Performing an unethical act for others’ benefit does not make it right. However, this is a difficult ethical conundrum because it is the ultimate “ends justify the means” argument when you’re doing something wrong because someone needs it. This is the “would you steal a loaf of bread to feed your family” kind of situation that most people would...
Read MoreWhen people talk about “higher” meaning or “greater” meaning, many of them know intuitively that it is about meaning outside themselves. But then they draw the logical conclusion that the more people they impact, the more meaning they’ll have and so they think that the best goal to have is to “change the world” or “save the world” for the...
Read More“I know my worth.” “All humans have value.” “What is this property value?” “Of what value are you to me?” One of the biggest challenges with language is that the same word can mean several different things, and several different words can mean approximately the same thing. As such, the word “value” is used a lot when discussing relationships,...
Read MoreDo people have faith? I’m not referring to religious faith (though we’re going to include some data on that because religion is an indicator of faith) but rather a more secular definition: the belief in the potential for positive outcomes without or despite evidence. Looking at the news, it seems like we’re losing faith—of all forms. For example,...
Read MoreThis is a difficult post because, ironically, my intentions for it might not lead to the outcome that I desire. Which is, not coincidentally, the point of this post: good intentions don’t always result in the best outcome possible. They can help, but—and if you’ve read my posts emotions, you already know this—when combined with the wrong beliefs,...
Read MoreThere are two approaches to maximizing your abilities: These differences occur in two ways: you can do the same activity consistently to master it vs. doing it in a different way to be able to perform under a variety of conditions, or you can do one activity to improve in one area or various activities to improve in multiple
Read MoreYou might not be taking a midnight train going anywhere, and you might not be a small-town girl or a city boy, but Journey’s message should still resonate with you: don’t stop believing. Everyone talks about the meaning of life as if it’s some great mystery about what they should be doing with their lives, but in doing so they miss the...
Read MoreOne of my favorite quotes of all time is, “You cannot eliminate a habit; you can only replace it.” It’s a great insight around how to change your life, as most people try to quit things cold turkey only to fail when the triggers that cause them to do that habit come around. For example, if you started smoking or drinking during times of stress...
Read MoreTwo of the biggest issues in life are figuring out what you want to do and then building the motivation and discipline to do it. The first is well-known in psychology as “paralysis by analysis” (or, more colloquially, analysis paralysis). Life goals are the ultimate option-heavy decision because there are an infinite number of ways to live your...
Read MoreEvery organism is biologically wired to behave in ways that have a good probability of survival. Whether by design (i.e., a higher power) or simple, random chance (i.e., “the ones that were not wired that way are dead”), organisms have certain instinctual behaviors that they perform to survive, grow, and reproduce. From beavers building dams to...
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