Tun Dr. Mahathir's Life of Reading #November 2021

There are so many things to disagree with Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad on politics but the man is a legend. In my opinion, his political stands are questionable yet his passion for the people* is admirable (I think he would be better off if he were to remain as Minister of Education in the previous government instead of being Prime Minister all over again). Set aside politics, which is a very discouraging subject nowadays, one thing that Tun Mahathir influences me the most is his love for reading. "I read books every day," he said during an interview with Reader's Digest for April 2020 cover magazine. He continues: "Reading is acquiring knowledge, and knowledge contributes toward your ability to tackle problems and your relationships with other people." He also said that reading gives him the substance to talk with some degree of authority.

At the age of 96, Tun Mahathir's mental sharpness can put many young people in their 30s to shame (Don't be one of them!). The term for this is 'super-agers' which refers to people in their 80s and above who have cognitive or physical function equal to that of people decades younger. One of the key factors is their lifestyle choices such as having a good habit of reading - and enjoying it. There are at least Five (5) Mental Benefits for seniors who enjoy reading books: 1) Enhancing memory; 2) Sharpening decision-making skills; 3) Delaying onset of Alzheimer’s and Dementia; 4) Reducing stress and anxiety; and 5) Help to sleep better. Well, you don't have to wait for your senior years to cultivate the habit of reading books and reap the benefits, you can start now. Actually, you MUST start now. The earlier the better. "Any time that I am free I read," remarks Tun Mahathir, "I cannot imagine doing nothing." Legend! 

#ServeToLead #PreachTheWord #LeadersAreReaders #GrowingLeaders #WhyReadingMatters #TunDrMahathir #LetsMakeReadingCoolAgain

To read my summary-review of these books for #1Book1Week November 2020, click titles below:

1.  The Greatest Fight: Spurgeon’s Urgent Message for Pastors, Teachers and Evangelists (2018) by Charles H. Spurgeon
2. I Believe In The Holy Spirit (1965) by Maynard James
3. The Corinthian Agenda (1982, 2004) by Michael Green
4. Payoff: The Hidden Logic That Shapes Our Motivations (2016) by Dan Ariely                            

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THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

Payoff: The Hidden Logic That Shapes Our Motivations (2016) by Dan Ariely, Book Review

Dan Ariely is one of my favorite authors and speakers on behavioral economics, namely, someone who studies the combination of economics and psychology to understand how people decide and why they behave the way they do. I’m an observer. I love to predict people’s behavior and so, this is a fascinating subject to me. I’ve read Predictably Irrational and listened to The Upside of Irrationality and (Dis)Honesty audiobooks - I recommend it all. This short book (just 103 pages) is part of the TED Books series which is a compliment and extension of Ariely’s TED Talks on this subject.

“Human motivation is not simple,” writes Ariely, “but as we understand it more, we’ll better be able to handle ourselves, our work, our relationships, our employers, and our employees. Knowing what drives us and others is an essential step toward enhancing the inherent joy - and minimizing confusion - in our lives.” Every day we try to motivate ourselves. How to create meaning in my current work now? Why I should or shouldn’t quit? What is my end goal? If you’re in the people business or any kind of relationship, surely you spend lots of time trying to motivate others too. How to makes this partnership works? Why does this or that person enjoy life more than others? What are the determining factors of our organization's productivity? These questions and more - if you care enough - are part of our everyday life. As the author puts it: “We are all part-time motivators.” But the problem is that motivations for each person are complex, variant, and subjective. Some are driven by money or achievement or happiness or purpose or a sense of progress or as often the case, a mix of all of these and more. Plus, although Ariely shares valuable insights from the psychological experiments (Bionicles, Origami, and Intel experiments are particularly interesting) that he outlines in the book, we need to keep in mind that real life is not like a lab that we can easily predict but it is both an ugly and beautiful, messy and orderly world. Ariely can be too general and simplistic in his assessments. Keep this in mind as you explore the subject.

Having said that, there are universal and essential motivations that drive human behaviors. For example, a sense of meaning, connection, identity, and individuality. Something simple like giving a compliment or acknowledgment for a job well done can be a strong drive of motivation for most people (on the other hand, it takes a little thing like negative-aggressive feedback can kill even the tiniest motivation!). Some of our conventional wisdom about motivation are also challenged in this book. For example, the idea that giving a large amount of money or bonuses as an incentive, in the long-term, “can backfire and make people less driven.” To know more, read the book or/and watch his TED Talks on YouTube. I also recommend listening to his podcast interviews on Spotify.

#ServeToLead #LeadersAreReaders #GrowingLeaders #MotivationMatters #DanAriely #Psychology #TEDBooks #LetsMakeReadingCoolAgain

To read my other #1Book1Week book reviews, CLICK HERE

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THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

The Upside of Irrationality (2010) by Dan Ariely, A Book Review

The Upside of Irrationality: The Unexpected Benefits of Defying Logic at Work and at Home (2010)
by Dan Ariely

"Human beings are irrational," said the author. We thought (mostly unconscious) that we are objective, rational, and logical. We take pride in the ‘fact' that we make decisions based on reason. When we decide to invest our money, buy a home or books, choose restaurants for dinner, or pick a medical treatment, we usually assume that the choices we make are the right ones. Ariely observes, "We are all susceptible to a formidable array of decision biases. There are more of them than we realize, and they come to visit us more often than we like to admit." This book attempts to show us the many ways in which we act irrationally while thinking what we're doing makes perfect sense, and how this irrational behavior can actually be beneficial as long as we use it the right way.

You see, sometimes being irrational has its advantages (as the author keeps on emphasizing throughout the book). In our optimized world trying to make 100%, rational decisions all of the time seems tempting, and most people would probably adopt a robot-like decision-making ability in a heartbeat if they could. Ariely argues that this isn't the best solution, for much of what makes us irrational is also what makes us human and allows us to connect with one another. "Rather than strive for perfect rationality, we need to appreciate those imperfections that benefit us, recognize the ones we would like to overcome, and design the world around us in a way that takes advantage of our incredible abilities while overcoming some of our limitations," said Ariely.

In this book, he asked rational-vs-irrational-based questions such as: Why do large bonuses actually make us less productive? Why is revenge so important for us? Why there is such a big difference between what we 'think' will make us happy and what 'really' makes us happy? How to enjoy your work? Why do we overvalue what we make? Why 'my' ideas are better than 'yours' regardless of their quality and brilliance?  Why do we get used to things even though it is sometimes irrational to do so? Why does online dating fail? Why we shouldn't act on our negative feelings? Why do we respond to one person who needs help but not too many? And many more. Some questions are common sense, but sometimes we don't really know what's the thinking and motives behind those actions and responses. Here, Ariely, professor of psychology and behavioral economics, social scientist, answered these questions based on his (and partners') researches and experiments. These may sound technical and somewhat boring to some – but not so. If Ariely wrote it, he wrote it with clarity, easy to understand, and fun. It's not overrated if I say that this book is FUN to read.

I want to write a chapter by chapter summary of this book, but I found that a responder, Poonam @goodreads.com had done a great job doing it. So I would like to refer you to Poonam's review [CLICK HERE]. Dan Ariely's first book Predictably Irrational (2008) was a success but I haven't read it. I bet it is as good as this one. I plan to read The Honest Truth About Dishonesty (2012) on the subject of lying in the near future. If you like Malcolm Gladwell's or Adam Grant's books, you will surely like Dan Ariely's… Perhaps you'll love Ariely more. Like I do.  

[P.S: If you want to have a ‘taste’ of Dan Ariely, watch him on YouTube and TED Talks videos.]

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.