Did your parents ever force you to participate in an activity you dreaded as a kid? Whether it was music lessons, a team sport, or something else, most of us were required to spend time doing something we didn’t want to do. Many people have false assumptions about success, especially when it comes to their children. They […]
Better Decisions, Starting Now
There’s a common misunderstanding regarding the relationship between reason and emotion. People think that, in forming a worldview or making a decision, you can be motivated either by deep feeling or cold, emotionless rationality. In fact, reason and emotion are intertwined on a neurobiological level. For example, if you think about something terrifying that happened to […]
How to Hit Reset
How can you minimize distractions? By building them into your schedule. The Pomodoro Technique is a time-management method based on the idea that frequent breaks improve mental agility. By breaking down your work into 25-minute chunks, you can procrastinate less and concentrate better. Here’s how the technique works: set a timer for 25 minutes. Work […]
How to Avoid Burnout
With many people still working from home, the line between work and leisure has grown increasingly blurry. But the human brain and body aren’t built to work at full power for long stretches of time. We work much better when we oscillate between effort and rest. “Rest” doesn’t just mean sleep, by the way. Rest […]
Is Shame a Silent Epidemic?
Shame is a universal emotion, but no one likes to talk about it. This reluctance keeps us from telling our own stories and prevents us from listening to others share their experiences. One reason shame is so powerful is its ability to make us feel alone. Bad feelings thrive in silence and secrecy. But when […]
What Is Stephen King’s Secret?
Horror writer Stephen King likes to compare writing to telepathy. When you read a book or watch a movie, you are seeing it through your eyes, but also through the writer’s eyes. It’s a meeting of the minds. King first learned this principle in childhood. One year, as a kid with a terrible ear infection, […]
You Can Talk to Anyone
First impressions are not just about what you say, but also how you say it. Almost every facet of your personality is evident from your appearance, your posture, your tone of voice, and the way you move. How to Talk to Anyone contains 92 easy-to-use techniques that will help you enhance your communication skills. Here are […]
Can Drugs Make You More Religious?
Twenty-seven percent of Americans consider themselves to be spiritual. But they shy away from organized religion and places of worship. The younger generation, it seems, is looking for something different. And experiments with psilocybin at schools like Johns Hopkins and New York University may be pointing the way toward a new mysticism based on ancient […]
Why Is This Ancient Philosophy Trending?
Stoicism teaches us everything must end. But the philosophy of the Stoics has enjoyed a cultural revival in the work of self-help gurus like Ryan Holiday, who has imparted ancient wisdom in his sessions with NFL coaches, hip-hop musicians, and Silicon Valley’s elite. In his new bestseller, Lives of the Stoics, Holiday shows how the life […]
Improve Your Self-Image
Often, we imagine that if we do everything perfectly, we can avoid blame, judgment, and shame. But the truth is that, more often than not, perfectionism makes us feel bad about ourselves. The best way to acknowledge your mistakes and imperfections is to practice self-compassion. Treat yourself the way you’d treat a good friend, offering the […]
