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Tag: mental-health

  • The High Price of Mental Wandering: Why a Wandering Mind Is an Unhappy Mind

    In our busy modern lives, it’s easy to believe that multitasking or constantly thinking ahead is a sign of productivity or even intelligence. We plan, we dream, we ruminate—often while doing completely unrelated tasks. But groundbreaking research by Matthew A. Killingsworth and Daniel T. Gilbert challenges this idea and reveals a surprising truth: the more…

  • All We Ever Seek Is Freedom — But It Changes Its Face as We Grow

    Freedom is one of the most important ideas in human life. At its heart, it means the ability to live, think, and act without unnecessary limits. But it’s not just about doing whatever we want — it’s about having the space to choose, and the strength to live with those choices. What’s interesting, though, is…

  • Having vs. Being: A Life-Changing Choice We Don’t Even Realize We’re Making

    What if the biggest mistake we’re making in life is not about what we do—but how we exist? In To Have or To Be?, Erich Fromm draws a sharp line between two modes of living that shape our personalities, our relationships, and even our entire culture: the having mode and the being mode. These aren’t just philosophical abstractions—they’re practical, day-to-day…

  • The Power of Repair: Why It’s Never Too Late to Reconnect with Your Child

    If you’re a parent, chances are you’ve had at least one moment where you’ve lost your temper — maybe even more than one. The kind of moment where you say something you regret, where the anger spills out before you can pull it back in. The guilt that follows can be crushing. You tell yourself,…

  • New Ways to Be Happier: Practical Wisdom from Vanessa King and a Growing Global Movement

    We all want to feel happier and more resilient, especially when life gets messy. But what does it really take to build lasting wellbeing—not just for ourselves, but for the people we care about? For me, this question became personal. I’ve not only championed the Action for Happiness movement in my own life, but also…

  • The Beautiful Trouble of Raising a Human

    Parenting is not a profession, a project, or a plan—it’s a wild, messy, magical relationship. From the moment a child is born, a parent is thrown into a lifetime of balancing joy and frustration, love and fatigue, laughter and tears. It is both the hardest and most rewarding journey a person can embark on. And…

  • The Journey Is All There Is: Naval Ravikant on Time, Happiness, and Success

    Part 2: In a deeply reflective conversation, entrepreneur and philosopher Naval Ravikant sits down with Chris to dissect the complex interplay between time, happiness, success, suffering, and fame. It’s not a motivational soundbite session, but rather an honest, often self-revealing discussion on how to live a good life—not just by chasing goals, but by understanding…

  • The Silent Power of Self-Esteem: Lessons from Naval Ravikant and Chris Williamson

    Part 1: In a thought-provoking conversation between Chris Williamson and Naval Ravikant, they unpack one of the quietest, yet most significant forces that shapes our lives — self-esteem. Far from being a motivational buzzword or self-help cliché, self-esteem, in their view, is the silent engine behind confidence, decision-making, success, and even our ability to love…

  • More Than Happy: Embracing the Four Pillars of a Meaningful Life

    We live in a time where happiness is marketed as the ultimate goal. It’s on magazine covers, in self-help books, and on Instagram feeds. But what if the secret to a fulfilling life isn’t happiness at all, but something deeper—something steadier? Writer and positive psychology researcher Emily Esfahani Smith offers a profound answer: the key…

  • The Everyday Science of Meaning in Life

    For as long as humans have reflected on their existence, the question of life’s meaning has hovered at the edges of philosophy, religion, and literature. Is life meaningful? And if so, how and why? While these questions may sound like the domain of poets and mystics, modern psychology has quietly built a robust science around…

  • How Do We Measure the Meaning of Life?

