5 Reasons Why We Like 5 Reasons Why Analyses

5 Reasons Why We Like 5 Reasons Why Analyses 5 Reasons Why We Like 5 Reasons Why Analyses Whether you are a writer or a reader, finding out why such lists and specifically numbered lists, e.g., The Top 5., are so appealing and effective should be very instructive, interesting and enlightening.So, why do we love lists and why, in particular, five-item lists?The Ten Commandments Two Lists of FiveEver since Moses two sets of five rules, weve paid special attention to lists. Lists of rules, lists of reasons, lists of types and categories, lists of admonitions and mistakes, lists of ingredients, lists of ways of doing things- the list of these lists is endless and unlimited, just like ur fondness for lists that are shorter, rather than longer.Again, perhaps because of the influence of the Bible, twelve in a list (e.g., 12 Steps, Santas 12 reindeer, the 12 Days of Christmas and the names of the 12 jurors in jury trials) seems to be ur preferred maximum (except in various other religious scriptures in which the 84-fold path to enlightenment, the 92 virtues or other such unwieldy lists get transmitted down the ages and through the catechisms of those religions faithful).The Stunning Dominance of 5The popularity of such numbered lists is truly staggering. Googling 5 ways to in quotes, for more restricted and specific results, I got 89,400,000 results. Thats a lot, but then there are also all of the five ways to Google listings- thats abedrngnisher 28,500,000 returns, for a total close to 120,000,000 and for just one digit 5., a.k.a. five.Heres how other numbers in the parade of N ways to (and N reasons why, in parentheses) fared in a Google search. Notice the prominent peaks at 5, 10 and 15- a pattern that is not only easily explained, but, as will be suggested below, explained in a way that accounts for the precise number of Mosaic commandments and the popularity of 5 and multiples of 5the 1/one way to 84,350,000 (22,839,000)2/two ways to 115,800,000 (13,940,000)3/th ree ways to 73,400,000 (18,570,000)4/four ways to 29,350,000 (7,480,000)5/five ways to 117,900,000 (39,600,000) (note the spike here)6/six ways to 24,340,000 (9,890,000) (note the plunge here)7/seven ways to 35,370,000 (14,280,000)8/eight ways to 33,600,000 (2,470,000)9/ways to 11,050,000 (2,058,000)10/ten ways to 125,000,000 (22,000,000) (note the spike here)11/eleven ways to 5,841,000 (1,833,000) (note the plunge here)12/twelve ways to 6,113,000 (1,355,000)13/thirteen ways to 3,558,000 (5,150,000)14/fourteen ways to 3,552,000 (368,800)15/fifteen ways to 8,602,000 (1,286,000) (note the spike here)16/sixteen ways to 1,450,000 (279,600) (note the plunge here)100/one hundred ways to 18,866,000 (2,129,000) inserted here for comparison with smaller digits.Note that, in my investigations above, 5 is the champ, with a combined total of 162,900,000, just ahead of the Mosaic 10, which tallied 147,000,000. Both 5 and 10 handily whupped all the others, in addition to scoring more than three t imes the tally for the main reason why and ten times the real reason why (for which I must confess a fondness).Why Lists?So, why this fascination with numbered lists- and, in particular, why lists of five? Responding to the first, more general question, here are five (yes, five) reasons for the popularity of such lists1. Appearance of simplification A list of Ten Rules for Effective Management seems to simplify the complex task of managing an enterprise. A list of cell-phone accessories simplifies ordering them. A list of Ten Commandments simplified the task of keeping desert tribes in line. Lists simplify sorting types and tasks.2. Appearance of exhaustiveness and exclusiveness If the items in the list do not actually exhaust and cover all of the types, categories, reasons, causes, etc., they can be made to appear to by identifying them as the top or the main ones. That makes our mental universe seem tidy. Exhaustively and, in addition, exclusively identifying listed factors, categ ories, etc., facilitates one-at-a-time, independent control of each.An ideal list will always have these two characteristics- the set of items in it will be both exhaustive, i.e., complete, with no important items omitted, and exclusive, i.e., with no overlap or interdependence of the individual items.For the purposes of control and management, the more exhaustive and exclusive the list, the better. A list of coin toss outcomes, e.g., heads or tails is such an exhaustive (no