Optimal Being

In a recent study published in   Behavioral and Brain Functions , scientists have delved into the interplay between fear and greed, revealing intriguing insights into our brain’s workings. By examining how individuals’ brains react to negative emotional faces, the research sheds light on the neurological underpinnings of dispositional greed, offering a novel perspective on the age-old adage of fear and greed driving human behavior. The scientific investigation was motivated by the desire to bridge a gap in our understanding of the neurobiological roots of greed, especially outside the financial realm. While fear often leads to defensive actions, greed pushes individuals towards risk-taking and aggressive behaviors. This divergence, particularly evident in financial decision-making, suggests a complex relationship between our emotional responses and behavioral outcomes. The researchers aimed to explore this relationship further by focusing on how the brain’s reaction to negative emo...

We each have the same 24 hours in the day. How will you spend yours? We each have the same 24 hours available to us. What we do with those hours varies by culture and gender, but we each have at least a few hours to spend in leisure.  The 5-hour rule asks us to devote at least one hour a day to learning, experimenting, and reflecting. It's a trick used by the richest and most successful people in the world.   Here are three easy steps to start your own 5-hour rule. The anatomy of a day There are 24 hours in a day (or 1,440 minutes, if you really like to count your life away). The average person sleeps around eight hours (with  the Dutch  sleeping the most and the Singaporeans the least). That leaves 16 waking hours left to spend (I’m afraid those “learn while you’re sleeping” tapes  aren’t likely to work ). We need to subtract the seven to eight hours a day during which most people work, though those sleepy  Dutch work a bit less . So, we’re down to nine re...