    What makes life feel meaningful? Is it having a clear sense of purpose, achieving personal goals, living according to one’s principles, or perhaps feeling that life itself is inherently valuable? For decades, philosophers and psychologists alike have wrestled with these questions, and in recent years, the quest to understand and measure “meaning in life” has…

  • The Illusion of Self: What Altered Minds Teach Us About Who We Are

    What if everything you thought you knew about yourself—your memories, your body, even your sense of being—was not as solid as it seemed? Science writer Anil Ananthaswamy invites us to explore this provocative idea through the lens of “altered selves,” experiences shaped by conditions like schizophrenia, Alzheimer’s, foreign limb syndrome, and out-of-body phenomena. His exploration…

  • Why You Might Be Better Off Without Social Media

    In a world that pulses with tweets, reels, stories, and scrolling thumbs, the idea of someone who’s never had a social media account feels almost like a myth. But Cal Newport, a millennial, computer scientist, and bestselling author, stands as a very real exception. Standing on a TEDx stage, he made a bold claim that’s…

  • You Don’t Need a Partner to Be Whole: The Joy of a “Good-Enough” Single Life

    For many, the quest for happiness seems intrinsically tied to the hope of finding a romantic partner — a soulmate, a spouse, someone to share the mundane and magical moments of life. When we’re not in a relationship, especially when we haven’t been in one for a long time or have never had one at…

  • The Unexpected Riches of Having Less

    Is it possible that having less can actually give us more? At first glance, it may sound like one of those frustrating clichés designed to console those who are struggling. Many people would rightly push back, arguing that when your basic needs aren’t being met, romanticizing scarcity is offensive and out of touch. But what…

  • Your Happiest Days Are Behind You—And That’s a Good Thing

    When we think about happiness, we tend to look ahead. We imagine it waiting for us in the future, just around the next corner—after the promotion, the relationship, the vacation, the next big change. But what if that’s the wrong direction to look? In his heartfelt and humorous TEDx talk, psychologist Robert Biswas-Diener flips the…

  • Tiny Experiments, Big Shifts: How to Live Freely in a Goal-Obsessed World

    In a world that’s constantly evolving, many of us find ourselves drowning in cognitive overload. We absorb more information than ever before, build endless to-do lists, and cling to routines in a desperate attempt to keep up. But our brains haven’t evolved to match this speed. We’re running ancient software on modern hardware. Social media…

  • The Spiritual Cost of Productivity: Simone Weil’s Haunting Warning

    We’re constantly told to hustle, to grind, to find our passion, build our personal brand, and make every moment count. Productivity is a virtue, distraction a sin. But what if the system that urges us to give it our all is, in fact, designed to take everything from us—our time, our spirit, our very humanity?…

  • Daniel Kahneman on Well-Being: The Pursuit of Happiness vs. The Story of Our Lives

    Title: Daniel Kahneman on the Science of Happiness: From Experience to Memory and Back Again In a conversation as illuminating as it was honest, Nobel Laureate Daniel Kahneman sat down to reflect on his decades of groundbreaking work—not just in behavioral economics and decision-making, but in the complex world of human well-being. Best known for…

  • The World is Not Physical: Understanding Bernardo Kastrup’s Analytic Idealism

    Most of us assume that the world around us is made of solid, physical things—matter, atoms, and forces interacting in space. But what if that assumption is wrong? What if the world is not physical at all, but entirely mental in nature? This is the bold claim of philosopher Bernardo Kastrup, who argues for analytic idealism,…

  • Midlife: Not a Crisis, But an Awakening

    Carl Jung, one of the most influential psychologists of the 20th century, made a bold statement that continues to resonate: “Life really does begin at 40. Up until then, you are just doing research.” This challenges a deeply ingrained narrative in popular culture—that midlife is a time of decline, chaos, or crisis. Instead, Jung invites…

  • Building Physical and Mental Fitness for Meditation and Nididhyāsana

    In the world today, physical fitness is often about achieving external goals—whether it’s gaining social media followers, sporting six-pack abs, or setting new personal records in sports. However, in Vedānta or the pursuit of moksha (liberation) and jīvanmukti (freedom while living), the purpose of physical health is entirely different. The body is simply a tool,…

  • The Subtle Signs of Aging: What It Feels Like and How We Experience It

    Aging is one of life’s most natural processes, but when does it really start? And how do we experience it? Most of us don’t notice it immediately—it’s a slow, subtle shift that begins in our late 20s or 30s. Let’s take a closer look at how aging unfolds for both men and women, and what…

