13 Incredible Psychology Facts That Can Change Your Life

1. Your favorite song is likely associated with an emotional event

Just think about your favorite songs throughout the years. I bet you can remember where you were, what you were doing, big events around that time, and the emotions that song made you feel.  

2. Music impacts your perspective

Most people don’t like to believe they can be influenced easily from outside sources, but the more you listen to a song, the more of an influence it has on your perspective. You will begin to have more of a perspective of the song’s writer or what the writer wants you to perceive.

3. The more you spend on others, the happier you become

In a world where it is just our nature to be selfish and want more and more for ourselves, it seems counterintuitive to think that losing what we have to give to others will make us happy. In fact, the act of giving triggers a feeling of abundance in our subconscious mind, whereas hoarding will make your subconscious think that there is a limited supply and cause you to feel fear, worry, and anxiety. In addition, spending doesn’t mean money. It means giving of yourself in a selfless manner.

4. Spending money on experience instead of stuff also makes you happier

Think about how little joy you received from all the excess junk that has piled up in your storage space. Now think about how much joy you had having a wonderful experience with family, friends, significant other, or even by yourself. I know you memories of awesome experiences that you will never forget. Not only are the good experiences great, but the tough or bad experiences are there to make you smarter, stronger, and appreciate the little things in life.

5. Kids are more high strung today than the average psych ward patient in 1950

I know, this is a crazy statistic. Literally. I’m not saying I know the exact answer to why this is the case, but I could take a guess and you can decide for yourself what you think. I believe this is the reason there has been a huge increase in cases of ADHD in children. Kids are getting an overabundance of stimuli from every direction. This stimulus can come from TV, video games, cell phone, Ipad, and I’m sure many other things. This abundance of stimuli gives children whatever they want at the push of a button. This doesn’t let kids process and problem solve. When they can get whatever they want when they want it, they will always be looking for something to fill that void instead of being able to delay gratification.

6. Certain religious practices lower stress

I’m not a religious person, but I certainly have beliefs. I’m sure many will disagree with me, but I believe that it doesn’t matter what religion you believe in, just as long as you believe in something bigger than yourself.

7. Money does buy happiness! But only up to $75,000 a year

Well, the truth is, being poor and in poverty can make life very difficult. So, it’s not accurate to say that money doesn’t buy happiness. The number is $75,000 because that is the amount where you will be able to afford all of your needs as well as some desires. I guess I know what number to shoot for.

8. Being with happy people makes you happier

It’s a fact that we will become just like the people we spend the most time with. This is an amazing thing if you can take advantage of it. Just know that this can be bad if you’re hanging out with cruel, unhappy, selfish people. So if you know the type of person you want to become, find people with those traits and spend as much time with them as you can. It’s amazing what you can do with inspiring and happy people on your side.

9. 18 to 33 year olds are the most stressed out people on earth

There’s always something to do when you’re this age. I wish it was all fun but most of the time this age means study, homework, working hard for that promotion, chores, kids. This is the age where we are trying to figure out who we age, so chances are we will have a lot of bumps in the road, mistakes, and failures. The good thing is, the older we get the wiser we become, and figure out what makes us truly happy.

10. Smart people underestimate themselves and ignorant people think         they're brilliant

Just a tip: don’t get the idea that once you are out of school or you hit a certain point, you know all there is to know on a subject. If you want to keep growing in life, you need to keep learning and gaining experience even after college. The knowledge you will gain from College is great, but experience trumps college any day.

11. Convincing yourself you slept well tricks your brain into thinking it did

I thought this might be hard telling myself after I just woke up extremely tired, “I Slept Great!!” Surprisingly, this works pretty well. Attitude is truly everything. It even tricks your mind.

12. When you remember a past event, you're actually remembering the last time you remembered it.

This is the reason our memory fades. The details become distorted and we remember less and less of the actual truth.

13. If you announce your goals, you're less likely to succeed

Announcing your plans to others satisfies your self-identity just enough that you’re less motivated to do the hard work needed to achieve your goal. So the only time you should talk about your goal is AFTER YOU ACCOMPLISH IT!!