The Meanings of Life
Professor Roy Baumeister wonders why parents often say: 'I just want my children to be happy,' rather than: 'I just want my children's lives to be meaningful." Yet we fear meaninglessness, and when we lose a sense of meaning, we get depressed. What is this thing we call meaning, and why might we need it so badly? This thoughtful article shares more.... posted on Nov 08 2013, 54,435 reads

40 Days: The Productivity of Retreat
"When I was a child, I wanted to be a hermit. I can remember in particular a strange background desire I had for some years to live alone in a pine forest. Why a pine forest? I have no real idea. I have never spent much time at all in a real pine forest. But that was where I wanted to be. I could imagine myself dwelling in the dark, dank heart of a pinewood. Life there, I knew, would be more inten... posted on Nov 07 2013, 25,709 reads

The Neuroscience Of Why Gratitude Makes Us Healthier
"Consider this: Negative attitudes are bad for you. And gratitude, it turns out, makes you happier and healthier. If you invest in a way of seeing the world that is mean and frustrated, you're going to get a world that is, well, more mean and frustrating. But if you can find any authentic reason to give thanks, anything that is going right with the world or your life, and put your attention there,... posted on Oct 30 2013, 353,350 reads

Why Your Best Ideas Happen In The Most Unusual Places
Last month, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg shared some questionable advice on how to become successful at work: Don't go to the bathroom and keep working. But according to Harvard psychologist Shelley H. Carson, author of "Your Creative Brain," little distractions like going to the bathroom can actually be a good thing when it comes to creativity. She explains that interruptions and diversi... posted on Oct 29 2013, 26,410 reads

Nurturing Your Introvert-Extrovert Mix
There is no such thing as a pure introvert or a pure extrovert; rather, everyone has a different mix of both tendencies in their personality. Read this insightful article to learn how to get the most from your personality type and how to understand and support the personality types of others. ... posted on Oct 24 2013, 39,748 reads

What Are The Secrets To A Happy Life?
With so many self-help books and articles out there posing different theories about what leads to happiness in life, and so many passing fads and trends, how do we know when we've found the right tools that will lead us to a lifetime of joy? Since 1938, The Grant Study has followed 267 sophomores from Harvard University as their lives have unfolded, with the aim of documenting the key factors that... posted on Oct 23 2013, 66,890 reads

Unlocking the Mysteries of Time
"We construct the experience of time in our minds, so it follows that we are able to change the elements we find troubling -- whether it's trying to stop the years racing past, or speeding up time when we're stuck in a queue, trying to live more in the present, or working out how long ago we last saw our old friends. Time can be a friend, but it can also be an enemy. The trick is to harness it, wh... posted on Sep 25 2013, 0 reads

How To Focus A Wandering Mind
"A recent study by Matthew Killingsworth and Daniel Gilbert sampled over 2,000 adults during their day-to-day activities, and found that 47 percent of the time, their minds were not focused on what they were currently doing. Even more striking, when people's minds were wandering, they reported being less happy. This suggests it might be good to find ways to reduce these mental distractions and im... posted on Sep 16 2013, 0 reads

The Treasure At the Heart of Pain
"What do you do to escape from emotional pain? Do you drink or eat to excess to keep yourself, keep ridiculously busy, sit around hoping for a better future? It's human nature to do everything you can to avoid turning around and meeting the feelings that arise in you. But here's the problem. These temporary measures simply don't work. Addictions, compulsions, incessant mental spinning. They may d... posted on Aug 28 2013, 38,919 reads

6 Habits of Highly Empathic People
"If you think you're hearing the word 'empathy' everywhere, you're right. It's now on the lips of scientists and business leaders, education experts and political activists. But there is a vital question that few people ask: How can I expand my own empathic potential? Empathy is not just a way to extend the boundaries of your moral universe. According to new research, it's a habit we can cultivate... posted on Aug 25 2013, 230,233 reads