Richard Nicholls

Netflix, Prime, a second car on the drive. Plenty of things promise to make us feel better. One of the most reliable is free and probably just down the road.

Monday Motivation! Unfed worry soon dies of starvation.

People who imagined eating 30 M&Ms, one at a time, then ate fewer real ones. Their brains had sort of already had them. Imagining the having can take the edge off the wanting.

Nobody learned to walk to impress their parents. Somewhere along the way, learning stops being about the thing itself and starts being about how we look doing it.

When Fiona Biddle's holiday was cancelled, she went on imaginary ones instead. Singapore one day, with the food, the music, the YouTube tour and the family group chat. Mexico the next. Then Greece. Honestly, genius.

Happy Friday!

Imagine discovering the dragons you've been hiding from were only ever shadows cast by your own thoughts.

A study of 1,500 holidaymakers found the biggest happiness boost from a holiday wasn't the holiday. It was the looking forward to it. Afterwards, happiness dropped back within about a week.

Getting up for a glass of water you don't want might be one of the more useful things you can do with a worry. The outside world can remind you there's more to think about.

Patience is less about gritting your teeth and more about trust. Trust that it's coming. And for the things you can't be sure of, trust that you'll be okay either way.

Monday Motivation! Worry does not empty tomorrow of its troubles, it empties today of its strength.

Studying a tiger tells you which long grass to avoid. Studying your own anxiety doesn't work the same way. Sometimes a thought just needs to be a thought.

If you're rubbish at waiting, it might not mean you're weak-willed. It might be that part of you doesn't quite trust the thing is actually coming.

"A big shout-out to Local Taxis in the North East for taking a firm stand against racism. The company says it still receives calls from customers demanding not to be sent a Pakistani or foreign driver. Its response is refreshingly straightf..." www.facebook.com/TruthAgainst... via Truth Against Hate

Ninety-nine NHS staff, traumatised during Covid, had ten times fewer flashbacks using a guided method built around Tetris. Here’s why a puzzle game might help a memory settle.

Seven Brides For Seven Brothers For Tax Purposes

Add "for Tax Purposes" to a movie: Made in Dagenham For Tax Purposes.

Happy Friday! #FeelGoodFriday

Kids who ate the marshmallow straight away weren't lacking willpower. In one study, children who'd just been let down by an adult waited about 3 minutes. Those with a reliable adult waited about 12. That's not self-control. That's trust. #MarshmallowTest

Someone comes to therapy for a fear of needles and leaves with a new job. It happens more than you'd think, and mind wandering might help explain why.

People who let their minds wander can come up with more uses for everyday things, but only for objects they'd already been thinking about. Staring into space has its uses, apparently.

Houston Airport cut baggage waits to 8 minutes. Complaints carried on. So they moved the gates further away. Same 8 minutes, but now 6 were spent walking. Complaints almost vanished. They didn't shorten the wait. They stopped it feeling like one. #Psychology

Monday Motivation! Life is a roller coaster. It has both ups and downs, and it’s your choice whether to scream or not.

Thinking about a faraway holiday made people forget more of a word list than thinking about one closer to home. Nobody's quite sure why.

I had a fess published a few years ago about how I couldn't connect with my lifelong pals cos all they wanted to do was booze and take coke. I told them how I felt, turned out they thought the same and now we climb Munro's on Sundays. Lads, talk to your pals.

Why do some waits feel endless? Research on queues found that empty time feels longer than occupied time, uncertain waits feel longer than known ones, and anxiety stretches everything. #Patience #Psychology

When your mind wanders, it's rarely to the beach. More often it's last week's argument or the email you haven't answered. Where does yours tend to go?

Happy Friday! #FeelGoodFriday

People focused on a dull commute were happier than people whose minds had drifted somewhere nicer. Maybe it's not the moment you need to escape!

A colleague was late every day because "the traffic was bad." But it wasn't bad. That's just what the traffic was like. The thing that needed to change wasn't the road. It was the picture in her head. #Expectations #Psychology

An app asked thousands of people where their minds were. In the shower, elsewhere 65% of the time. At work, half. Only one activity came in under 30%.

Monday Motivation! Do your little bit of good where you are; it's those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.

My wife's gran had a laptop that took five minutes to switch on. I was silently screaming "come on!" She was perfectly happy, off making a cup of tea. Same wait, different expectations. Turns out I was the one with the problem. #Patience #Mindset

An app asked thousands of people where their minds were. In the shower, elsewhere 65% of the time. At work, half. Only one activity came in under 30%.

Ever notice how your brain treats next month's plans like they're happening right now? Brilliant for holidays. Less brilliant for job interviews. And a bit annoying when the future doesn't turn up on time. #Patience #Psychology

Happy Friday!

People find two hours a week for therapy but not thirty minutes for a book. Was it really the time, or something else?

Four lines that sum up life pretty well, and a gentle defence of Norwegian heavy metal. Write both lists. You might be surprised.

So complain. Please do. If something isn't right, say so. But do it with purpose. And if it's the people around you doing the moaning, see if you can get them to dig a bit deeper and find an action, even if that action is realising they can let it go.

Three things each for work, rest and play, and why I genuinely love Mondays. Try it this weekend and see how next week feels.

Monday Motivation! Make a list of things you value. Make a list of things you do every day. Compare the lists. Adjust accordingly.

How do you want people to treat you? It's a simple question. Answer it, then see whether you'd pass your own test.

The people who wrote about their thoughts as well as their feelings didn't get ill. They got insight. And it made them feel stronger rather than weaker. There's a name for that. And the ones who just wrote the cold facts with no feeling? They got nothing.

If a relationship feels lopsided, it might be worth asking what you've been showing that person about how you expect to be treated.

Happy Friday! #FeelGoodFriday

Why looking after yourself isn't selfish, with help from the Sermon on the Mount and the UN. And a question about the one person you keep leaving off the list.

Over 120 people were asked to write about something negative twice a week for a month. The group who wrote only about how they felt reported more physical illness. Congestion, sore throats, fevers. I mean, what? Moaning can genuinely give you a blocked nose!