Introspection is out, and outrospection is in. Philosopher and author Roman Krznaric explains how we can help drive social change by stepping outside ourselves. Taken from a lecture given by Roman Krznaric as part of the RSA’s free public events programme.
Two major organizations released climate change reports this month warning of doom and gloom if we stick to our current course and fail to take more aggressive measures. A World Bank report imagines a world 4 degrees warmer, the temperature predicted by century’s end barring changes, and says it aims to shock people into action by sharing devastating scenarios of flood, famine, drought and cyclones. Meanwhile, a report from the US National Research Council, commissioned by the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and other intelligence agencies, says the consequences of climate change–rising sea levels, severe flooding, droughts, fires, and insect infestations–pose threats greater than those from terrorism ranging from massive food shortages to a rise in armed conflicts.
Snow Flakes and Ice Structures
Check out these beautiful images of snow flakes and other ice structures thanks to Russian photographer Andrew Osokin. On his LensArt profile he has some really beautiful pictures, and over 480 of them so take your time and look.
Portal: the graphing calculator edition
A playable fan-made Portal prelude game has been built specifically for the TI-83 Plus and TI-84 Plus graphing calculators.
Read what writers, including Kurt Vonnegut, Vladimir Nabokov, Henry David Thoreau and Stephen King have to say about reading.
Here are three short quotes:
Marcel Proust : “… The only books that we truly absorb are those we read with real appetite, after having worked hard to get them, so great had been our need of them.”
Franz Kafka : “I think we ought to read only the kind of books that wound or stab us. If the book we’re reading doesn’t wake us up with a blow to the head, what are we reading for? …” (Bet you didn’t see that one coming.)
Gustave Flaubert : “Do not read, as children do, to amuse yourself, or like the ambitious, for the purpose of instruction. No, read in order to live.”
Do you surf on your tablet or text on your phone while watching TV? If so, how’s your mood? A new study asserts that the more you multitask using multiple screens, the more likely you are to feel depressed or anxious. The question is: why?
Cognitive psychologist Mark Becker at Michigan State University said that the question remains whether “second screening” is the cause of the psychological stress, or whether people who are anxious and depressed tend to use multiple screens at once.
If you second screen frequently and feel anxious or depressed, Becker recommends trying a media vacation. “Turn off the systems for a while and see if you feel better or worse,” he said.
In this article, you’ll discover that simple, slightly magical answer, while we go through the 8 big mistakes people make when trying to find happiness in life.
1. Things
The solution is to realize that things will not make you happy. Happiness in life comes from the inside, and it’s available right here, right now.
2. Relationships
You have to be willing to find happiness within. No partner can make you happy, and if you think they can, you will try to change them, which will lead to suffering.
3. Striving
The simple answer to finding happiness in your life is to stop looking for it. Stop trying so hard. Welcome what is.
4. Logical Living
When you live a logical life, everything has to make sense. You need to plan and control everything. And if you’ve been doing this, you know it leads to nothing but anguish. […] The best attitude you can have is to enjoy the ride.
5. Blame
There’s no one that can make you unhappy without your consent. It is your reaction to people that determines whether or not you are happy.
6. Excuses
Notice what excuses are holding you back, and let them go. You create your excuses out of thin air. They are not real.
If something is making you unhappy, first welcome it, then let it go. If a situation needs changing, change it, but stop making excuses.
If you aren’t willing to do something, don’t do it. There’s no need for excuses. Own your decisions and be content with it.
7. Perfection
Let life be messy. Let life be chaotic. You just enjoy what’s here in this very moment. Let go of the rest, because there’s nothing you can do anyway.
We want things to be perfect. We want guarantees that whatever we do will work out. But there are no guarantees.
And you never know if making a mistake is exactly what needs to happen in order for you to get to where you need to be.
8. Avoiding the Now
If you’re trying to get something so you can be happy, it won’t happen.
Happiness is right in this very moment. At your core, you are happiness, you are joy, and you are peace.
What keeps you from feeling it is all the wanting, trying to get somewhere, and trying to resist the present moment.
Summary
Sometimes life will be hard, but that’s okay. Welcome it in.
Sometimes life will be joyous, and that’s okay, too.
You can’t have the good without the bad. That’s life. Accept what is, and let life take you on the adventure it is.
A growing body of evidence indicates that the impact of pollution goes beyond physical health. According to the Monitor, researchers have found that high levels of air pollution may damage children’s cognitive abilities, increase adult risk of cognitive decline and may even contribute to depression.
[R]esearch shows that you don’t usually do what really brings you joy ormakes you an expert — you do what is easy.
You are happier when you are busy and often have more fun at work than at home.
This seems counterintuitive, but I’ve been noticing this myself lately. Even when the work I’m doing is not really exercising my desired skills. It helps if the work you’re doing is being appreciated by others.
How is that possible? You spend a lot more time in high-challenge, high-skill situations that encourage flow states during work hours. You’re more likely to feel apathy during leisure time at home.
Via Sonja Lyubomirsky’s The How of Happiness:
…the study found that while at work (relative to home/leisure), these individuals spent a great deal more time in high-challenge, high-skill situations (that is, those situations that foster flow) and less time in low-skill, low-challenge situations. Indeed, they were inclined to experience a sense of efficacy and self-confidence during work hours but to experience apathy at home. However, when probed about what they’d rather be doing, these participants uniformly stated that they’d rather be doing something else when working and that they preferred to continue what they were doing when at leisure.
Thinking and working can beat sad feelings. But you avoid those because they take effort.
What should you be doing?
“Signature strengths” are the things you are uniquely talented at and using them brings you joy. People who deliberately exercised their signature strengths on a daily basis became significantly happier for months. […]
Signature strengths are the secret to experiencing more “flow” at work and in life. Exercising them is why starving artists are happier with their jobs.
But isn’t this a lot of hard work?
Mastering skills is stressful in the short term and happiness-boosting in the long term. […]
But maybe you’re afraid of failure. This is why you do what is easy and why your instinct is to play it safe. Fear of failure is one of the most powerful feelings. […]
Thinking about what happens to you in terms of your self-esteem will crush you — look at life as growing and learning:
“A key to alleviating depression is fostering a shift from self-worth goals to learning goals and from the beliefs underlying self-worth goals to the opposite beliefs.”
When challenged, focus on “getting better” — not doing well or looking good. Get-better goals increase motivation, make tasks more interesting and replenish energy.