Self-development and growth are not luxuries; they're a necessity for success.It actually benefits your entire life.There is no magic pill or single formula to create the absolute best “you” possible.There is no switch you can press to instantly become a different person.No one can do it for you.If you want to do your personal growth then only you have to do the heavy lifting.

10 Easy Ways To Become A Better Version Of Yourself

There are some good habits, techniques, and attitudes that you can put into practice to be more like the person you want to be.Of course, to be the best version of yourself is not necessarily easy.It takes time and continuous effort. It is an ongoing process.Everyone is born with the capability to be a better version of themselves.Once a person accepts that he/she has the power to change herself/himself, he/she is ready to start creating a successful and amazing self. These 10 tips help you in knowing who you are as a person and the type of self-improvement you seek.

Habits, techniques, and attitudes

If you constantly think about what other people will think about you when you fail, then stop yourself immediately.Failure is a natural process and it is not the signal of the world ending. Realize this truth.So, don’t let the fear of failure hold you back.

1. Failure is not the end of the world

Always live in the present moment and celebrate your small wins.Prioritize yourself.Live your life to the fullest to please yourself rather than others.Your people-pleaser role will lead you to depression, stress, and health issues.So quit pleasing people. It will help you in regaining your self-confidence.

2. Live to please yourself rather than others

Positivity plays an important role in self-improvement.So always surround yourself with positive self-talk.We all do self-talk.It is a normal process but when it includes negativity, it creates a problem.Eliminate some negative vocabulary from your life dictionary such as but, can’t, try, should, and won’t.

3. Surround yourself with positivity

Have trust in your abilities.Sometimes it’s good to take risks such as if you have a fear of facing interviews then go for it, face it.Take a class, learn a new skill, and challenge whatever it is that is holding you back.Take a risk and have faith in yourself.Positivity can open doors to success for you.

4. Learn to trust yourself and take risks

When is the last time you did something creative or something that you actually love to do?Do it. It will create a positive impact on your life.Also, try to learn something that can help you in becoming a better version of yourself and would have an optimistic effect on your work, life, or study.

5. Learn something creative every day

Always surround yourself with positive great people.They will help you in all ways to bring out your best.It is one of the most important steps that you can take for your personal growth and improvement.Commit to surrounding yourself with only amazing people that help you in a constructive way.

6. Understand the importance of positive association with great people

When life gives you an amazing opportunity, go for it.Don’t wait for other people to say “yes” to life with you.Start living your own.Sometimes you feel like quitting while working on your dream.But, remind yourself of all the great things that you already have and all the great things that are coming into your life.Keep that excitement level high about your work and life.Always be thankful for the amazing life that you have.

7. Say “yes” to life

Love yourself just as you are.This self-love will only support your procedure of becoming the best version of yourself.Always remember no one in the world is perfect and will never be.So, take a deep breath and say “I love myself” and see how that feels.We can never do our personal growth if we constantly put ourselves down.So, be thankful, learn to forgive, and love yourself.It doesn’t make you selfish. It makes you indestructible.

8. Fall in love with yourself

For many people, smoking is a weakness and a comfort.If you are one of them then quit smoking.But, if you have an addiction to it you can switch to alternatives like vaping.It is considerably less harmful than smoking and an effective way to kick the smoking addiction.Quitting smoking is a transformational procedure that will change your confidence in yourself, your health, and your life.If you work on quitting your weakness then ultimately you are opening new ways for your self-improvement and personal growth.

9. Keep in mind that strength grows out of weakness

Wearing the right attire elevates your self-confidence and helps you in gaining the attention of others.Confidence is the key to success and it helps you in putting your best foot forward.If appropriate dressing can build your confidence level and lead you to success, then what you are waiting for?Go for it.You can read every day about how to be a better version of yourself, but it’s no alternative for actually doing the work.

10. Dress for attention and confidence

If you want to be a better person in some way, don’t waste your time. Start it right away!Nobody else can do it for you.The effort has to come within you and you have to stick with it.The fact is that there is no “best” version of yourself: only “better.”

Start immediately

“What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.”-Jane Goodall

Self-Improvement Quote

10 Easy Ways to Become a Better Version of Yourself

These Are The Best Ways To Become A Better Version Of Yourself And Change Your Life Through Self-improvement, Self-love And Developing Your Personal Growth.

personaldevelopment

Personal Development

motivationandinspiration

Motivation & Inspiration

habits

Habits

leadershipandmanagement

Leadership & Management

To live the life we want, we not only need to do the right things, but we also need to stop doing the things that divert us from our goals.<ul><li>We need to learn how to avoid distraction. Living the life we want not only requires doing the right things, but also necessitates not doing the things we know we'll regret.</li><li>The problem is deeper than tech. Being indistractable isn't about being a Luddite. It's about understanding the real reasons why we do things against our best interests.</li><li>Here's what it takes. We can be indistractable by learning and adopting four key strategies.</li></ul>

What's your Superpower?

