Have you ever found yourself awake at night, reliving a conversation in which you said or did something weird? A big chunk of adult life is feeling unconsciously stuck in the past, consumed by difficult experiences that we haven’t processed properly. Unfortunately, a bout of insomnia isn’t the time to work it out. The thing […]
Level Up to Pro Parenting
Our kids are always watching, and they model their behavior on our own. That means if you get down on yourself for making a mistake, your kids will do the same whenever they mess up. We want to cultivate resilience in our kids, as well as a positive attitude. That means for their sake, you […]
How to be a Better Person
Who needs an evil sidekick when our own brains can do our dirty work? Beneath conscious awareness, our brains are programmed to always make us act in our own best interest. In theory, you may want to be selfless and help others. But evolution has its own agenda for your survival and dominance. Basically, the […]
Is the Internet Making You Miserable?
In theory, technology should make us all feel more connected and close. It’s easy to stay in touch with friends and family who live far away, and to meet new people who share our interests instead of just geographical location. We can like and subscribe, swipe right, leave a comment, or post a photograph from […]
How to Build Your Own Personal Assistant
Our brains are good at lots of things. But they’re not great at managing knowledge. With so much information coming at us from all directions, we need a system for capturing—and retrieving—information that’s important. Productivity expert Tiago Forte developed his “second brain” note-taking system to help him manage a complicated medical condition. It’s a method […]
Where Does Wellness Start?
Sure, there are some questionable claims in the alternative health industry about the healing power of thoughts. But from a scientific perspective, there is strong evidence that our imaginations, feelings, and thoughts can cause biological and chemical changes in our bodies. No, you can’t magically wish away a disease with positive thinking. But your attitude […]
Turn Off The Struggle Switch
It’s natural to label emotions as good and bad. But joy and anger are just feelings. One is pleasant and the other is not, but both will pass eventually. It may be more helpful to look at your emotions as a series of shifting urges and sensations without categories. That’s because labeling an emotion as […]
Learn to Ask the Right Questions
When we were kids, we happily asked any question that popped into our heads. But as we grew older, we stopped asking questions in order to hide our ignorance. When did we become so fearful of asking silly questions, or wrong questions, or annoying questions? This avoidance has high costs, particularly when we refuse to […]
How to Start the Day Right
Everything we do is influenced by our emotions. We can’t always control how we feel, but we can choose the emotions we wish to focus on—or ignore. Start by selecting five emotions you want to focus on for the rest of the day. This core collection of emotions should be positive and affirming. That doesn’t mean […]
How To Do Almost Anything
Did you know that your brain is capable of learning new things without ever having to experience them firsthand? This is the magic of visualization, which you can use to prepare for any challenge. Neurologically speaking, actions and thoughts have the same effect on your brain and its neurotransmitters. This means that practicing something in […]