Desire

Desire

Your Beliefs can Squelch, Enhance, or Create Your Desires

Nathanael Garrett Novosel, November 19 2025

Most people are familiar with the idea of “sour grapes”, which means that you put something down after you realize that you can’t get it. The term originates from Aesop’s Fables, where a fox tries to get delicious grapes only to realize that he cannot reach them. Upon this realization, he says to himself, “They were sour, anyway.” Obviously, he...

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Desire

Motivation and Discipline

Nathanael Garrett Novosel, November 12 2025

There are two things you need to work toward your goals in life: desire and belief. Desire is the driving force, motivating you to take action; belief is the sustaining force, keeping you going through adversity. While desire and belief don’t guarantee success, they do maximize your willingness and ability to take action toward

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Desire

Where Differences of Opinion Come From

Nathanael Garrett Novosel, August 13 2025

Are you the kind of person who can’t stand others who disagree with you? After all, wouldn’t they come to the same conclusion as you given the same information? If they don’t, how dare they! The most famous concept describing this is Hanlon’s Razor, which officially posits, “Never attribute to malice that which could be adequately be explained by...

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Desire

Lack Drives Desire

Nathanael Garrett Novosel, August 6 2025

Life can seem strange sometimes. People point out that you always want what you can’t have and take what you do have for granted. People point out that it would be nice to be happy all the time and always have what you want and need. It seems illogical. But that’s a modern interpretation of the world based on the fact that billions of people...

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Desire

Good "Never Enough" Versus Bad "Never Enough"

Nathanael Garrett Novosel, July 2 2025

There are many psychology practices and philosophies that revolve around the idea of “being good enough”—i.e., the fact that you don’t have to work yourself to death and please everyone all the time to be worthy of love. On the other side of the “not good enough” spectrum, there are people at the top of their fields who strive to continue to...

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Desire

Is Never Being Satisfied a Good Thing or Bad Thing?

Nathanael Garrett Novosel, April 30 2025

“Always be content; never be satisfied,” is a statement that I like to use to explain the ideal attitude that you should have toward life. It’s a succinct way to explain the (seemingly paradoxical) relationship between two things that you need to do simultaneously: you want to always be grateful for what you have (which should make you feel...

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Desire

You’re Just Looking for an Excuse

Nathanael Garrett Novosel, April 16 2025

I always wondered why there are so many holidays. Yes, I know that the primary stated reasons are to commemorate a person, event, or idea and to take a moment to remember them and what significance they have to your life. People can get caught up in their day-to-day lives and neglect things like their health, their relationships, and their...

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Emotions

All Bad Habits Are Attempts to Manage Your Emotions

Nathanael Garrett Novosel, March 26 2025

Do you have a bad habit that you wish you could kick? Maybe you smoke, drink, eat, gamble, or self-gratify too much? What is causing that, and what can you do about it? Before explaining the causes and what you can do, I have to preface this post with the fact that there are dozens and dozens of techniques to eliminate bad habits. Professionals...

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Desire

The Strive

Nathanael Garrett Novosel, March 12 2025

You know the cliché 80s montages, right? The one where the protagonist has an urgent goal, a burning desire, and the belief that, with enough work, they can succeed. So they buckle down and put in the work until they are ready, at which point the day of the text or competition arrives and they succeed. Audiences love those kinds of movies because...

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Desire

Meaning Well Doesn't Equal Doing Well

Nathanael Garrett Novosel, November 13 2024

This 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,...

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