We can understand traction as the actions that draw us towards what we want in life.On the other hand, distractions impede us from progressing towards our envisioned life.Both traction and distraction are prompted by triggers. These triggers can be internal or external.These triggers, wether internal or external, result in an action which can be aligned with our broader intention (traction), or misaligned (distraction).<ul><li class="ql-align-justify">Traction helps us accomplish goals.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">Distraction leads us away from them.</li></ul>

Traction & Distraction

"The wealth of information means a dearth of something else... a poverty of attention."

We are compelled to reach for things we supposedly need but really don't.<ul><li>We don't need to check our email right now.</li><li>We don't need to see that Instagram story.</li></ul>Though it's not our fault distractions exist, managing them is our responsability.

Focus on your true needs

"Being indistractable means striving to do what you say you will do. Indistractable people are as honest with themselves as they are with others."

<ul><li>Master Internal Triggers.</li><li>Hack Back External Triggers.</li><li>Prevent Distraction with Pacts.</li><li>Make Time for Traction. </li></ul>These four steps are your guide to becoming indistractable.

The Indistractable Model

These ideas are a summary of the introduction of Indistractable. Soon I will publish more ideas respecting the parts of the book, from the 1st to the 7th part, in order to go deeper as it deserves.

Reveals the hidden psychology driving you to distraction. Empowering and optimistic, this is the book that will help you design your time, realise your ambitions, and live the life you really want.

productivity

Productivity

timemanagement

Time Management

books

Books

"Indistractable provides a framework that will deliver the focus you need to get results." —James Clear, author of Atomic Habits "If you value your time, your focus, or your relationships, this book is essential reading. I'm putting these ideas into practice." —Jonathan Haidt, author of The Righteous Mind   National Bestseller Winner of the Outstanding Works of Literature (OWL) Award Included in the Top 5 Best Personal Development Books of the Year by Audible Included in the Top 20 Best Business and Leadership Books of the Year by Amazon Featured in The Amazon Book Review Newsletter, January 2020 Goodreads Best Science & Technology of 2019 Finalist   You sit down at your desk to work on an important project, but a notification on your phone interrupts your morning. Later, as you're about to get back to work, a colleague taps you on the shoulder to chat. At home, screens get in the way of quality time with your family. Another day goes by, and once again, your most important personal and professional goals are put on hold. What would be possible if you followed through on your best intentions? What could you accomplish if you could stay focused? What if you had the power to become "indistractable?" International bestselling author, former Stanford lecturer, and behavioral design expert, Nir Eyal, wrote Silicon Valley's handbook for making technology habit-forming. Five years after publishing Hooked, Eyal reveals distraction's Achilles' heel in his groundbreaking new book. In Indistractable, Eyal reveals the hidden psychology driving us to distraction. He describes why solving the problem is not as simple as swearing off our devices: Abstinence is impractical and often makes us want more. Eyal lays bare the secret of finally doing what you say you will do with a four-step, research-backed model. Indistractable reveals the key to getting the best out of technology, without letting it get the best of us. Inside, Eyal overturns conventional wisdom and reveals:    • Why distraction at work is a symptom of a dysfunctional company culture—and how to fix it    • What really drives human behavior and why "time management is pain management"    • Why your relationships (and your sex life) depend on you becoming indistractable    • How to raise indistractable children in an increasingly distracting world Empowering and optimistic, Indistractable provides practical, novel techniques to control your time and attention—helping you live the life you really want.

Nir Eyal is an accomplished writer whose work has resonated with readers around the world. Nir Eyal has published several books that explore a range of topics, from fiction to nonfiction, and has received critical acclaim for the ability to weave compelling narratives. Nir Eyal's writing style is known for its depth and authenticity, and has earned quite a loyal following of readers.

Nir Eyal

Indistractable

Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.

You've gotta dance like there's nobody watching,Love like you'll never be hurt,Sing like there's nobody listening,And live like it's heaven on earth.

Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.

Imperfection is beauty, madness is genius and it's better to be absolutely ridiculous than absolutely boring.

Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is a gift of God, which is why we call it the present.

