Hacks

You messed up. You feel worthless, and your inner voice starts to go into full villain mode.But wait!If another person comes to you with the same problem, would you tell them they are a failure or show compassion?That kindness is already within you. You just don't apply it to yourself.This is called self-compassion, and it is not a weakness; it is emotional intelligence.Talk to yourself like someone you care about.

7. Perspective Shift

When your brain is overwhelmed, it lies. It tells you everything is too hard, too big, too much.
But you don't need to do it all in one sitting.
Start with one step.
Ask yourself, "Can I just open the document? Can I just sit at my desk? Can I write one little sentence?"
These tiny yeses create momentum.
Stack enough micro-wins and suddenly you are halfway through the thing you were dreading.
And you don't need to feel ready, just move.
One inch at a time.

8. Micro-Yes Trick

An objects in motion stays in motion.

It explains you some really good tricks you can apply in making you life easier.Like how to reduce anxiety, to stop listening to your inner critic, how to respond to your emotions etc.

Every Mental Health Trick That Actually Works Explained
In this video, we break down simple but powerful mental health strategies that actually work, from anxiety grounding and emotional resets to digital detoxes and daily mindset shifts. These are the tools nobody teaches you, but everyone needs.

Whether you're dealing with stress, overthinking, low motivation, or just trying to feel more in control, these tricks are designed to help you take back your focus, your energy, and your peace of mind, one small habit at a time.

If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed, stuck in your head, or like your brain just needs a reset, this is the toolbox you’ve been waiting for.

➤ TIMESTAMPS:

00:00 - Grounding Trick
00:41 - Sensory Anchor
01:16 - Inner Critic Trick
01:50 - 90-Sec Rule
02:24 - Digital Declutter
02:54 - Clear All Hack
03:29 - Perspective Shift
04:05 - Micro-Yes

🔔 Subscribe for more self-improvement, mindset, and motivation videos.

#LifeLessons #selfimprovement #Productivity #Discipline #LifeAdvice #Motivation #MentalHealth #Mindset #AnxietyRelief  #Productivity #Wellness #EmotionalHealth

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Every Mental Health Trick That Actually Works Explained

It is necessary for a prince who wishes to maintain his position to learn how not to be good, and to use this knowledge or not to use it according to necessity.

You've seen this pattern before, in either shown to you in history class or on the latest news, leaders and politicians are making rash and, some would say, idiotic decisions unfounded in reality, decisions that will you to cry out to your TV in secondhand embarrassment. They make these decisions ot because they want what happened next to occour, but because they never saw what caused it in the first place.

Why The Most Incompetent Become The Most Powerful

The pattern, as you recall, is the pattern of the least qualified takes march ahead, has the loudest voice, and shows the most confidence, which, was only found very recently by our good friends Dunning and Kruger, who very wisely saw this pattern before anyone else. The less qualified of a person you are, the more confident you are, and only after you become adept enough to realize that the subject is much more complicated, do you become less confident that you can achieve something of the sort.

So Why The Obvious Pattern

Dunning and Kruger were the first to tell of the confident dumb. But Machiavelli was the first one to see this, he said that leaders that show intelligence are more likely to let slip that they are not as confident as they say they are. Because after a certain point, it is no longer genuine confidence. Component people cannot become leaders.Leadship skills such as confidence and charisma are only usable for political stands up to a IQ of around 120.

Who Said It First?

I know that I know nothing.

Even if you know your IQ, it becomes difficult to convey the island of confidence that people rely on. I'm not saying being smart is a weakness, but in reality, it kind of is. Being smart makes you see things that others don't, like the motive of leaders, or even the right answer to necessities that other leaders cannot reach, but because you disagree with the island of confidence, the people turn their back to you to listen to the loudest voice, even if they know your right.

What Can I Do To Lead Myself?

Be the prince. Use your knowledge according to necessity, don't use deception like the dumb, use your intelligence to get into the system. Be the inside voice, and become a figure that cannot be ignored. In short, do what you love

What Is The Aftermath?

No matter how smart you are, be careful of what you do. But do watch the video.

