Showing results by author "Adam Alter" in All Categories

Anatomy of a Breakthrough is a groundbreaking guide to optimising your life, overcoming obstacles, and reaching your full potential. All of us go through episodes of simply being stuck, whether we're trapped in a thankless job, wrestling writer's block, muddling through a midlife crisis, or fixing a fraying friendship. The resulting malaise is often chronic, dangerous to our mental health, and with severe consequences to our success and development. What if there was a proven plan to get unstuck and break through?

How many times have you checked your phone today? Why are messaging apps, email and social media so hard to resist? How come we always end up watching another episode? In recent years, media and technology have perfected the lucrative art of gaining and holding our attention. This extraordinary feat has changed the behaviour of billions of people, and especially the young: by current medical standards, we are experiencing an unprecedented global pandemic of addiction.

Why are people named Kim, Kelly, and Ken more likely to donate to Hurricane Katrina victims than to Hurricane Rita victims? Are you really more likely to solve puzzles if you watch a light bulb illuminate? How did installing blue lights along a Japanese railway line halt rising crime and suicide rates? Can decorating your walls with the right artwork make you more honest? The human brain is fantastically complex, having engineered space travel and liberated nuclear energy, so it's no wonder that we resist the idea that we're deeply influenced by our surroundings.