Outsmart Yourself: Brain-Based Strategies to a Better You

By: Peter M. Vishton, The Great Courses

Narrated by: Peter M. Vishton

Length: 12 hrs and 30 mins

Publisher's summary

The brain is an astounding organ, and today neuroscientists have more insights than ever about how it works - as well as strategies for helping us live better every day. These 24 practical lectures give you a wealth of useful strategies for improving your well-being. By presenting evidence-based "hacks" for your brain, Professor Vishton empowers you to take charge of your life and perform better all around.

Want to curb a few bad habits? Try making a notebook entry every time you perform the habit. Have a big project and feel the urge to procrastinate? Do nothing for 20 minutes and you'll feel ready to get to work. Come down with a case of the blues? Eat some fermented foods such as yogurt or sourdough bread.

From the myth of multitasking to the mechanisms behind falling in love, Professor Vishton shows you what is happening inside your brain to examine why we behave the way we do. What you'll discover is that the subconscious guides much of our behavior, leading to a kind of autopilot when it comes to making important decisions. Whether we're distracted by too many tasks, being influenced by crafty marketers, or simply living in a rut of bad habits, our conscious brains aren't always guiding us toward the best actions.

Using evidence from classic psychological studies such as John Watson's behaviorism experiments or Stanley Milgram's obedience studies, as well as the latest in scientific brain research, Professor Vishton gives you insights into how the mind operates, why our subconscious is so often in control, and what we can do change our behaviors.

You'll learn how the imagination can be as powerful as physical practice, explore the subtle art of persuasion, unpack the keys to healthy living, delve into the psychology of anger and fear, and much more. When you complete this course, you will have an abundant list of practical, everyday ways to strengthen your creativity, improve your problem-solving, enhance your health, and more.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.

©2016 The Great Courses (P)2016 The Teaching Company, LLC

another great, great course

very informative with a good pace. these great courses offer the latest information that was not available when I was school age.

thank you

Life changing!

I absolutely loved this ! I certainly will share it with my friends! Thank you!

An engaging and interesting listen!

We could all use some tips to improve our brain. This series consists of 24 lectures that break brain science down into digestible segments that are easy to follow. The professor's voice and speaking style is great. :)

a good book

there were a number of strategies to follow. the strategies themselves we're not that complex. good ideas to improve yourself.

Interesting information

This entry from The Great Courses has a nice selection of tips and studies to help the listener better understand how our minds work and how we can more effectively improve ourselves and reach our goals - although much of the content is more along the line of general information than actionable tips.
I've heard many of the studies before in other books, but it's still good information.
I do wonder if all of the information provided is completely justified. For example, it mentions Amy Cuddy and power poses - but her experiments could not be reproduced, and her conclusions are very much in doubt. That makes me wonder if there's anything else that may be inaccurate. But still, on the whole it's pretty good.

Highly recommended research backed actionable...

advice on how to use the principles of Neuroscience to make many aspects of your life better.

I really enjoyed and agreed with virtually all of it I have a BSc. in Neuroscience / Psychology so I'm familiar with almost all but not all of the research he cites.

That's said, I learned a lot that deepened and expanded my understanding of the many topics he covered 😁

The one part that left me feeling unresolved was the contradiction between the first principle of not sharing your goals with his later discussion on Cialdini's commitment and consistency principle which suggests the opposite advice on achieving your goals.

That is to make an active, public and effortful declaration goals to leverage social accountability and principles of cognitive dissonance to motivate you.

I'm going to bet on Cialdini until I get more information about how keeping your goals a secret makes you more likely to actually achieve them. The author didn't go into enough detail to convince me otherwise.

It's not clear which is correct, or more accurately, which is correct under which conditions and the author didn't provide enough to contrast the two effectively.

Everything else was great!

tim #bgreen🌏

Outstanding!

It's obvious that a great deal of work has been committed to creating this book. Definitely one of the most informative and interesting books I've listened to. It's a great listen!

Great explanation of various brain functions.

I enjoyed the detail and examples of the brain functions and how you can manipulate your mood with simple tricks.

Very Interesting!

I listened to it twice in a row so I could try to take in all the practical strategies and information.

Interesting information

loved it was an awesome course had some very interesting strategies. would recommend it to those would like to learn about the thought process.