Why Stupid People Gain Power – Machiavelli's Dark Truth in Leadership Psychology
Why do many unqualified individuals become CEOs, politicians, and powerful executives? This video uncovers the psychological and structural forces behind this disturbing trend, revealing how confidence, charisma, and manipulation often beat competence.
Grounded in Machiavelli’s political philosophy and backed by modern leadership psychology, it explores why many of the world’s most powerful figures aren’t necessarily the most capable—and what that means for organizations, institutions, and individuals like you.

👇 What You'll Learn in This Leadership Psychology Masterclass:

The Machiavellian Paradox: Why intelligence can be a liability in power games
The Confidence Illusion: How boldness and charisma outperform actual skill
The Incompetence Network: How weak leaders surround themselves with yes-men
The Simplicity Trap: Why the public prefers clear, wrong answers to complex truths
The Ethical Handicap: How moral integrity blocks advancement in toxic systems
Toxic Environments: Where mediocrity thrives—and how to reverse the dynamic
Mass Distraction Tactics: How manipulative leaders maintain control and appear competent
Breaking the Cycle: Strategies to resist manipulation and promote merit-based leadership

📚 This isn’t just philosophy—it's a roadmap to understanding modern leadership.
By fusing political theory, executive strategy, and organizational psychology, this breakdown equips you to recognize dysfunctional systems and navigate power dynamics more effectively in business, government, and daily life.

🧠 Topics Covered:
Leadership psychology • Organizational behavior • Toxic workplace dynamics • Power and perception in executive roles

💬 Join the Discussion:
Have you witnessed incompetence rewarded with power in your industry or community? Share your story in the comments below—your insights may help others spot the signs sooner.

🔖 Tags:
How to Never Be Manipulated Again – Machiavelli
How to Never Be Disrespected Again – Machiavelli
Stop Trying to Be a Good Person – Lessons From Machiavelli
From Powerless to Powerful – Machiavelli’s Brutal Philosophy

#Machiavelli #LeadershipPsychology #PowerDynamics #ExecutiveStrategy #CognitiveBias #BusinessPsychology #CriticalThinking

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Philosophy Coded – Decoding Life’s Deepest Questions

Welcome to Philosophy Coded, where we break down the most profound ideas from philosophy, psychology, and human nature. From existentialism to nihilism, from Nietzsche to Sartre, we decode the wisdom of great thinkers and explore how their ideas shape our lives today.

If you seek deep insights, brutal truths, and mind-expanding concepts, you’re in the right place.

🔹 Existential dilemmas & life’s purpose
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🔹 Philosophical breakdowns of modern issues
🔹 Thought-provoking questions that challenge your worldview

Subscribe and join us in unraveling the code of existence.

🧠💡 Philosophy isn’t just theory—it’s the blueprint of reality.


Philosophy Coded

Why the Most Foolish People End Up in Power – Machiavelli Knew This

You start an activity, but abandon it completely. This is the Zeigarnik Hack.
Your brain flags unfinished tasks with bright flashing red markers until they are completed.
When you start a task and walk away, your brain sets a permanent waypoint marker that won't go away until you finish it.
Once the loop is open, your brain becomes obsessed with closing it.
Use that obsession to your advantage by starting a task.

1.The Zeigarnik Hack

Phones are like dopamine slot machines.
Flashy colors, flashing notifications, and infinite scrolling.
But in Grayscale mode, it's like turning your screen into an old Gameboy.
Suddenly, Instagram looks ancient.
TikTok is so boring, it's not even worth your time.
Your brain loses interest because the reward system just got a mid-season nerf.
Without color, the emotional charge fades.
Apps start to feel like chores.
It won't fix everything, but it will guide you and give you more willpower to stop.

2. Grayscale Hack

Go to Settings and navigate to the search bar. Type "color filters" and select the option to switch to Grayscale mode.

How To Apply The Grayscale Hack

Your brain runs in ultra-cycling cycles.
The first 90 minutes of deep work have the maximum productivity gain. Go further and you will start to burn out.
But here's how to solve it: take a 20-minute break, ignoring this natural timer. If you don't, you will also burn out.
Don't grind non-stop.
Sprint, rest, repeat.

3.90/20 Time Hack

Your bad habits are the invisible walls guarding your productivity.

The solution: build a 20-second delay.

Log out, hide the app, move the snacks.

