Life Decisions

Happiness

Why It's Difficult to Figure Out What Will Make You Happy

Nathanael Garrett Novosel, January 27 2021

Ahhh, happiness.  It's what people think the whole point of life is.  But happiness seems to be so evasive.  You don't always know what will make you happy, and even if you do then it seems so fleeting.  What is going on here?  Can you truly live happily ever after?  Can you buy happiness?  What even is happiness, and can you define it?  Once you d...

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Planning

Would You Really Want to Know Your Future?

Nathanael Garrett Novosel, September 9 2020

People often say that they wish that they could see what the future held for them.  If only they knew whether that relationship would work, they would get the job they applied for, or they really wanted to pursue that hobby.  After all, they could avoid a lot of pain, disappointment, and seemingly wasted time if they did the right thing every time...

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Choice

Standing Out vs. Fitting In

Nathanael Garrett Novosel, September 2 2020

It's a bizarre seeming paradox in human behavior: as social animals, we want to fit in and be part of the group for safety and support but also want to achieve social status and stand out from the crowd in areas where you excel.  How are those two ideas true at the same time, and how do you balance those desires in your life?

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Success

5 Reasons Self-Help Books May Not Work for You

Nathanael Garrett Novosel, August 5 2020

After researching philosophy, psychology, behavioral economics, religion, and related fields for over 20 years, I began to notice patterns in the recommendations.  The universal concepts that determined meaning became The Meaning of Life: A guide to finding your life's purpose, but there were also common assumptions made that anyone delving into se...

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Choice

What the 37% Rule Can Tell You About Life Decisions

Nathanael Garrett Novosel, July 15 2020

If you're not familiar with the 37% Rule, it comes from optimal stopping theory in mathematics where decision makers are trying to determine the optimal point at which to stop looking at more options and select from the best they've seen so far.  In brief, it finds that if you have a large number of options to sift through one at a time and can't r...

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