Kelly McGonigal is a psychologist most known for study in achieving personal goals despite internal conflict. As a practitioner of meditation and other practices that help to achieve mental clarity and inner peace, McGonigal has authored several books that helped to further her cause and raise awareness. With many years of study, these best Kelly McGonigal quotes have gone down as some of the best ever recorded.
“A short practice that you do every day is better than a long practice you keep putting off to tomorrow.”
“Chasing meaning is better for your health than trying to avoid discomfort.”
“He loves productivity seminars because they make him feel so productive—never mind that nothing has been produced yet.”
“If the only thing motivating your self-control is the desire to be a good enough person, you’re going to give in whenever you’re already feeling good about yourself.”
“Let yourself notice whether the upsetting thought is an old, familiar tune—that’s your first clue that it is not critically important information you need to believe.”
Hey @avantgame look what book I got to sign at #aps16chi #superbetter pic.twitter.com/xjEXAdkO87
— Kelly McGonigal (@kellymcgonigal) May 27, 2016
“Meditation is not about getting rid of all your thoughts; it’s learning not to get so lost in them that you forget what your goal is.”
“People who first remember a time when they acted generously give 60 percent less money to a charitable request than people who have not just recalled a past good deed.”
“Self-awareness: the ability to realize what we are doing as we do it, and understand why we are doing it.”
“Simply put: Whenever we have conflicting desires, being good gives us permission to be a little bit bad.”
“Studies of brain activation confirm that as soon as you give participants permission to express a thought they were trying to suppress, that thought becomes less primed and less likely to intrude into conscious awareness.”
“The development of willpower -I will, I won’t and I want- may define what it means to be human.”
Crawling with kittens @bestfriends adoption pop-up. Heading to our SoHo cat cafe soon! pic.twitter.com/dh6dMyGFoB
— Kelly McGonigal (@kellymcgonigal) July 9, 2016
“The is a secret for greater self-control, the science points to one thing: the power of paying attention.”
“The stress response is more than a basic survival instinct. It is built into how humans operate, how we relate to one another, and how we navigate our place in the world.”
“Though our survival system doesn’t always work to our advantage, it is a mistake to think we should conquer the primitive self completely.”
“We all have the tendency to believe self-doubt and self-criticism, but listening to this voice never gets us closer to our goals.”
“We may try to push thoughts out of our minds, but the body gets the message anyway.”
“We need to separate the real rewards that give our lives meaning from the false rewards that keep us distracted and addicted. Learning to make this distinction may be the best we can do.”
#glidesf Sunday celebration with my mom visiting from NJ! pic.twitter.com/Xs9vxqNgp3
— Kelly McGonigal (@kellymcgonigal) May 22, 2016
“We think about our future selves like different people. We often idealize them, expecting our future selves to do what our present selves cannot manage.”
“When we’re stressed, our brains persistently mis-predict what will make us happy.”
“When you try to push a thought away, and it keeps coming back to your mind, you are more likely to assume that it must be true.”
“When your mind is preoccupied, your impulses—not your long-term goals—will guide your choices.”
“You choose to help others, you activate this state. Caring for others triggers the biology of courage and creates hope.”
“You’re going to abandon in a week, and there’s no scientific consensus about how much exercise you need to do.”
In this Google talk, Kelly McGonigal discusses the willpower instinct and two parts of our brain that pose challenges with meeting end goals.
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