Living where you live, and being brought up how you were - you have a certain perception of choice... but, not everybody shares that perception. 

Sometimes even the smallest event can change how we perceive something for the rest of our lives. Today, we talk a bit about that... this one is for (or, from) the birds! 

It's said that we make roughly 35,000 decisions a day... that's an awful lot of decision making. In the course of our lives we will make millions of decisions. How do our decision making processes and abilities change over time? 

Age, experience, context, and a near-endless stream of other factors play a role... so, let's dive into that... 

As humans, we're always looking for answers to life's questions... why am i here? Who am i? Where did i leave my keys? What do you want for dinner?

Our brains are wired to find solutions, and to find them fast - but what's the cost? The path we take to find our solutions not only influences the answers, it also shapes who we are and how we interact with the world around us. So get ready for more questions than answers, and see if you can solve them all! (hint: you really cant...) 

It's a fact of life we can't escape - we all make snap judgements based on appearances. It's a part of who we are - both our own appearance and how we are influenced by the appearance of others. 

So let's explore that and find out what we can do to better understand our own implicit beauty (and other) biases.

Ever wonder why some people are organized, and some are "all over the map" ? 

Organization can be a sign of conformity and level-headedness, but disorganization of your environment can also be a sign of some great (and useful) qualities. 

Stopping to smell the roses - or taking a pause to reflect and appreciate what you have in your life - plays a big role in how we deal with disappointment in our lives. How we deal with disappointment can shape our mood, attitude, and response to engage with the world around us. 

So how does this all work, and what can you do to better deal with disappointment?

Creativity is often thought of as an inherent trait - something we're born with. Research shows that it's much more than that, and like much of who we are - is a direct functioning of our past and present environment. "Well," you ask, " how can I become more creative?" - 

Time to put on our creative lens and get a closer look at who we are when we explore creativity. 

Language - the backdrop for all of our communication with the world, whether written, verbal, or otherwise, plays a significant role in shaping who we are; but how often do we actually think about the part it plays?

Today we dig into some pretty interesting perspective on language, and share this link to the TED talk with Lera Boroditsky. Check it out after the pod for an incredible look at languages outside of your own, and how different cultures and languages actually perceive the world differently as a result. It's pretty fascinating.... and elegant... and strong... 

Daydreamining is a skillset that is often thought to be detrimental, but the wandering mind actually provides us many great benefits - psychologically, physically, and creatively. So, what do we know about it, and how can we get better at allowing daydreaming to be a part of our lives? 

Humour, and our ability to find it and exploit the advantages it brings to us, is a major factor in developing who we are. It plays a role in regulating our hormone levels, drives positive physicald and mental health benefits, and it helps us socially as well. So, let's explore more about that, and about some of the things you can do to work on your funnybone and bring a little more light-heartedness to your life. 

Expectations play a huge part in how we perceive and interact with the world. They're informed by our past, and they set ourselves up for our future. Regardless of what goals or ambitions we might have, it can all be thrown off course by expectations that don't line up with the path that we're on... so... what can we do about it? 

There are some natural processes to sleeping, yet we all have our preferences of when and how we sleep. For some, it's getting up early that helps start their day. For others (like myself), the late evening productivity feels right. But really - which is best? 

We'll talk today a bit about how our sleep cycles are informed by our biology, physiology and the world around us. Let's also not forget the power of a nap. 

For most, we don't often think too deeply on our names and the role they play in our lives. Depending on your situation this may be a little different, but our name is often just thought to be a part of who we are - whether we like it or not. 

Yet, your name plays a pretty significant role in shaping the world around you - especially at a young age as you develop your placement in social circles at school and through extracurricular activities, or even within your community. Your name is at the start of most interactions, and is often what you leave people with as you sign off a letter or an email. It both creates and leaves an impression. 

So, let's explore a little more about... whatever your name is. 

Weekends can be a great time to escape, find a little downtime and kick back with a good book. 

Reading - and specifically reading physical books - can have a significant and lasting impact on our mental and physical wellness. It can also determine our path in life through influence on our schooling, college admissions and standardized testing, job applications and testing processes, and much, much more. 

So, let's explore a bit about reading and what role it plays in our lives... 

Many of us have nicknames. Whether it's for ourselves or others, a form of endearment or a sarcastic quip, perhaps even a loving dig at a close friend or family member... or sometimes, an inappropriate or derogatory one. No matter the intent or background, nicknames and our perception of them impact our view of those close to us, and of ourselves. 

While the things we experience for ourselves are a critical part of shaping who we are, so too are the stories associated with our experience. Storytelling is a fundamental human trait, and is how we share about our lives, how we convey our experience and emotion, or how we tell ourselves about the day ahead. 

The stories others share can have that same impact too. Today, we'll explore storytelling in what is sure to be a part one of many stories to come...  

Friendships play a critical role in forming who we are. We learn about forming friendships from a young age, and those experiences shape who we connect with and how we interact. Our early friendships can shape a lot of our perspective and direction in life, and even today we rely on these interactions for a lot of the connection and positive feedback we receive. 

But friendships can be complex and challenging. So what makes a friendship, and how does it impact not only our social wellbeing, but also our mental health and even our physical fitness? 

In an extension of yesterday's episode on where our food preferences come from, today we'll get into more about the impacts food has on our mental health. We often consider the physical implications of a poor diet to our overall wellness - including our mood, focus, and perception of the world around us.

We'll learn a few quick tips on what we can do to make changes to our diet, and we encourage everyone to take a moment and chat with your doctor (because that's important too!!) 

They say you are what you eat... but is that true? How do our food preferences, and our food choices, impact our every day life. 

Today and tomorrow, we'll explore how our food preferences develop, can be altered, and what it does to our physical and mental well being. Nutrition is a far more important factor than you may think.