Belief

Emotions

Wanting and Feeling Good vs. Wanting and Feeling Bad

Nathanael Garrett Novosel, July 6 2022

Longing.  We all know the feeling: having a strong desire for something you can’t have.  But do you have to feel that way?  Let’s explore. I’ve been criticized in the past for stating what is basically common sense—of course, I’ve also had my brushes with people who vehemently oppose my “hot takes” (go figure).  One of those biggest hot takes come...

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Truth

If Your Beliefs Don’t Benefit You, Change Them

Nathanael Garrett Novosel, June 1 2022

A belief is anything that you assume to be true.  A subset of beliefs is knowledge, which are things that you know to be true because you have proven them in your reality.  Ideally, people want to bring their beliefs in line with reality to prevent harm, pain, and disappointment.  However, all beliefs that something is not possible when it actually...

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Suffering

You Can Raise Your Emotional State at Will

Nathanael Garrett Novosel, April 27 2022

Many people think that their emotional state is almost exclusively due to the reality that they are experiencing.  After all, basic biology and psychology teach the classic “stimulus-response” model in living organisms where a change in the environment will trigger a response in the affected creature.  This is mostly true, as life forms that did no...

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Ethics

Facts vs. Principles

Nathanael Garrett Novosel, March 30 2022

You're in a heated argument.  You have your list of facts and principles, and so does your adversary.  Who wins?  Clearly, you believe that you do almost every time.  Of course, your adversary thinks that he or she has won almost every time as well.  So who's right?  Well, it turns out that most people in arguments have already drawn conclusions an...

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Support

Life’s 8 Major Fallacies

Nathanael Garrett Novosel, January 5 2022

Mistakes People Make in Their Search for Meaning When people are looking for their meaning in life, they will have trouble finding it if they make erroneous assumptions about how life works or what they’re supposed to do with the one that they’ve been given.  Unfortunately, such fundamental assumptions are held sometimes without people having thoug...

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Belief

5 Beliefs That You Need to Rethink

Nathanael Garrett Novosel, November 24 2021

As most people familiar with the Personal Growth space of a bookstore know, eliminating negative or limiting beliefs is a central focus of helping people feel and live better.  Most of those limiting beliefs come from two places: Now, most of those are about you, which is the focus of most self-help.  If you believe that you can't succeed at doing...

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Meaning

Disagreements Around Meaning

Nathanael Garrett Novosel, November 17 2021

Disagreements can be tough.  On one hand, you believe that you are right about your conclusions based on the information you have and the reasoning and ethics you are using to draw those conclusions.  On the other hand, the other person believes the exact same thing.  The reality is that you have different perspectives, information, and ethics, so...

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Meaning

The Fine Line Between Justification and Rationalization

Nathanael Garrett Novosel, August 18 2021

An important part of feeling meaning and fulfillment in life is being proud of your actions.  Your actions are how most people judge you, and those actions are judged based on both what the people see and how they perceive or interpret those actions.  You also judge yourself based on your thoughts, beliefs, desires, ethics, and actions, but you hav...

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Planning

You Didn’t Choose to Be Born...But Should You Act Like You Did?

Nathanael Garrett Novosel, July 28 2021

You might not have chosen to be born, but you're surprisingly better off acting as if you had. You know the scenario: a parent and child get into an argument.  There's usually some sort of pressure on the child to behave in some way or meet some set of expectations that results in the now-cliché response, "I didn't choose to be born!"  What is caus...

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Desire

Follow the Signs

Nathanael Garrett Novosel, July 21 2021

Signs.  They’re indicators that you should make a decision or take an action in life.  There are real, tangible signals in life like your emotions.  Your emotions are giving you critical feedback as to your current state of growth or harm.  If you’re happy, you’re healthy and growing; if you’re afraid, there is a danger to your health and safety.

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