Sahil Bloom Profile picture
May 9 14 tweets 4 min read Twitter logo Read on Twitter
The Spotlight Effect

(a visual thread) Image
The Spotlight Effect is an egocentric bias. Image
The phrase Spotlight Effect was coined by a group of psychologists in 2000. Image
The Spotlight Effect explains why we feel that there is a spotlight shining on us in public and social situations. Image
We may never turn it off, but we could all benefit from dimming the spotlight. Image
Spotlight Dimming Strategy: Awareness Image
Spotlight Dimming Strategy: Be Interested Image
Spotlight Dimming Strategy: “So What?” Image
There are two big mistakes in life:

1. Worrying about what other people think about you.
2. Believing that other people think about you in the first place.

Fight back. Image
If you enjoyed this, follow me @SahilBloom and join 350,000 who read my newsletter each week. Image
If you enjoyed this, RT the first tweet to share it with others.

I liked the “visual thread” style. More to come if people find it to be an engaging format.
For everyone asking, the visuals and design are from Off Menu. offmenu.design
Harsh Truth: Most people don’t really care about you.

This is liberating—stop worrying about what others think, be yourself, and live according to your values.
Basically, the Spotlight Effect says we think people care about us WAY MORE than they actually do.

I used to worry about every little thing I did, thinking that people would scrutinize or judge me.

This places a huge and unnecessary drag on growth.

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More from @SahilBloom

May 11
Friendship and social connection are essential for health.

Loneliness kills... Image
This is a serious problem.

Lack of social connection is associated with a significant increase in all cause mortality risk.

Loneliness and social isolation have been exhibited to increase dementia risk by 50% in older adults. ImageImage
This chart from the U.S. Surgeon General report shows the connectivity between social connection and health.

Social connection impacts biology (stress hormones, gene expression), psychology (purpose), and behaviors (activity, nutrition, sleep).

These in turn impact health. Image
Read 8 tweets
May 7
A recent survey looked at trends in American values.

The results are shocking... Image
The WSJ survey of 1,019 adults was conducted with NORC at the University of Chicago, an independent research organization.

Respondents were asked whether specific values were "very important" to them.

The analysis looked at changes since the first WSJ survey was run in 1998.
The surface level findings...

Values with declining importance:

• Hard work
• Having children
• Community involvement
• Religion
• Patriotism

Values with increasing importance:

• Money Image
Read 8 tweets
May 4
How to overcome self-doubt and imposter syndrome.

The Character Invention Technique: Image
We all struggle with some degree of self-doubt and fear of failure.

It's common among ambitious high-achievers, who, by definition, are constantly putting themselves in situations that are on the edge of their current competency level.

Here's how some of the best overcome it:
By the late 2000s, Beyoncé was already a global superstar.

Few were aware that she struggled with nerves and anxiety.

In 2008, to combat these struggles, she created Sasha Fierce, a stage persona that embodied the characteristics she would need to perform in front of millions. Image
Read 16 tweets
May 2
Researchers created "heat maps" of the physical response to a range of positive and negative emotions.

This is fascinating… Image
In 2013, a team of researchers conducted a study to track the physical response to emotional experiences.

The 701 participants were shown a range of emotion-inducing stimuli.

They were then asked to color areas of increased/decreased bodily activity on a blank human silhouette. Image
Based on the self-reported physical experiences, the researchers created aggregated "heat maps" of the response to the emotional stimuli.

Red areas indicated increased activity.

Blue areas indicated decreased activity. Image
Read 7 tweets
May 1
When in doubt, zoom out. Image
Growth never takes the same form twice.

Zoom out and learn to appreciate your growth in all its unique forms. Image
You live your life zoomed in.

Zoom out to reclaim perspective. Image
Read 4 tweets
Apr 28
A truth I’ve found over and over again in my life:

If you put yourself in rooms with great people, great things will happen.
When you’re early in your career, your primary goal should be to get in those rooms—to be around other bright, interesting people.

You don’t need to have a path or plan.

If you’re intellectually curious and spend time with great people, you’ll always find a way to win.
This isn’t about “networking” with people. I don’t like the term.

In fact, I think transactional networking is transparent and commoditized long-term.

This is about building genuine relationships, being interested, and creating value for others with no expectation of return.
Read 5 tweets

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