One would think — i.e. me — that attempting to cure one\u2019s sadness with shopping isn\u2019t the best strategy. Dog sick? Buy a Snickers. Rough day at work? Buy a watch. Just doesn\u2019t seem right, does it? Well, according to new research<\/a> by Scott Rick and Katherine Burson of Michigan\u2019s b-school, I may be wrong — in fact, it looks like retail therapy is the real deal.<\/p>\n Here’s the rub. In one study, the researchers showed a sad video to participants, and then offered them a snack to buy. The snack buyers reported lower sadness scores — after the video — than those who chose not to buy a snack. In a second experiment, the researchers tested the effects of buying versus browsing: the buyers, it turns out, reported lower sadness scores than browsers. So why the changes in sadness? Buying things, the researchers suggest, can help to restore our sense of control. \u201cShopping is a natural, easy vehicle for choice,\u201d Rick says. There are other situations that afford opportunities to choose and restore personal control, but they may be less tempting and harder to find than the mall.”<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n \n YOU GO GIRL<\/a><\/p>\n \n Microsoft, when compared to, say, Apple, may not be hippest brand in the world, but things are looking up for the software giant. According to a new Reuters\/Ipsos poll, 50% of respondents — young adults between the ages of 18-29 — said Microsoft was a cooler brand than it was a year or two ago. For comparison, 60% said Apple had increased its cool, 47% Twitter, 42% Facebook. One reason for Microsoft\u2019s rise in the cool poll is their recent marketing push (blitz?) around its new Surface tablets, suggests Gerry Shih. But will \u201ccoolness\u201d actually translate into sales? Hard to say, but Microsoft has a tough hill to climb: iPads outsell Surfaces by tens of millions, and Google owns about 70% of global smartphone market. Yet, Microsoft, or at least its marketing department, has a lot to look forward to. The increase in coolness shows their marketing efforts are working.\n <\/p>\n \n COLD FEET<\/a><\/p>\n \n Our brains are ill-suited to entrepreneurism. We’re programmed to choose safety, even at the expense of joy. That means we’re far more likely to focus on the potential perils of failing than we are the happiness and financial freedom that might accrue to us if we were to take the plunge and start a new business, writes psychologist Ryan T. Howell. Unless we can learn to train our brains to evaluate risk and reward more realistically, we’ll remain trapped in a life of risk-aversion that keeps us from taking the steps that might make us happy. For more, check out this HBR article<\/a> from the March issue. \n BONUS BITS:<\/a><\/p>\n \n How To Fix A Personal Brand That’s A Total Clich\u00e9 (Fast Company)<\/a> \t\t<\/p>\n One would think — i.e. me — that attempting to cure one\u2019s sadness with shopping isn\u2019t the best strategy. Dog sick? Buy a Snickers. Rough day at work? Buy a watch. Just doesn\u2019t seem right, does it? Well, according to new research by Scott Rick and Katherine Burson of Michigan\u2019s b-school, I may be wrong […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7402,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-643576","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/643576","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7402"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=643576"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/643576\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=643576"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=643576"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=643576"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Microsoft is Getting Its Groove Back (Reuters)<\/a><\/h4>\n
Why Our Fear of Unhappiness Hold Us Back (Psychology Today) <\/a><\/h4>\n
\n— Andy O\u2019Connell<\/em> <\/p>\nStop Saying “I’m Passionate and Hard-Working”<\/a><\/h4>\n
\nBreaking Through a Growth Stall (HBS Working Knowledge)<\/a>
\nSexy Celebrity Ads Aren’t Good for Sales (Business Insider) <\/a>\n <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/img><\/a>
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