
Scientific Secrets for Self-Control
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Narrated by:
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C. Nathan DeWall
About this listen
Join an expert in self-control research for six engaging and inspirational lessons that shatter the myths about willpower and replace them with verifiable science that can make the seemingly unattainable finally possible. Packed with eye-opening studies, experiments, and exercises to strengthen your self-control when dealing with money, fitness, personal relationships, and more, this course will have you wondering why you ever doubted yourself.
Whether you're looking for new ways to resist temptation, make a strong first impression, or better control your emotions, this is your guide to understanding—and mastering—what is a frequently misunderstood subject. In clear language, your award-winning professor introduces you to the general theories behind self-control: what it is, how it works, and how you can take steps to improve it.
Among the topics you'll investigate:
- How researchers discovered that delayed gratification can lead to better individual well-being in everything from higher self-worth to less sensitivity to rejection
- One of the most influential theories about how self-control works - the limited resource model, which argues that self-control relies on limited energy that becomes depleted after use
- How scientists discovered the link between the prefrontal cortex and aggression, and how people at risk for violent anger show abnormalities in that region of the brain.
Alongside groundbreaking scientific findings and research, you'll get personal exercises, activities, and thought experiments you can use to practice strengthening your self-control skills to meet whatever specific goals you want to achieve.
Disclaimer: Please note that this recording may include references to supplemental texts or print references that are not essential to the program and not supplied with your purchase.
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Story
Language defines us as a species, placing humans head and shoulders above even the most proficient animal communicators. But it also beguiles us with its endless mysteries, allowing us to ponder why different languages emerged, why there isn't simply a single language, how languages change over time and whether that's good or bad, and how languages die out and become extinct.
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You'll Never Look at Languages the Same Way Again
- By SAMA on 03-11-14
By: John McWhorter, and others
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No Excuses: Existentialism and the Meaning of Life
- By: Robert C. Solomon, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Robert C. Solomon
- Length: 12 hrs and 7 mins
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What is life? What is my place in it? What choices do these questions obligate me to make? More than a half-century after it burst upon the intellectual scene - with roots that extend to the mid-19th century - Existentialism's quest to answer these most fundamental questions of individual responsibility, morality, and personal freedom, life has continued to exert a profound attraction.
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Good for even a non-existentialist
- By Gary on 07-24-15
By: Robert C. Solomon, and others
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The Great Ideas of Philosophy, 2nd Edition
- By: Daniel N. Robinson, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Daniel N. Robinson
- Length: 30 hrs and 11 mins
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Grasp the important ideas that have served as the backbone of philosophy across the ages with this extraordinary 60-lecture series. This is your opportunity to explore the enormous range of philosophical perspectives and ponder the most important and enduring of human questions-without spending your life poring over dense philosophical texts.
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A Hard Review to Write
- By Ark1836 on 11-20-15
By: Daniel N. Robinson, and others
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The Dead Sea Scrolls
- By: Gary A. Rendsburg, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Gary A. Rendsburg
- Length: 12 hrs and 21 mins
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Whether complete or only fragmentary, the 930 extant Dead Sea Scrolls irrevocably altered how we look at and understand the foundations of faith and religious practice. Now you can get a comprehensive introduction to this unique series of archaeological documents, and to scholars' evolving understanding of their authorship and significance, with these 24 lectures. Learn what the scrolls are, what they contain, and how the insights they offered into religious and ancient history came into focus.
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A comprehensive overview of the Qumran Scrolls
- By Jacobus on 09-25-13
By: Gary A. Rendsburg, and others
Good reminder too! I wish it was twice as long perhaps!
Very good crash course in self control
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Very good and provided good exercises.
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Disappointing
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Good Lecture
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What did you like best about this story?
This was informational. Often times, an author will make something informational longer than it needs to be, but this seemed just right to get a good (beginner) understanding without dragging. It was an excellent recap of relevant experiments and scenarios.Interesting, not too long
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Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?
If they can get it cheap like I did, sure. Otherwise, probably not.Would you recommend Scientific Secrets for Self-Control to your friends? Why or why not?
Probably not. It's more of a lecture series on a topic you would want to listen to / desire to listen to.What aspect of Professor C. Nathan DeWall’s performance would you have changed?
Nothing. He presented the material well and in a clean spoken manner.Do you think Scientific Secrets for Self-Control needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?
No. He covered the topic enough for me.Any additional comments?
Nope. I am exercising my self control.Okay for a lecture series
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Good reading. Unfortunately there’s not much material there in the field apparently. So 3-4 take home points. Maybe the course could be a sub-part of some bigger topic.
Could have been a short YouTube video
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Useful
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I thought Prof. DeWall did a good job on this series. It isn’t long and doesn’t go into the scientific studies in much detail because he is more interested in applying them. Some of the material may be review for many, though perhaps not everyone is familiar with the marshmallow experiment. Many of the previous reviewers seem to expect everyone has been exposed to this material already. It just isn’t true, and I applaud DeWall for not making that assumption in his lectures.
DeWall recommends many practical exercises for increasing your self-control, and learning to minimize the effects of fatigue. Things as simple as contemplating those things in your day that are going to require you to exercise self-control and planning to do those things when you have the energy to do them. Practicing different techniques for expanding your self-control, such as going a week using your non-dominant hand. Some of the stuff may sound like common sense, but then sometimes that needs to be voiced too. I also think it has allowed me to understand and perhaps even empathize with more people who make “poor life decisions” as they say. I certainly did not feel as if this course was a waste of time.
Self-Control, Energy and Flexing your Muscles
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Insightful and informative
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