Most people are probably familiar by now the famous hypothetical question, “If you had three wishes, what would you ask for?” with the “trick answer” being, “To be happy.” Because that is what people are ultimately seeking (seek pleasure, avoid pain). John Lennon is credited with telling a story about completing a school assignment where they...
Read MoreI presented my findings on the eight drivers of someone’s sense of meaning and purpose in life, and someone immediately said that they could summarize it all in one idea: The Law of Attraction. Although the statement was incorrect—the Law of Attraction only covers 3-5 drivers at most (desire, belief, emotions, and as a stretch support and choice...
Read MoreWhen anyone writes a book, the first thing to figure out is what the book should be about. The second part is to figure out how to tell the story. When it comes to non-fiction specifically, that entails understanding what information to include, how to convey the information, and what you want the reader to take away from the information. As with...
Read MoreI’ve written several blog posts on the emotional formula that you can use to manage how you feel as effectively as possible: Emotions = Desires + Beliefs + Experiences To summarize, the point of these posts have been to help you identify where your emotions come from and how to change the drivers of those feelings so that you can manage your...
Read MoreYou should always listen to your feelings, and they are always being honest with you. However, you shouldn’t always trust them. How is that possible? Well, your feelings are a combination of your desires, beliefs, and experiences. Your feelings are constantly giving you feedback on all three. For example, if you are about to go skydiving and are...
Read MoreChoice and control are interesting concepts. There are things within your control and things outside of your control. When you have capability or control, you then have a choice as to what to do. You can go left or right. You can choose to take care of your phone or throw it against the wall for no apparent reason. When you have control, you...
Read MoreEthics are extremely interesting in that everyone looks for “universal truths” regarding ethics but struggle to find them. Many point to religious texts or other books with ethics and principles in them as guides, while others point to the science of causing someone physical harm or pain for examples of universal right and wrong. Unfortunately,...
Read MoreWe are grateful when we initially receive things and we know that it makes us feel good, yet we lose it over time. What gives? Unfortunately for us modern humans, emotions are an evolutionary system that tells the body and mind how to react to given stimuli. So, if there is a threat, your fear drive kicks in and you act accordingly. If you eat...
Read MoreThe Meaning of Life discusses the eight driving factors that cause a person to find meaning in their life. The first—because it is essentially the meaning of life—is growth. Granted, you need all eight, so it’s a slight oversimplification, but it is the primary point. So that naturally leads to the question of growth without meaning. So let’s...
Read MoreThere is a famous condition known as Munchausen’s. It is a fancy way of saying that a person is faking a condition to gain sympathy. There is another one, Munchausen’s by proxy, where a person pretends that a dependent has an illness so that they can take care of them and be a hero. As life becomes easier and less risky, people need to create...
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