7 simple and quick tricks

I love scientific work that makes you smarter, wiser, and more successful in a second. That's why I'm going to tell you about the findings of Thelma Nobel, a researcher from Tel Aviv University who has studied all the nice things that make your daily life easier and more enjoyable, bet?

Open windows and curtains

Are you feeling a bit down? Open the curtains and the windows. Daylight provides vitamin D, but your brain also associates the color white with happiness. So, unless it's a dreadful gray day, you'll start to feel better just like that.

Letter to cocaine

I always remembered that Elton John had to write a ‘letter to cocaine’ in his rehab program. By writing a farewell letter to his bestie (the coke), he would find it easier to leave the addicted era behind.

Thelma explains that people who carry a Big Secret (like a child from another man than your husband, just to name a cross street) can even be physically weaker because the secret weighs heavily on them. If you write off the secret and burn the letter later, it will weigh less on you.

Little blob of pink

We unconsciously associate the color pink with positivity. Hence the expression ‘looking through rose-colored glasses’. Thelma had some of her subjects write with a pink pen, and they were much happier than the rest of the group. So just write with a pink pen again. And use hearts as the dot on the i and so on.

Bending arms

Did you know that you make more impulse purchases when you shop with a basket than when you shop with a cart? With a shopping cart, you stretch your arms, and your brain associates an outstretched arm with a defensive gesture. This helps you avoid certain impulse buys. A basket dangles in the crook of your arm, and a bent arm represents nurturing, wanting something (think about how you hold a baby), and then you are much more open to new things.

In the supermarket, it might be better to choose a cart, but in a creative process, it can help to bend your arms.

Up high

Choose at a meeting preferably the highest chair (or turn your chair a bit) or stand up when you want to say something. Height is associated with power, hence. Another tip; always have photos taken from a frog's perspective. People who are photographed from below are more likely to be invited for a job interview and also score better on dating sites with this kind of photos. ’It's just a little tip.

I went to a bar in Rome where I was quite impressed by Carlo, the owner. Until one day, after having daily macchiatos there for six months, Carlo came to give me a farewell kiss and turned out to be just as small as I am. What turned out? That bar was incredibly elevated at the back, giving him a lot of power and dominance.

Spread your arms

When people sit wide with their arms spread apart, legs stretched out in front of them, or possibly leaning forward on the table, you produce more testosterone than when you are curled up in a small space. So make sure to have space around you in a meeting and take it in with your body. According to scientists, it is even advisable to make broad gestures with your arms for a few minutes before your performance because that testosterone will give you a more powerful presence.

Serve sweetness

If you want someone to do something for you, it helps to give them something sweet. A piece of chocolate or a macaron. This makes the other person more inclined to do more for you. I suddenly see all those cappuccinos that that terrible manager always fed me in a whole different light, I must say.