“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 MoreWe've all made bad life choices, either because we were self-sabotaging, we didn't know any better, or we prioritized short-term pleasure over long-term well-being. But what is causing bad things to happen in your life? Is it random? Is it directly your doing? Is it karma? Let's explore in this blog post.
Read MoreDesire. Longing. Hunger. Craving. We all know what it’s like to have that burning wanting for or needing of something. Most motivational speakers will encourage you to go after it with everything you have and to crush any negative beliefs that are holding you back. But there is one issue—both a belief and a reality—that causes a lot of people...
Read MoreDisagreements can be tough. On one hand, you believe that you are right about your conclusions based on the information you have and the reasoning and ethics you are using to draw those conclusions. On the other hand, the other person believes the exact same thing. The reality is that you have different perspectives, information, and ethics, so...
Read MorePeople recommend that you should always be honest with and true to yourself. When referring to being the person you want to be and doing what you want to do with your life, this is important advice. However, there is a hidden interpretation that many people make from this that "honest" means being "real"--i.e., being realistic. Hence, the idea o...
Read MoreAn important part of feeling meaning and fulfillment in life is being proud of your actions. Your actions are how most people judge you, and those actions are judged based on both what the people see and how they perceive or interpret those actions. You also judge yourself based on your thoughts, beliefs, desires, ethics, and actions, but you hav...
Read MoreReality can seem so harsh and unfair sometimes. There is so much left up to chance: that freak injury during the big game; that seemingly arbitrary promotion of someone else over you. I get that it can be hard to keep yourself sane and together. However, there is great news: modern knoweldge and wisdom from science and philosophy have pretty muc...
Read MoreAs I spoke about two weeks ago in my post, Conflating Science and Ethics, people like to find ways to conflate concepts so they can either get others to agree/comply with them or avoid having to put up an actual compelling, convincing argument for their position. After all, you can argue with an opinion and weigh facts differently, but you can’t a...
Read MoreAhhh, life goals: the symbol that someone has direction and purpose...and also the source of stress and anxiety. How do you figure out your purpose? How do you know that you picked the right goals and have the right plan to move forward? What are the best goals to have? If you’re like many people, these questions are generating anxiety already.
Read MoreYou have a burning desire to accomplish a goal. Do you tell anyone? Good question; let’s explore the science behind socializing goals. First, it’s important to be clear about the misconceptions around whether socializing your goals is beneficial or harmful. If you have seen these studies, you may be aware that news organizations can grossly misi...
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