Conquer Depression

In our last +1, we chatted about the scientifically-proven power of gratitude: Simply writing down 5 things you’re grateful for can boost your happiness up to 25%. (Wow.)

What do you do when you’re having a rough day?

As we go ALL IN on optimizing our lives, it’s easy to get overwhelmed.

Continuing our theme of feelings following behavior, let’s chat about some wisdom from the author of Resilience.

Alberto Villoldo tells us that we evolved to deal with one lion roaring at us at a time. That lion’s roar triggers a fight or flight response. We fight or we flee. And, hopefully, we live to talk about the tale later.

David Reynolds tells us that feelings follow behavior. You do something and then you feel great—not the other way around.

Rick Hanson is a leading neuroscientist and mindfulness teacher who wrote a couple great books: Buddha’s Brain and Hardwired for Happiness.

Continuing our Harry Potter theme, let’s explore how to deal with dementors in your life.

Do you know what the Tibetan word for “guilty” is?

After finishing the last +1, I got up out of my chair and celebrated another little micro-win.

In our last +1, we talked about Michael Jordan and Carol Dweck and growth mindsets.

In our last +1, we talked about Carol Dweck’s wisdom on how to deal with depression. (Recall: Growth-mindset people work harder when they feel depressed. “Hello, emotional stamina!!”)

As you know, I’m a huge fan of the science of Optimizing. (Ancient wisdom + modern science + practical tools, baby! 🙂)

In our last +1, we talked about the wonderful parallel wisdom in the first Big Ideas from a couple of our Notes.

In our last +1, we talked about the fact that although the light will always shine when you flip the switch there will almost certainly be some dust and cobwebs to clean up if your life-room has been dark for a long time.

Why We Sleep is a life-changing kinda book. (You get it yet? Trust me, you’ll thank me!)

In our last +1, we talked about my recent PhilosophersNotes-athon.

In our last +1, we chatted about the fact that ancient lovers of wisdom and modern scientists agree: Envy is toxic.

We’re kinda on a roll with the whole envy-squishing theme, so why not one more?

Serotonin.

In our last +1, we talked about my new go-to mantra: “Thank you.”

In our last +1, we put on our Optimizing nerd glasses ( 🤓 !!!) and explored the etymological (and psychological) opposites: prosper and despair.

In our last +1, we continued our exploration of the science of gratitude by practicing the grateful art of shifting from taking things “for granted” to seeing all the gifts “AS GRANTED” to us.

In our last +1, we talked about the fact that when we go after accumulating more and more “stuff” (whether that’s the latest gadgets or Instagram likes), we often find ourselves working harder and harder but not getting any happier.

Continuing our brief tour through Kate Hefferon’s textbook on Positive Psychology and the Body, let’s flip open to the chapter on “Positive Nutrition.”

In our last +1, we talked about Alex Korb‘s #1 tip to kickstart an Upward Spiral and “Use Neuroscience to Reverse the Course of Depression, One Small Change at a Time”: EXERCISE.

Continuing our (second!) trip through Sleep Optimizing, let’s talk about some important curfews.

If you and I worked together 1-on-1, we’d talk about a lot of fun things.

In our last +1, we talked about meditation’s instant ROI.

We’ve talked about how exercise is kinda like taking a little bit of Ritalin and a little bit of Prozac, but somehow we’ve gotten this far into our +1 series without talking about the fact that exercise is as effective as Zoloft in reducing depression.