Four years ago my sister got me something that would dramatically alter the direction of my life. In fact, it was probably the most influential gift I’ve ever received. It would help me find my true calling, become a writer at the Huffington Post, and go on a 5-month road trip across America by myself. […]
How To Become Ridiculously Self-Aware In 20 Minutes Read More »
There’s a paradox with self-improvement and it is this: the ultimate goal of all self-improvement is to reach the point where you no longer feel the need to improve yourself. Think about it: The whole goal of improving your productivity is to reach the point where you never have to think about how to be more productive.
What’s the Point of Self-Improvement Anyway? Read More »
There’s a quandary I hear people talk about a lot in the self-improvement world which goes something like this: “Should I keep trying to change, or should I just learn to love myself?” The people posing this question almost invariably feel terrible about themselves, and further, they assume that’s par for the course. It isn’t.
Self-love is the basis for self-improvement Read More »
One of my favorite pieces of ancient wisdom comes from the Stoic philosopher Epictetus: We have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak. Sure, that may not be the real reason we have two ears and one mouth, but it reveals a useful pattern that we see repeated in
How to Supercharge Your Learning and Self-Improvement Read More »
As we herald in the new year if Instagram is any indicator, self-help and personal development teachers/coaches are in full power-up mode. In the United States we use the new year as a time to reassess our goals, take stock of where we’re at, decide what we think is wrong and then decide what will
You are your own best teacher Read More »
Throughout decades of pursuing personal development and cultivating a spiritual practice, I’ve seen popular philosophies come and go. The one that always seems to come back around, or never truly disappears, is the idea that we can control our lives and/or get what we want if only we ________ fill in the blank. Usually that
The Seduction of Spiritual Control Read More »
Like many people, experiencing a major loss, I googled the five stages of grief pioneered by Elizabeth Kubler Ross. I was looking for a roadmap of what to expect and hoping it would help me understand how to navigate my own grief. I quickly found the five stages didn’t seem relevant to what I was
The Myth of the 5 Stages of Grief Read More »
The popularization of mindfulness and meditation created a nearly $1 billion dollar industry in 2015, according to research by IBISWorld. That number doesn’t even include revenue from the almost 1000 meditation apps available. Basically, that means that there’s a whole lot of information out there on meditation and it can be hard to know where
Which Meditation App is Best for You? Read More »
Success breeds success. If you think that’s just some quaint saying, it turns out you’d be wrong. Several experiments have shown that small, random, initial advantages can spiral into huge ones. In one study conducted by Arnout van de Rijt, he and his team went to four established websites (i.e. Kickstarter, Change.org) and randomly distributed small
Why it’s important to acknowledge what you’re getting right Read More »
If you’re on a hike and a bear comes crashing out of the bushes you better believe that stress is the perfect response. If though, on an on-going basis, you’re dealing with a miserable situation like an unhappy relationship, money worries or a crazy, unpredictable boss, you’re depleting your mental and physical health bit by
5 things you can start doing today to keep stress from getting you down Read More »