  • The Paradox of Effort: How Letting Go Leads to Success

    Once, there was a writer who specialized in crafting thought-provoking essays. Through hard work and creativity, she published numerous captivating pieces. But one day, inspiration evaded her. She tried exploring different topics, scoured bookshelves, and searched the internet, yet nothing resonated. As panic crept in, she feared she had succumbed to writer’s block. However, she…

  • Understanding Modern Relationship Behaviors: 13 Experiences That Challenge Trust and Connection

    Relationships can bring joy and fulfillment, but they can also test our patience and emotional resilience. In today’s world, dating and relationships come with new terms and behaviors that might feel familiar, even if you didn’t have a name for them. This is what love has become in the age of phones and social media—a…

  • The Secret to Happiness: Building Meaningful Relationships

    Arthur Brooks, a renowned social scientist, shares profound insights into what truly makes life happy and fulfilling as we age. Contrary to common assumptions, the key isn’t just about chasing passions or raising children—it’s about cultivating deep, enduring relationships. Here’s what he emphasizes: 1. The Power of a Strong Partnership At the heart of a…

  • The Secret to Happiness: A Journey Beyond Wants

    For Harvard Professor, Arthur Brooks, what does it mean to be a “professor of happiness”? It’s not about teaching people to chase fleeting feelings or superficial joys. It’s about understanding happiness as a profound, multidimensional experience. At its core, happiness is not just a feeling. It’s a combination of three essential elements: enjoyment, purpose, and satisfaction. Let’s dive…

  • The Secret to a Good Life: Lessons from the Harvard Study on Happiness

    What truly keeps us healthy and happy as we go through life? Imagine you’re investing in your future best self—where would you focus your time and energy? For many, the instinct might be to chase wealth and fame. A recent survey of Millennials found that over 80% had the goal of getting rich, and 50%…

  • Finding the Present Moment – Insights from Sam Harris

    In a profound reflection, Sam Harris sheds light on a universal paradox of human life: we often regret the things we cared about when life was “normal.” It’s not just about how we spent our time but about how our attention was bound to trivial concerns. This realization, though inevitable, rarely transforms the way we…

  • 20 Biggest Paradoxes of Life That Make Us Think Twice

    Life has a funny way of throwing curveballs, and sometimes, the more we try to understand it, the more complex it seems. Paradoxes are those strange truths that reveal the contradictory, messy nature of our experiences, and they often carry powerful insights about life’s mysteries. Here are 20 paradoxes of life that remind us how…

  • How to Get Ahead of 99% of People

    Everyone wants to succeed, but Naval Ravikant’s advice is refreshingly simple: instead of following someone else’s roadmap, build your own. Here are his thoughts on getting ahead by focusing on what truly matters: 1. Follow Your Own Obsession Naval believes life is a journey of “personal obsession and curiosity.” He argues that “you cannot follow…

  • How Your Phone Is Changing You: What Happens When You Mindlessly Scroll

    In today’s world, most of us are tethered to our smartphones. Whether it’s social media notifications, news updates, or mindless scrolling, our phones have become ever-present companions. But have you ever wondered what this constant phone-checking is really doing to you? Cal Newport recently shared his insights on what he calls “continuous partial participation in the…

  • You’re Not Alone: Embracing Vulnerability and Focusing on What Matters

    “The moment that you feel that just possibly you’re walking down the street naked, exposing too much of your heart and your mind and what exists on the inside, showing too much of yourself—that’s the moment you may be starting to get it right.”—Neil Gaiman The media often portrays standout individuals as superheroes, people who…

  • How to Get Ahead in 5 Minutes a Day: A Simple 3-Level System

    What if I told you that you can get ahead of 99% of people with just 5 minutes a day? This isn’t an overblown promise—it’s entirely achievable. Here’s how you can do it. Step 1: Realization Most people do the bare minimum. They go to work, come home, and waste time glued to screens, distracted…

  • Unlocking Success: The Power of Emotional Intelligence in Leadership and Life

    In a recent BigThink talk, renowned psychologist Daniel Goleman shared insights into the growing importance of emotional intelligence in both personal and professional success. He believes that while cognitive abilities like IQ may help individuals secure jobs and perform well academically, it is emotional intelligence that sets outstanding performers and leaders apart. As AI continues…