Mason’s Reviews > The Expectation Effect: How Your Mindset Can Change Your World > Status Update

“We Can Control our Mind & Behavior for Only so long before we begin to Tire”

“There is only so much Quality Thinking your Brain can do Each Day”

Making decisions, avoiding distraction, or resisting temptation—draws on the Brain’s stores of Glucose.
•When we wake up in the morning, we have that vital Fuel in Abundance, But it Dwindles every time we exercise our Mind
- This is why after a Long Day, we lose the Mental strength required to resist the temptation of the cookie jar

“We DONT need to “Enjoy” such feelings—but recognizing their “Potential Value” will Allow us to Channel them More Effectively, and recover more quickly once they’ve served their Purpose.

- By Accepting the “Good with the Bad” we can begin to resolve the paradox of happiness

“The Harder we try to “Be Happy,” the Less Happy We Are”
Iris Mauss-Psychologist at the Univ of Cal Berkley
(Happiness Experiment)169-170

•”They focused so much on how they “Should Feel” that they were ultimately dissatisfied when the clip didn’t bring the Joy they’d expected.”(29)
•”heightened sense of Self Consciousness makes it hard to Fully appreciate small, spontaneous pleasure

Rationally Question your Assumptions about Anxiety:
• ”The aim is to Change your Interpretation of Anxiety Rather than Suppressing the feeling itself”
- That’s a vital Distinction, since attempts to Avoid or Ignore our Feelings often Reinforce Uncomfortable emotions and add to their Stigma

*Why, after all would you Avoid a feeling if it could be Good for you?

“The Stress Response, instead of becoming this thing to be Avoided, actually becomes a Resource!”
-When faced with a Difficult challenge, people who see Stress as “Enhancing” tend to Focus More on the Positive Elements of a scene (eg. smiling faces in a crowded room)

Rather than dwelling on signs of “threat or hostility”

•”If you see your Anxiety as “Debilitating and Performance Reducing”, you Reinforce the “Expectation” that you are at a Disadvantage and will Fail—and the Brain Responds by preparing you for “Danger/Possible Injury.”
•”If you see your Anxiety as a Sign of Energy for an Important and Potentially Rewarding Event, you ReAffirm the idea that you have EVERYTHING YOU NEED to THRIVE!