Better Mind, Better Life!

Santa Claus is surely one of the most beloved figures of modern times. But did you know that he was perhaps even more beloved long before he acquired a fur-trimmed red suit, a big round belly, and nine flying reindeer to pull his sleigh?

Believe it or not, the jolly Old St. Nick we know and love today actually took more than 1,600 years to develop!

For many years, one of our family's Christmas traditions has been a retelling of the history behind the colors and symbols of Christmas. Each year we start with the color green and the symbol of the Christmas tree, then we move on to the color red and Santa Claus. Santa really is a fascinating historical tale, one that starts small and then builds and builds and builds! I hope you enjoy learning the story as much as we enjoy rehearsing it each year!

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Here are some additional resources for you that can enrich the history of Santa Claus:

• Patara, birthplace of Nicholas (via Google Maps)
• St. Nicholas Center: The Story of the Three Daughters
• Voice of the Martyrs: The Persecution of St. Nicholas
• BeliefNet: St. Nicholas Resurrects Pickled Boys!
• The Night Before Christmas by Clement Clarke Moore
• NPR: Why Does Santa Live In The North Pole?
• Coca-Cola History: Five Things You Never Knew About Santa Claus and Coca-Cola
• CBC Radio-Canada: The Real Story Behind Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
• Youtube: “Here Comes Santa Claus” by Gene Autry

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Thanks so much for listening to Better Mind, Better Life! I genuinely hope this content helps you improve your life in some way. Now it’s your turn to help someone else. Here’s how you can do that. Think of the one person you know who would most benefit from listening to this episode today. Now simply share it with them, and consider including an encouraging note explaining why you sent this episode to them specifically. You never know how that one simple act can help someone else have a better life! And please SUBSCRIBE/FOLLOW and leave a review. That helps you never miss an episode and it helps me get noticed by others who are searching for new podcasts!

Everyone—you, me, your friends, family members, co-workers, neighbors, and even celebrities—gets lonely. It’s a nearly universal experience.

It’s also nearly universal to not be super clear on why we feel lonely, how serious that can be, and how to move out of loneliness, especially if we feel ‘stuck’ there because of extenuating circumstances.

In this mini-series, I invite you to join me as I explore the continuum of loneliness and belonging, what the latest psychological research has to say, and also how that compares and contrasts to what the Word of God has to say.

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Every week on Better Mind, Better Life, I combine insights from psychology, theology, and more into an easy to digest, bite-sized, 10-minute motivational podcast to give you practical, useful tips that will not just change the way you think, but that will give you the tools and strategies you need to literally change your life.

Never miss an episode and follow Better Mind, Better Life on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, iHeartRadio, TuneIn, Amazon, Podchaser, and more!

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In a podcast that claims to focus on exploring the very best insights of psychology THROUGH the lense of Scripture, it was inevitable that I would eventually want to explore something called the Enneagram. This is part two of the two-part mini-series. In the previous episode, I explored the origins and history of the tool, and reviewed it from a strictly psychological perspective. In this episode, I review the enneagram from a theological perspective.

If you are interested in looking into some of the resources mentioned in this episode, check out the work of Dr. Gary Gilley here and the research of Daniel J. Castellano here.

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Please take a few seconds to answer the super brief Better Mind, Better Life Listener Feedback survey. Your feedback will help me to continue improving the Better Mind, Better Life podcast!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Every week on Better Mind, Better Life, I combine insights from psychology, theology, and more into an easy to digest, bite-sized, 10-minute motivational podcast to give you practical, useful tips that will not just change the way you think, but that will give you the tools and strategies you need to literally change your life.

Never miss an episode and follow Better Mind, Better Life on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, iHeartRadio, TuneIn, Amazon, Podchaser, and more!

You can also connect with me via

ericwilbanks.com

LinkedIn

Twitter

Facebook

Instagram

Even if you aren’t a baseball fan, you’ve at least heard the name of the ‘comedian’ who said it: Yogi Berra.

Yogi was entertaining, both on the field as one of the greatest catchers in baseball history, and off the field because of his Yogi-isms—the unique and witty observations he became famous for.

And, let's be honest, we love to be entertained! Part of the joy of entertainment is that we can benefit from the fruits of someone else's labor without having to do the work ourselves! I can enjoy baseball without having to practice and sweat every day. I can enjoy a world class guitar player without having to spend 8 hours a day making my fingers bleed. I can enjoy a martial arts competitions without getting punched or kicked or thrown around.

But ... there is a dark side to all this entertainment.

In many ways, we’ve come to believe that world-class athletes, performers, etc. simply HAVE talent, and we forget the blood, sweat, and tears it took to develop their excellence. And when it comes to developing our resilience in life, that mindset really matters.

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Please take a few seconds to answer the super brief Better Mind, Better Life Listener Feedback survey. Your feedback will help me to continue improving the Better Mind, Better Life podcast!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Every week on Better Mind, Better Life, I combine insights from psychology, theology, and more into a short-form (5-10 minutes) motivational podcast to give you practical, useful tips that will not just change the way you think, but that will literally change your life.

Never miss an episode and follow Better Mind, Better Life on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, iHeartRadio, TuneIn, Amazon, Podchaser, and more!

You can also connect with me via

ericwilbanks.com

Twitter

Facebook

Instagram

In 2008, Dr. David Rock of the NeuroLeadership Institute developed a "brain-based model for collaborating with and influencing others." The model is based on neuroscience research that implies there are five very specific areas of the human social experience that influence our behavior by activating either our brain's reward or threat circuits. And when it comes to interacting with others, doing things that activate the threat circuits will cause you (and the relationship) to stumble every single time.

Stop stumbling. It's time you learned what the human brain really wants: a SCARF Sandwich!

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