Make the bad habits annoying enough that your brain reconsiders and doesn't want to do them anymore.

The extra seconds can be the difference between scrolling for an hour and staying focused.

4.20-Second Wall

Use a gum before studying.
 Consume it again during the exam, that's a contextual memory buff.
 Your brain autosaves with the help of sensory triggers like checkpoints.
 Chewing the same flavored gum helps put you in the same mental zone.
 Your senses are shortcuts into your old mental state.

The Gum Buff

Do your hardest tasks first. Your brain wakes up with maximum focus and zero mental clutter.But if you open your phone first, congrats! You just screwed up every task you had and 30% of your processing power to reels and rage bait.Start with your biggest tasks instead. It's the main priority, and finishing it sets the tone for the whole day.It gives you a dopamine rush that fuels your next tasks and gives you momentum.

6. Task Priorities Hack

Start a ritual, such as lighting a candle and cracking every knuckle in your left hand. 
Whatever your weird ritual is, you're signaling your brain that it's time to enter focus mode. 
No lag, no minimal clutter, no loading screen - just instant lock-in. 
Focus isn't just summoned by willpower; it's also triggered by pattern recognition.
You're creating a shortcut to enter flow. 
It's not superstition; it's behavioral programming. Rituals are the keyboard macros of productivity.

7. Flow State Hack

LeBron James is often seen performing slow diaphragmatic breathing during breaks.

Michael Phelps would always listen to Eminem before racing as part of his pre-competition routine.
Stephen Curry is known for his wide range of pre-game rituals, including a whole sprint. He also describes his mental state as going on autopilot and feeling at one with the game when he's in the zone.

Examples of Rituals Done by Professionals

Stuck somewhere? Try explaining it out loud - not only to yourself, but to your imaginary disciples. That's the Feynman technique.
If you stumble over your own words, it means you haven't understood it yet.
Every stumble is a hidden bug in your mental code - find it and fix it.
Then try explaining it again - simpler, cleaner, and faster.
The goal isn't to sound smart - the goal is to teach it like an in-game tutorial.
When you can explain it without pausing, you've officially understood it.

8. Feynman Method Hack

Hit the practice range until you gain enough XP to finish the quest.

There are some really good hacks  you can apply to make you work instead of being distracted and procrastinating.

8 Brain Hacks to Use in Your Everyday Life Explained in 4 Minutes
Use These Hacks Today to Level Up:

➤ TIMESTAMPS:

00:00 - The Zeigarnik Hack
00:33 - Grayscale Hack
01:08 - 90/20 Time Hack
01:35 - 20-Second Wall Hack
02:04 - The Gum Buff
02:28 - Task Priorities Hack
03:02 - Flow State Ritual Hack
03:30 - Feynman Technique 


Learn them. Use them. Hack your life today.


🔔 Like, subscribe, and tap the bell and never miss another upload where we break down complicated subjects in simple, gaming terms.

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Every Brain Hack Explained in 4 Minutes

You are about to hold a plank for 1 minute.
You know it's coming - that tension in your core, the burning in your arms, the mental countdown ticking away.
You are already thinking, "I can't do this. I'm going to collapse at 30 seconds."
Now imagine if you push through that feeling. You still hold on, maybe your body starts shaking, your mind is screaming for you to stop.
You tell yourself, "Just one more second," and you make it to 60.
And you feel proud of yourself.

A Plank

But then you don't stop at 60 seconds.You don't stop at 5 minutes, you keep going for 1 hour, for 2 hours, and then 10 hours.Yes, 10 hours, 10 minutes, and 10 seconds.That's exactly what George Hood did.When he set the world record for the longest plank in history.A thing that most people wouldn't believe possible.I met George 8 years ago when he set the record at that time for 5 hours. He just looked like the definition of mental toughness.The focus in his eyes was razor-sharp and he was drenched in sweat. He was hurting, you could see it on his face, feel it in his body, but he didn't stop.

What Happens if You Keep Pushing

How do you do it?
But his answer surprised him.
The plank is 90% mental.
George told me he kept his mind busy by distracting himself and focusing on the conversations in the room.
Drawing energy from the people around him.
But there was something deeper happening there.