possibilities other than heads or tails) and exclusive (cant be both heads and tails) classification and has both of these characteristics, which define what is called a partition.Lists lacking one or both of these characteristics can still be useful, but will be much less so in connection with control or prediction, e.g., a partial or overlapping client list of top job requirements (an example of overlapping listed requirements being attention to detail, precision, accuracy, effective data organization). This i s a point further explored in 4, below.3. Appearance of manageability of information Short lists facilitate management of our memorization and memories of the items in them, of our presentation of the subject in a list format, and of their prioritization.Best for this purpose are mnemonic lists, e.g., the ABCD rule the dermatologists use for recognizing youve got a potentially lethal melanoma on your back (asymmetry, border that is irregular, color variation and diameter exceeding 6 millimeters). 4. Appearance of control A list item is frequently a control tool. From both a logical point of view and for the purpose of professional (self-) control, the following is a bad list of The (Top) Five Ways to Impress Your Boss be well groomed, keep your shoes polished, make a good impression, study Latin and display personal pride. It is badly flawed because, clearly, if it is a list of the (top) five ways, it omits many other equally or more important factors, e.g., always be punctual, show initiative.It also contains interdependent factors (being well groomed, displaying personal pride and having polished shoes), a problem that confuses the control issue through partial redundancies of effort. Make a good impression is useless as an item in a list of factors that will impress a babo, because it offers no guidance whatsoever as to how to control or do precisely that, and, worse, is presented as a subtype of itself, i.e., make a good impression as one way of making a good impression.Finally, study Latin may impress a Vatican recruiter, but probably no other (prospective) boss and therefore will not consistently be a job-outcome control factor (potentially backfiring if you work at a Greek restaurant). A top reason should not apply for only a minority of the target audience.5. Appearance of comprehensibility Lists make us feel that we understand and that we can communicate that understanding easily. Menus, which, after all, are merely lists, perfectly illustrate this fe ature of lists. All of the N Ways to Do Y, N Reasons for Z article titles that pop up in Google searches function the same way as the cover page of any restaurant menu, except that the former are designed to serve professional and personal objectives, rather than food. But for the objective of comprehensibility, the lists cant be too long. One reason I no longer pay attention to elementary particle physics is that the list of particles and their subtypes got too long (twelve types of elementary fermions. viz., six quarks and six leptons six bosons, fourteen hypothetical fermions and bosons, and a plethora of hadrons, baryons and mesons- altogether, far too many to remember, much less understand.Why 5?As for the second question- why are lists of five items the most common?- the list of reasons for this, of course, also has five items.The main overarching reason is that we are primates with pentadactyl extremities- five fingers on each hand and five toes on each foot, themselves branc hes off the pentagonal starfish-like overall symmetry of our bodies (one head, two arms, two legs- total five). So, counting based on 5 is natural, and as irresistible as base 10 arithmetic, i.e., our 10-finger-based powers-of-ten calculation method, e.g., 10, 100, 1000.Presumably, pigs, which are highly intelligent, would, in virtue of having tetradactyl appendages, i.e., 4 toes per foot, use base-8 math and follow The Eight Commandments (although in George Orwells pig-ruled Animal Farm the original list comprised exactly seven commandments).With that main reason understood, the specific five reasons why human writers and readers like 5 Reasons Why articles become obvious. These five reasons are that we have a(n)thumbindex fingermiddle fingerring fingerpinky fingerIf you, despite the compelling evidence and cogent argumentation Ive presented, are inclined to disagree with this 5-item analysis, allow me just one question.What other explanation could you possibly consider giving a hi gh-5?

