Category: Self Development
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Grow Down
How many times were you told to grow up when you were a kid? Unfortunately, after a while, we listened to our parents and teachers and other adults. We grew up, and life was never the same. When you watch a normal young child you’ll notice he’s always smiling, always playing. Pure bliss is his default…
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Memory Triggers: How to Remember To-Do’s
I used to forget the little things I was supposed to do, like taking my pre-made lunch to work or stopping by the store on my way home, so I devised an easy trick to remember them without having to set reminders in my phone or leave notes out (both of which work, but require…
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The American Dream & Marriage: Question Your Beliefs
How many of your beliefs were force fed to you by society, parents, friends, teachers? Probably a whole lot of them, and you might not even realize it. I know I still have many deep-seated beliefs bestowed upon me by society, yet I’ve never questioned them. I’m uncovering new ones all the time, thanks mostly…
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Food for Thought: We Are Fish in a Pond
As I sat in the park the other day eating my lunch and watching the koi and the goldfish in the murky pond, it occurred to me that we are in many ways just like those fish, where the pond is our world. The surface of the pond to the fish is like the edge…
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The Need to Know
Not only will we never know everything, but we won’t even know any more than a single crab on a little pubic hair of the body that is the universe. It sucks, but it is what it is. So often we want to know everything, especially about our lives and the lives of those close to us.…
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It Is What It Is: The Outcome-Independent Mindset
It used to annoy me when people would say, “It is what it is,” and the phrase is gaining popularity. It always seemed like a cop-out in a conversation, a way to end it without actually having to think. Now, although I’m still not in love with the phrase, I’m a big fan of what…
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Sounds
I just spent the last two hours in my backyard enjoying the day, enjoying the sights and sounds, the smells and the sensations. For thirty minutes I lay in the grass on my back, eyes closed, listening to everything I could hear. Many species of birds chirped and cawed and sang, and I was able…
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Reality Is Subjective
Most people have the idea that the world, the universe, is an objective reality. It exists independently of us, independently of perceivers. For example, a tree is a tree. Regardless of whether I perceive the tree or an ant perceives the tree, the tree is the same thing. It has its own objective reality which…
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The Beauty of Our World
When we think of the beauty of our world, we usually first imagine a Caribbean sunset, a glassy mountain lake reflecting snowcapped mountains in the early summer, a sunny morning after a blizzard, a beautiful, fit girl in a skimpy bikini, or any number of classically beautiful sights. Of course this…
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Gratitude
It’s impossible to be happy all the time. Who would want to be? The downs are what make the ups so enjoyable. The downs are what make the ups possible. Obviously we want to maximize the ups in quantity and degree and minimize the downs, but a lot of the time it’s beyond our control,…