What Joe Risser Told Him

We often think of grit as the mental toughness that helps people achieve extraordinary things, like ultramarathoners finishing races with broken bones.
But here's the twist:
Grit isn't just about willpower.
It's rooted in biology, and the most powerful indicator to date is a protein called Brain-derived neurotrophic factor, or BDNF.
We're just starting to understand it.

Misconceptions of Mental Toughness

Think of BDNF as fertilizer for your brain. A protein that helps neurons (the cells in your brain) grow, stay healthy, and communicate more effectively. This protein is crucial for things like memory and mental resilience. Many things can increase BDNF, including sunshine, blueberries, and antidepressants.  Exercise increases BDNF the most, and the plank just might be one of the best exercises for building mental toughness.

What Is BDNF?

What makes the concept of grit and BDNF so compelling is the real-life examples of individuals enduring these devastating conditions.
Researchers and clinicians still have many questions about grit and the plank.
However, what we do know is that the most effective exercises for increasing BDNF levels are those that require mental effort.
If you've ever done a plank, you know how quickly mental effort is required.
This, along with what we've learned from George, leads us to believe that planks may be one of the most efficient and effective ways to increase BDNF levels.

Grit and BDNF: The Real-Life Examples

A 2005 article in the appropriately named journal Hippocampus describes an animal study in which exhaustive physical exercise produces less BDNF than exercises that require mental focus, like navigating mazes.In activities that combine physical effort and concentration, such as yoga, some of the highest levels of BDNF ever measured have been produced.

Mental Exercise and BDNF Levels

To See if the Plank Relieves PainDaniel Suffers from a Very Rare Condition Known as Complex Regional Pain Syndrome or CRPS Which is Infamous as One of the Most Painful Diseases That Has No Known CureAs One Patient Said, "The Slight Sensation of Water Dripping on My Foot Feels Like Hot Lead."Despite Living with This Excruciating Pain, Daniel Managed to Do a Plank for Over 9 Hours on His CRPS Arm.Think About That for a Minute.The Most Physically and Mentally Challenging Exercises Helped with One of the Most Painful Conditions.Now We Have Evidence That an Important Part of the Answer Lies in BDNF.

Currently I'm Designing a Study for People Like Daniel

Studies have shown that exercise can double levels of BDNF.
I am here to raise awareness about the potential for exercise to improve quality of life by increasing BDNF levels.

Modulation of BDNF by Physical Exercise

The next time you feel that you need more grit in your life, do a plank. If you can't do it on the floor, do it against a wall. It only takes a minute, but that can be transformative.

The Challenge

BDNF is hot in the research world I’m about to make it hotter.

NOTE FROM TED: Please do not look to this talk for medical advice. This talk represents the speaker's personal views and understanding of exercise, BDNF and pain, which remains an ongoing field of study. TEDx events are independently organized by volunteers. The guidelines we give TEDx organizers are described in more detail here: http://storage.ted.com/tedx/manuals/tedx_content_guidelines.pdf

Joe Risser MD, MPH has been doing clinical research for over 40 years. In this insightful talk, he shares important recent findings, with examples and evidence of how anyone can improve their mental toughness. TeamHoodWorldRecords.medium.com #Grit #Plank #MentalToughness #Yoga #Clinical Research #TEDxSanDiego #TEDx #TEDxSpeaker Dr. Joe Risser is a Professor in the Department of Preventive Medicine at UC San Diego and a board-certified physician in Preventive Medicine. With over 40 years of research experience, Joe has pioneered studies on therapies, diagnostics, and behavior change strategies. He chairs the first Department of Clinical Research in one of over 15,000 community clinics in the U.S., serving vulnerable populations.
 
Joe also holds a master’s in Biostatistics, completing his education and residencies at the University of Hawaii and UC San Diego. His lifelong passion lies in studying mental toughness, or "grit," and its profound connection to the protein Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF). Joe unveils groundbreaking research on BDNF, sharing the life-saving stories of two extraordinary individuals who embody extreme mental and physical resilience.
 
Joe reveals how anyone can strengthen their mental toughness, making a tangible difference in their lives.
http://teamhoodworldrecords.com This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx

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It's time to Read like a Pro.

It's time to
Read like a Pro.