In The Meaning of Life: A guide to finding your life's purpose, I explain in detail how life works and how you can use that information to figure your purpose out for yourself. However, it doesn't mention another major question, "Who am I?" Because I wanted to keep the book focused on helping you figure out your journey, I didn't spend any time c...
Read MoreReciprocity is one of the three near-universal societal ethics (the others being fairness and minimal harm; they are near-universal since they sometimes conflict with each other). Reciprocity has evolved in social animals over millions of years—cooperative behavior increases survivability, while anti-social behavior hinders it. Therefore, groups...
Read MoreThere are plenty of times when you might feel so bad about the world that you might want to blame and hate someone for it. There are plenty of things to be angry or sad about in the world if you look for them. When it comes to broad issues without a specific perpetrator, though, you might begin to blame yourself as if you had some part in it. Ma...
Read More"Be the best." You hear it all the time. Constantly striving to be the best in anything that you do. But that's not realistic in a broad sense: you can't be the world's greatest chef, baseball player, parent, video game player, driver, singer, and dancer. Quite the contrary, you are constantly balancing everything you do—getting better in one a...
Read MoreBecause the meaning of life has been asked by billions of people, dozens and dozens of conclusions have been drawn about what it is for them and for society. While meaning is personal and unique to each individual, many people have come to conclusions about what the meaning of life is for all humans or all life on Earth. The Meaning of Life: A gui...
Read MoreYou know the situation: you do everything you're supposed to do, you do everything the right way...and then bad things happen to you. How is that fair? Why do bad things happen to good people? This is a tough one to answer since it requires giving what might seem to be bad news (does that make me the bad thing happening to a good person reading t...
Read MoreYou may experience down periods in your life where you wonder what it all means. A tragic loss, a major failure, or a brutal setback can deflate your enthusiasm and hope for your future and success. Alternatively, you could just enter a lull period where you lose your zest for life and motivation. Let that deflation consume you, however, and you...
Read MoreWe all want to succeed in this world. The thrill of being good at something and the feeling of fulfillment and significance of accomplishing something is unparalleled. But what can you do to be successful? What qualities do you need to develop to achieve your desired outcomes in life?
Read MoreMany people ask about the intrinsic meaning of life and the universe. Here, we're assuming that they mean inherent purpose or significance. This is a difficult question since if they mean it literally (i.e., literally in the universe), then the answer is no. If they mean ingrained in all living organisms (i.e., in all life), then the answer is y...
Read MoreEveryone has asked, "What have I been doing wrong in my life?" at one point in time. It's often hard to see the mistakes that you might be making since you are in the moment. While it's hard to give general advice that's universally applicable, there are several common self-limiting activities that, based on probability, you’ll likely be partakin...
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