13 Great First Date Questions Awkward silence is the killer of romance. The only thing worse is bad small talk. I want to help you banish both from your dates. According to the research, a flexible communication style—engaging questions, open-mindedness and easy back and forth is most effective. Below I have outlined my favorite first date (or second, third or fourth) date questions and conversation starters. Help you to more quickly gauge if you have a connection or not.Get to know their personality, history and areas of compatibility more quickly.Encourage great conversation. Special Note: These are not meant to be pelted at your date in an interrogational manner. For some of these questions I have included “Don’t Ask” questions. Best First Date Conversation Starters: 1. This is my go-to question and comes up very naturally if someone talks about a) being busy b) what they do for a living c) any hobbies. 2. If it is around the holidays or one of your birthdays you can talk about presents. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11.
A Man’s Guide to Black Tie: How To Wear A Tuxedo Nothing makes a man feel as sharp and debonair (and makes the ladies swoon) as when donning a tuxedo. Unfortunately, “black tie” is an often misunderstood dress code, leading men to end up looking more like Lloyd and Harry in Dumb and Dumber than 007. You can thank rental outlets and high school proms for a lot of the misconceptions. When you’re in the business of renting tuxedos, you want people to believe that they are appropriate for all kinds of events, and that means they can sometimes be turned into a novelty item. Fun for the whole family and good for some laughs, no doubt — but it’s certainly not the refined elegance needed for a true black tie event. While seeing “Black Tie” on an event invitation can be intimidating, the good news is that getting black tie right isn’t hard! In fact, the strictness of the dress code makes it one of the easiest outfits you’ll ever plan. Black Tie Basics First, a few things you need to know about black tie attire: 1. 2. 3. The Tuxedo Jacket The Trousers
16 Things I Wish They Had Taught Me in School I am 28 now. I don’t think about the past or regret things much these days. But sometimes I wish that I had known some of things I have learned over the last few years a bit earlier. That perhaps there had been a self-improvement class in school. And in some ways there probably was. Because some of these 16 things in this article a teacher probably spoke about in class. Some of it would probably not have stuck in my mind anyway. But I still think that taking a few hours from all those German language classes and use them for some personal development classes would have been a good idea. So here are 16 things I wish they had taught me in school (or I just would like to have known about earlier). 1. This is one of the best ways to make better use of your time. So a lot of what you do is probably not as useful or even necessary to do as you may think. You can just drop – or vastly decrease the time you spend on – a whole bunch of things. 2. You can do things quicker than you think. 3. 4. 5.
How to Take the Perfect Selfie Your selfie is your first impression. It might sound silly, but the pictures you put on your profiles, your website and your social media send cues to others about who you are and what you stand for. You want your pictures to be: True to RealityFlatteringAuthenticPositive That is exactly what I’m going to teach you how to do in this post…and, as always, we are going to do it using science! 1. Where should the camera be when taking a picture? When someone is viewed from above they are seen as weaker and in need of protection. The opposite happens when you see someone from below. Action Tip: Take control of the messages your picture is sending out to the world by thinking about the angle of your camera. 2. Fronting is a body language term that describes where your body is facing. You will notice that President Obama’s campaign uses pictures like the ones on the left. If you’re loving this article. 3. Do you look fake in your picture? Let’s talk about the universal expression for happiness. 4.
How to Develop Gratitude for Mindfulness Gratitude is considered by some as the greatest of all emotions that can be cultivated for mindfulness. Recent studies are beginning to show that gratitude has a unique relationship with wellbeing, and can explain aspects of wellbeing that other personality traits cannot. An attitude of gratitude goes hand in hand with mindfulness. You’re grateful when you’re aware of what you do have rather than what you don’t. Gratitude is a skill that you can develop. Think of something you’re ungrateful for.Perhaps you’re ungrateful in your job, a relationship, or your place of residence.Now think of all the things that are good about it. When someone has hurt you, or you’ve done something wrong, you have a conflict in your mind. Try this approach to begin allowing in forgiveness: Understand that hating someone else doesn’t actually hurt that person at all.List all the beneficial things that have emerged from a situation. An alternative practice would be to do a forgiveness meditation.
