Jim Davies > Quotes

“But rewarding yourself can be difficult if you generally never deprive yourself of anything. For example, if you eat whatever you want all the time, and get yourself a massage whenever you feel like it, and basically do whatever you feel like doing all the time, then there’s no particular reward that will feel very special.”
― Jim Davies, Being the Person Your Dog Thinks You Are: The Science of a Better You

“Cognitive control is also increased by doing physical exercise, and the benefits are even greater if the exercise is cognitively engaging (like tennis) versus cognitively passive (like running on a treadmill). Even doing a brief bout of exercise has beneficial effects on your cognitive control system immediately after.17”
― Jim Davies, Being the Person Your Dog Thinks You Are: The Science of a Better You

“Happiness, according to the mindfulness philosophy, involves an appreciation of the here and now.”
― Jim Davies, Being the Person Your Dog Thinks You Are: The Science of a Better You

“Recall Jonathan Haidt and Jesse Bering's idea that our tendency to have religion evolved to help maintain the social order. This requires that the gods have knowledge of us and what we do. In a major study across many religious groups, historian Raffaele Pettazoni found that the central gods of many religions had a Santa-like intimate knowledge of individuals and what they did. As societies get larger, there is less accountability for your actions--not everybody can know you personally, so reputation means less. As a result, larger societies are more likely to feature religions with gods concerned with human morality, as supported by a study by evolutionary scientists Frans Roes and Michel Raymond. When your fellow citizens can't keep you in line, they have gods step in.”
― Jim Davies

“Trivial decisions take as much energy in your brain as important ones.27 You can’t keep it up all the time.”
― Jim Davies, Being the Person Your Dog Thinks You Are: The Science of a Better You

“personality traits, and these have a strong genetic component.69 Your genes seem to be an important part of how sunny your outlook is on life. How important? About 50 or 60 percent.”
― Jim Davies, Being the Person Your Dog Thinks You Are: The Science of a Better You

“What does it mean to believe that God is 'all good'? Naturally, it means that God agrees with whatever you believe. And when we change our minds about something, we tend to either think that God changed his mind too or that we have become aware of what his actual opinion was all along.”
― Jim Davies

“Who’s happiest? People in the city, the suburbs, or the country? Being around nature makes you happier and has mental health benefits.91 People who live in rural areas tend to be happier and have better mental and physical health.92 Even though there are fewer people around, social connections tend to be better in smaller communities.93 However, rural residents have a shorter longevity. They’re more likely to have several health problems, including high blood pressure, obesity, and diabetes.94”
― Jim Davies, Being the Person Your Dog Thinks You Are: The Science of a Better You

“By changing the story, you can change your attitude toward yourself and foster a more optimistic explanatory style.”
― Jim Davies, Being the Person Your Dog Thinks You Are: The Science of a Better You

“Who are “the right people”? The people who are acting in ways your higher-level cortical processes think you should act, and, importantly, not indulging in the things your reward”
― Jim Davies, Being the Person Your Dog Thinks You Are: The Science of a Better You