Ten uncomfortable deeds that will pay off forever

Ten uncomfortable deeds that will pay off foreverTen uncomfortable deeds that will pay off foreverT.S. Eliot was clearly onto something when he asked, If you arent in over your head, how do you know how tall you are? The very act of stepping outside of your comfort zone is critical to your success and well-being.Our brains are wired such that its difficult to take action until we feel at least some stress and discomfort. In fact, performance peaks when were well out of our comfort zone. If youre too comfortable your performance suffers from inaction, and if you move too far outside of your comfort zone you melt down from stress.Peak performance and discomfort go hand in hand. Stepping outside of your comfort zone makes you better, and it doesnt have to be something as extreme as climbing Mount Everest. Its the everyday challenges that push your boundaries the most, none of which require a flight to Nepal. Step out of your comfort zone and embrace these challenges.Get up earlyUnless y oure a morning person, getting up earlier than usual can take youwayout of your comfort zone. However, if you get up well before you have to start getting ready for work, its worth it. It gives you an opportunity to collect your thoughts and mentally prepare yourself for the day ahead, rather than just dashing from one activity to another. It also gives you the opportunity to eat a good breakfast and exercise, both of which have well-known health benefits.Accomplish an impossible goalFew things compare to the exhilaration of accomplishing something that you didnt think you were capable of. These achievements fall so far outside of your comfort zone that they seem impossible. Maybe its running a marathon or giving a keynote speech at a convention. These accomplishments are worth every bit of suffering you endure to achieve them because once you finally do it, you feel invincible and carry that triumph with you forever.MeditateIts easy to get stuck in your comfort zone when youre so b usy that you dont slow down enough to really think about what youre doing and why youre doing it. Meditation is a great way to break this cycle and also happens to be very good for your brain. Harvard neuroscientist Sara Lazar found that meditation creates important physical changes in your brain. It increases brain density in areas responsible for self-control, focus, problem-solving, flexibility, and resilience. Best of all, these changes are lasting.Focus on one thing at a timeFocusing completely on a single task is a big risk- the risk of failing at something to which youve given your all. Thats why its so uncomfortable. The alternative- multitasking- is a real productivity killer. Research conducted at Stanford confirms that multitasking is less productive than doing a single thing at a time. The researchers found that people who are regularly bombarded with several streams of electronic information cannot pay attention, recall information, or switch from one job to another as well as those who complete one task at a time. When you try to do two things at once, your brain lacks the capacity to perform both tasks successfully. When you spread yourself too thin and chase after every bright, shiny thing that catches your eye, youre missing out on an important opportunity for personal growth.VolunteerIt would be great if everyone volunteered for purely altruistic reasons, but we all have demands on our time and have to set priorities. The problem is that after a long workday, volunteering can get pushed down somewhere below watching epic fail videos on YouTube. Volunteering is a powerful experience that feels good and expands your network at the same time. Have you ever met anyone who made volunteering a priority and wasnt changed for the better by the experience? Neither have I.Practice public speakingYouve likely heard that the majority of people fear public speaking more than death. In fact, 74 percent of Americans have glossophobia (the fancy word for a f ear of public speaking). So, yes, its a challenge. Its also worth it. Whether youre addressing five people around a table or an audience of five thousand, becoming a better public speaker can be a huge boon to your career.Talk to someone you dont knowUnless youre an extreme extrovert- or a politician- talking to new people probably makes you at least somewhat uncomfortable. Do it anyway. Social interaction is good for your mood (even when you dont like it), expands your network, exposes you to new ideas, and boosts your self-confidence.Bite your tongueSure, it can feelsogood to unload on somebody and let them know what you really think, but that good feeling is temporary. What happens the next day, the next week, or the next year? Its human nature to want to prove that youre right, but its rarely effective. In conflict, unchecked emotion makes you dig your heels in and fight the kind of battle that can leave you and the relationship severely damaged. When you read and respond