Everyone knows that people love a good story. It helps them learn, remember things, and stay engaged in a presentation or conversation. But why is it such a more impactful way to convey information than simply stating facts, such as “2+2=4”? Because the story is a journey, and effective engagement, influence, and relationship-building follows th...
Read MoreThis might seem like one of the most profound questions anyone ever asked themselves: “How do I find greater meaning in life?” After all, it sounds like a grand mystery that will never be solved. Yet it has one of the simplest, most straightforward answers: help others. How can this be, and why is that the only possible answer that could ever ex...
Read MoreBeing the most controversial assertion in The Meaning of Life: A guide to finding your life’s purpose, this blog post is probably long overdue. There is a long-standing belief that the meaning of life is to be happy, and much of positive psychology is focused on maximizing happiness as a result.
Read MoreYou'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...
Read More"Money is the root of all evil." Yes, it's a cliché because people will do horrible things over money: lie, cheat, steal, fight, and even kill. It's also the source of much jealousy in this world: some people have it; some people don't; some people resent that others have more than they do (regardless of how much they have). But most anger, jeal...
Read MoreWhen people are busy with school, work, extracurricular activities, and keeping a roof over their heads, they might not have time for much else. Consequently, they might wonder what people are doing being reclusive and pondering their existence. After all, why do people think about the meaning of life instead of simply living? Well, there are tw...
Read MoreI start arguments with people all of the time over something that seems pretty clear since it’s explicitly stated in the Four Noble Truths: The Four Noble Truths are: life is suffering; the cause of suffering is craving; the end of suffering comes with an end to craving; there is a path which leads one away from craving and suffering.
Read More“Idle hands are the Devil’s workshop.” You might have heard this saying, which summarizes well the downsides of boredom. Boredom is an emotional response to the lack of novelty, challenge, or engagement coming from a person’s surroundings, and it is a very important mechanism for keeping people and animals engaged in play and other activities tha...
Read MoreWhen you’re feeling cynical, miserable, or pessimistic, you are likely to say words to this effect: “Life sucks, and then you die.” What causes this? Well, all life situations are a result of nature and nurture: so some of your life outlook is built in your genetics, and some of it comes as a result of your life experiences.
Read MoreAfter talking about how desires are a good thing despite some philosophies pointing out that they can sometimes cause you to to feel negative emotions, I thought I’d provide a short overview of how desires evolve over time. Whereas in my previous post I discussed how the endless number of desires you’ll have in your life is not necessarily a signal...
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