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How to beat procrastination
How to enhance your creative thinking
How to create a smooth transition in a new endeavor
We assume that we are alone are stumbling under their weight while everyone else is unencumbered, getting on with their lives just fine.
Emotions, we are taught to believe, make us look weak. The less we are capable of addressing negative emotions openly the longer it takes us to realise how many people are, in fact, struggling as we are, and how debilitating these silences are to our relations and interactions with others, and how, in an infinite numbers of indirect ways, they shape our societies.
ELIF SHAFAK
12
50 reads
MORE IDEAS ON THIS
The moment we stop listening to diverse opinions is also when we stop learning. Because the truth is we don't learn much from sameness and monotony. We usually learn from differences.
ELIF SHAFAK
14
84 reads
My first instinct as a storyteller is to dig into 'the periphery' rather than 'the centre' and focus my attention on the marginalised, underserved, disenfranchised and censored voices.
There is a part of me that wants to understa...
ELIF SHAFAK
12
84 reads
We are exhausted by anxiety, consumed with anger, our minds and defences all too often overwhelmed.
ELIF SHAFAK
12
68 reads
Social media and group narcissism
We have become bad listeners and even worse learners.
Nuanced debates are not welcomed anymore, but dualities are exarcebated.
People are more interested in making a point, than learning.
13
63 reads
Knowledge requires reading. Books. Indepth analyses. Investigative journalism. Then there is wisdom, which connects the mind and the heart, activates emotional intelligence, expands empathy. For that we need stories and storyt...
ELIF SHAFAK
12
62 reads
We are made of stories - those that have happened, those that are still happening at this moment in time and those that are shaped purely in our imagination through words, images, dreams, and an endless sense of wonder about the world around us and how it works.
ELIF SHAFAK
14
95 reads
Mass destruction doesn't start with concentration camps or gas chambers. It doesn't start with putting marks on neighbours' doors, just because they are 'different' - or imposing law for minorities to carry particular signs or wear certain clothes. Dis...
ELIF SHAFAK
14
55 reads
Feeling systematically unheard, unsupported and unappreciated can make me painfully resentful, and abiding resentment will probably turn me into a reluctant listener.
ELIF SHAFAK
12
68 reads
The truth is, there are plenty of negative sentiments all around and within us - anger, fear, discontent, distrust, sadness, suspicion, constant self-doubt... but perhaps more than anything, an ongoing apprehension.
An ex...
ELIF SHAFAK
13
57 reads
Now we are universally aware that history can go backwards, that progress is beyond such concerns. Now we are universally aware that history can go backwards, that progress is neither guaranteed nor steady. Democracy is hard to achieve, yet easy to lose; it is an inter...
ELIF SHAFAK
12
51 reads
About groupthink or social media bubbles
They limit wisdom that connects the mind and the heart, help us reach beyond our mind and engage with others around us.
We must become intellectual nomads that keep moving, keep learning, spend more times in the margins, with the minorities, where real change happens.
12
74 reads
Do not be afraid of complexity.
Be afraid of people who promise an easy shortcut to simplicity.
ELIF SHAFAK
14
62 reads
And the biggest irony is that all this is happening at a time when we as humans - regardless of race, gender, religion, class or ethnicity - are supposed to be more connected and empathetic and free than ever before, with far more opportunities at our disposal to expre...
ELIF SHAFAK
16
139 reads
We dont' quite understand how the internet works but we don't want to say that aloud because everyone else seems to be ok with that, so we must accept it too.
More and more it feels that, when it...
ELIF SHAFAK
13
72 reads
CURATED FROM
CURATED BY
Powerful words for a time when wars and pandemics create an existential angst that is difficult to coexist with. Shafaks's words nudge us to question our place and our attitude in this world.
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Associate selectively
It’s impossible not to be affected by those around us—it’s easy to “catch” their emotions and our brains tend to synch up when we associate with other people.
We should set boundaries with difficult people, disentangle yourself from negative online interactions, and be more c...
Emotional granularity
It's our capacity to distinguish between the particularities of our emotions. This then determines how well we cope with life.
Some of us use different emotion words interchangeably, while others are highly precise in their descriptions.
How to move forward
- Cooperation is a powerful way to move forward both as individuals and societies. All of us have given up some independence for access to resources provided by others.
- We can mitigate some negative effects by leveraging our community networks to create cooperative interactions that ...
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