to you r emotions, youre able to choose your battles wisely and only stand your ground when the time is right. The vast majority of the time, that means biting your tongue.Say noResearch conducted at the University of California, Berkeley showed that the more difficulty that you have saying no, the more likely you are to experience stress, burnout, and even depression. Saying no is indeed a major challenge for many people.Nois a powerful word that you should not be afraid to wield. When its time to say no, avoid phrases such asI dont think I canorIm not certain. Saying no to a new commitment honors your existing commitments and gives you the opportunity to successfully fulfill them. When you learn to say no, you free yourself from unnecessary constraints and free up your time and energy for the important things in life.Quit putting things offChange is hard. Self-improvement is hard. Scrounging up the guts to go for what you want is hard, and so is the work to make it happen. When things ar e hard, its always easier to decide to tackle them tomorrow. The problem is that tomorrow never comes. Saying youll do it tomorrow is just an excuse, and it means that either you dont really want to do it or that you want the results without the hard work that comes along with it.Bringing it all togetherStaying in your comfort zone means stagnation. Just as an oyster only makes a pearl when its irritated by a grain of sand, no one has ever accomplished anything remarkable when comfortable.Travis Bradberryis the award-winning co-author ofEmotional Intelligence 2.0,and the cofounder ofTalentSmart.This column originally appeared at LinkedIn.Have you found success stepping outside your comfort zone? Tell us about it on The Climb.

I stopped saying sorry at work and heres what happened

I stopped saying sorry at work and heres what happenedI stopped saying sorry at work - and heres what happenedAs a kid, I always thought that if I apologized for an action, even one that wasnt my fault, it would somehow diffuse the situation and make everyone happier. It became such a force of habit that I hardly noticed when I said it.Someone bumped in to me on the street spilling my ice cream? Im sorry, I wasnt looking. A classmate got in trouble for losing a book? Im so sorry that happened. Why I was taking on the responsibility of making everyone happier did not really dawn on me until much later.This apology addiction continued well into adulthood as I spent the early part of my careerapologizing. As a lawyer in private practice, I was beholden to mora senior attorneys, who were beholden to clients. Apologies galore Then, when I went the non-profit route in consumer protection, there were apologies mixed in to daily conversations, with my supervisors, our constituents, and pre tty much everyone under the sun. Somehow, I believed that a situation could not possibly be rectified until I apologized for it. What an unbearable burdenYears later, when Istarted my own business, this need to be liked even by people who were directly paying for my services became a serious issue. In my first year of practice, an old college friend hired me to help her find anew job. When I was discussing my fees, I told her my rates but apologized immediately and said she could pay what she wanted considering our friendship. What? Why would I do that, Elana? I should and will pay you your rate.Record scratch. I realized how I was devaluing my work and myself by apologizing for asking to be compensated properly. How could I possibly help other women feel confident in their own abilities if I didnt feel confident in mine?This perspective shift helped immensely as I began to counsel professional women through career transitions. Most acutely, I landsee it when clients struggle to neg otiate offers orrequest promotions. The fear of being perceived as aggressive or too threatening runs deep and, unfortunately, counter to professional growth. The desire for approval, mixed with a dose ofimposter syndrome, prevents many women from going after what they want and demanding their rightful due.When people ask about my services now, I no longer pause before stating my rates. If someone cant afford them and I feel I have something to offer, then accommodations can be made. But, I dont and wont apologize for wanting to be paid.Take a random day and count how many times the phrase Im sorry exits your lips, particularly in the workplace. I bet you will be shocked. Then, consider whether an apology was warranted in each of those circumstances or whether it was simply a reactive way of mitigatingconflict or unnecessarily absorbing the blame. Yes, it might feel awkward at first and yes, you might need to change your approach and your vocabulary tomore appropriately address the situation. You may also start noticing that your world is filled with chronic apologizers. Be unapologetic about telling others to stop the unnecessary apologizing.This post originally appeared onFairygodbossand has been reprinted with permission.