Around The World In his photo series “Follow Me To”, Russian photographer Murad Osmann is taking the viewer on an intimate journey together with his girlfriend who’s leading him around the world. The pose is almost the same in every picture: the girl never shows her face, and the guy almost never lets go of her hand. The settings change from Moscow to London to Venice to a number of different locations in Russia, revealing their passion for travel. “For me photography is about capturing things other people might miss. It’s a way to communicate,” says Murad. Website: muradosmann.com How to Ask Someone Out (… and get an enthusiastic “Yes!”) Have you ever had to ask someone out? It’s a harrowing, anxiety filled, awkward experience. And worst of all, no one has ever given us any real guidance on the subject. So it’s no big shock that asking someone out is a big social challenge. People have a bigger problem with asking someone out than asking for a raise at work. Is asking someone out really that hard? Not if you know … The Quick Roadmap for Asking Someone Out Even if you’ve never done it before. Even if you’re scared as hell. Step #1: How to Talk to Anyone We hate small talk. “So, what do you do?” Ironically, though we hate small talk, we cling to it like a shipwreck victim on a life preserver. Because it’s all we know. Here’s what you can do instead: Ask them for advice. Above all, just start talking. Step #2: Find Your Diving Board The easiest way to feel confident asking someone out is to come in prepared. The formula you can use to ask someone out is: Here are some examples: Step #3: The Ask
Scientists Get a TASTE of the Transcendent “The potential for a mystical experience is the natural birthright of all human beings.” - Stanislav Grof “Man may intellectually argue himself in and out of anything. But he can only defend it as long as he has not experienced the fact that he is wrong. Once he has come to the interior realization that a situation is not right, he cannot rest until he does something about it.” – Manly P. “Its persuasiveness seems to hinge on an experience of this interconnection…” – Richard M. What has been generally termed a “mystical experience” is something that has been reported throughout time and across disparate cultures. Found this gem tucked away in the corners of the web and figured it deserved its day in the sun. “The Archives of Scientists’ Transcendent Experiences (TASTE) is an online journal devoted to transcendent experiences that scientists have reported. Neat, huh? Now, all of the accounts featured at that TASTE site are of the “spontaneous” variety. Falling Awake A Taste of Kensho 1.
Tap-Dictionary Tap the button at the bottom of the screen Choose “Add Bookmark” and Save Tap the Bookmarks button at the bottom of the screen Click Edit Navigate through your Bookmarks until you find the "Tap-Dictionary" bookmark and select it. Tap the address in the second field and click the x in the right to clear it Tap the word "Address" and then select "Paste" Click the Done key on the iPhone's keyboard Tap twice on Done You've installed Tap-Dictionary, we hope you enjoy it. Once it's loaded, simply tap on a word to see a bubble with its definition. You can select it now from your bookmarks list to test it on this page. Do You Know When Someone is Attracted to You? “How do I know if someone is attracted to me?” I get asked this question all the time and I get it, wondering if someone is interested in you can be super nerve-wracking. Whether or not the attraction is mutual, being uncertain about what type of relationship you have with someone is a recipe for awkward situations. I want to save you from the awkwardness of unknown attraction. Here are three scientific clues that someone is attracted to you: They Enter Your Personal Bubble People are physically drawn to those that they are attracted to. There are three ways people will enter your personal bubble: They stand 0-18 inches from you. I often see this when a date at a restaurant is going well. If you have suspicions that someone might be attracted to you, observe how close they position themselves near other people and compare that to how they behave around you. You Can Feel It Literally. However, not all touches mean the same thing. Watch for Their Eye Gaze Success!
The Power of Habit: Make & Break Habits with the Habit Loop For better or for worse, our habits shape us. A good habit is a strong ally in our journey to becoming the men we want to be, while a bad habit acts like a millstone around our necks. (Want to know why? Fortunately for me, a book was published earlier this year that highlights the latest research by psychologists and neuroscientists on the science of habit formation. Below, we take a look at the science of habits and how we can hack the Habit Loop in our lives to break bad habits and make better ones. Our Brain on Habits Just beneath our gray and squiggly cerebral cortex sits a small piece of neural tissue called the basal ganglia. The inspiration came after researchers noticed that mice with injured basal ganglia developed problems with learning how to run through mazes. During the first maze runs, mental activity in the mice’s cerebral cortex was high. Since the initial research with mice, researchers have found that habits work pretty much the same way with us humans. The Habit Loop