Prove you can do hard things When a teenager asks why they need to learn calculus, what should you say? You know they will never use it in adulthood, outside of certain career choices. You could say, “It’ll help you get into college,” but then they’re left wondering why… Show more

You only know someone well if you can correctly predict how they will react in stressful situations.

The sense of connectedness and compassion characteristic of individuals with high levels of personal mastery naturally leads to a broader vision. Without it, all the subconscious visualizing in the world is deeply self-centered—simply a way to get what I want. Individuals committed to a vision beyond their self-interest find they have energy not av

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A bigger problem than price inflation is expectations inflation: A constant increase in what you need to be satisfied.

Get a life. A real life, not a manic pursuit of the next promotion, the bigger paycheck, the larger house. Do you think you'd care so very much about those things if you blew an aneurysm one afternoon, or found a lump in your breast? Get a life in which you notice the smell of salt water pushing itself on a breeze over Seaside Heights, a life in w

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Millions of people — and white people in particular — would rather endure physical isolation, generalized loneliness, caregiving exhaustion, and financial precarity than relinquish some of their societal power. That’s a far less optimistic foundational myth than individualism. But it’s a far more honest one.

"If you already live a comfortable life, then choosing to make more money but live a worse daily life is a bad trade.

And yet, we talk ourselves into it all the time. We take promotions that pay more, but swallow our free time. We already have a successful business, but we break ourselves trying to make it even more successful.

Too much focus on we... See more

When we invest in different parts of ourselves, research shows that we’re better equipped to deal with life’s inevitable challenges. For example, in one study, Dr. Patricia Linville found that subjects with a more differentiated idea of themselves—what she calls having greater “self-complexity”—were less prone to depression and physical illnesses f... See more

So how do we keep doing all this passion work that needs doing? How do educate, and make art, and create spaces to enjoy it? How do we comfort the infirm, and protect the vulnerable, and agitate for a better world? We can agree that the outcome of this type of work is valuable and venerable. It is essential . But the we value the people doing the w... See more