It can seem difficult to begin a journey and see it through. After all, you have to find something you want to do, figure out how to do it, be willing to put in the necessary effort to pursue it, take action, face adversity, be resilient, and continue to work until you succeed. That is all true, but there are really simply two major hurdles to...
Read MoreUnderstanding what motivates you is one of the most important things you can do to improve your sense of purpose in life. When you have a driving force, you will continue forward no matter what it takes. But how do you know what motivates you? There are a few ways to determine this, but let’s start with what motivation is and what things can...
Read More“What do you want to be when you grow up?” It seems like a simple, innocent question. Asking a child this question is either just to make conversation, to get to know them, or to understand what they want to do so you can keep it in mind for where/when you can help them in the future. No matter what the reason, the result is straightforward:...
Read MoreOne of the most interesting ideas in positive psychology over the last couple of decades is the idea of “manufactured happiness”—that is, the idea that your brain makes yourself happier as a result of certain behaviors. Daniel Gilbert, who has done a lot of research on happiness and choice, conducted one study on this topic that assessed an...
Read MoreIf you ask someone what they are chasing in life, they usually answer one of two things: Now, we all know the happiness paradox: if you chase happiness, you’ll never get it. The reason why people say that is that if you cannot choose to be happy now with what you do have such as your health or family, then nothing can fill that void. It’s why...
Read MoreMagicians (also known as illusionists) are masters of manipulation of your attention. Anyone who has seen Penn and Teller’s act has been introduced to the science behind how they deceive you: they can make an object appear to have moved when it hasn’t; they can make it appear to be somewhere when it has actually moved; and they can make you focus...
Read MoreOne of the more (in)famous analogies from The Meaning of Life: A guide to finding your life's purpose is the relationship between happiness and growth being like the relationship between grades and learning. The reason for the analogy is that a large portion of the population is married to the idea that happiness is the meaning of life and so no...
Read MoreThe Meaning of Life: A guide to finding your life's purpose goes into a lot of detail about how growth is the point because all life strives to be in a better state over time. It differentiates this purpose from happiness, which is the indicator of growth, such as when you feel happy after eating, sex, sleeping, or physical activity. One of the...
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 MoreEveryone dreams of getting recognized for what they’ve done or the kind of person they are. Many people throughout history inspire people today for all that they’ve done for humanity. However, there is one depressing reality about many of those people who are revered for their accomplishments: so many of them never achieved even remotely the leve...
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