It is never too late to be what you might have been.

Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts

Everything you can imagine is real.

Nothing is impossible, the word itself says 'I'm possible'!

Peace begins with a smile..

For attractive lips, speak words of kindness.For lovely eyes, seek out the good in people.For a slim figure, share your food with the hungry.For beautiful hair, let a child run his fingers through it once a day.For poise, walk with the knowledge you’ll never walk alone.We leave you a tradition with a future.The tender loving care of human beings will never become obsolete.People even more than things have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed and redeemed and redeemed and redeemed.Never throw out anybody.Remember, if you ever need a helping hand, you’ll find one at the end of your arm.

As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands: one for helping yourself, the other for helping others. Your “good old days” are still ahead of you, may you have many of them.

philosophy

Philosophy

Inspirational Quotes 

The most transformative moments in life are those that we do not see coming. Anton Chekhov's "The Seagull" and Karl Jaspers' "boundary situations" both explore the vulnerability and impotence of so much of life. We all want to plan and see order in the world, but death, struggle, guilt, and chance will come crashing down to ruin it all. You cannot plan for those. Life is defined by the unforeseen.

The gods laugh at your plans: Chekhov, Jaspers, and life-changing moments

You’re in the shower one day, and you feel a lump that wasn’t there before. You’re having lunch when your phone rings with an unknown number: there’s been a crash. You come home and your husband is holding a suitcase. “I’m leaving,” he says.Life is inevitably punctuated by sudden changes. At one moment, we might have everything laid out before us, and then an invisible wall stops us in our tracks. It might be an illness, a bereavement, an accident or some bad news, but life has a habit of mocking those who make plans.

Unforeseen Moments

We can have our eyes on some distant shore, some faraway horizon, only to find everything come crashing down by the most unseen of events. As the Scottish poet Robert Burns wrote, “The best laid schemes o’ Mice an’ Men. Gang aft agley” (often go wrong).

Crashing Plans

In Anton Chekhov’s play, The Seagull, consists of a cast of characters who are all, in some way, in love with something. Everyone in the play has some kind of ambition and plan, or they live in regret over the life they chose. They rail against how misguided or mistaken their life has been, while longing for something else.They are each like a seagull, flying over the sea or a great lake, and aiming purposefully for the shore. The view up there is wonderful.

A calm sea with clouds overhead

The longer the seagull flies, the more oblivious they are to how they tire or weaken. They’re so fixated on some distant horizon that they’re at the mercy to life’s sudden changes. They’re blinkered and distracted, and the gods love nothing more than the hopeful hubris of mankind.The seagull is killed, its flight and plans annihilated, in one instant of random thoughtlessness.

Sudden Changes

While so much of our lives are spent in planning and preparation, the most transformative and significant moments are those which come at us out of the blue. These are what the psychiatrist Karl Jaspers called “boundary situations” — the ones we cannot initiate, plan, or avoid. We can only “encounter” them. These are not the mundane, everyday parts of our life — but rather they are things which thunder down to shake the foundations of our being. They change who we are. In Jaspers’ works, he broadly sorted them into four categories:

Boundary Situations

Death is the source of all our fear. We fear our loved ones dying, and we fear the moment and fact of our own death. When we know grief and despair, or when we reflect on mortality, we are transformed. We always know about death, but when it’s a boundary situation, it comes crashing into our lives like some grim scythe; an unforeseen curtain call. The awareness and subjective encounter with death transforms us.

1. Death:

Life is a struggle. We work for food, compete for resources, and vie with each other for power, prestige, and status in almost every context there is. As such, there are moments when we are inevitably overcome and defeated, but also when we are victorious and champion. The final outcomes of struggle are often sudden and great, and they make us who we are.

2. Struggle:

Hopefully, there comes a moment for each of us when we finally accept responsibility for things. For many, it comes with adulthood, but for others it comes much later still. It’s the awareness that our actions impact all around us, and our decisions echo into the world. It’s seeing the damage or tears we’ve caused. It’s to recognize that, however small or big, we’ve hurt and upset someone. It’s a profound pull of the heart that changes how we live, and it often comes on unexpectedly.

3. Guilt:

No matter how neat and ordered we might want our world to be, there will always be a messy, chaotic, and unpredictable exception. We can hope for the best, and make the plans we want, but we can never take a steering handle on the facts that will affect our existenceIt is not possible to control and explain everything. In fact, day by day we face events that we cannot call anything else other than coincidences or hazards. We want order, and regularity. What we get is the mercurial and capricious throes of chance.

4. Chance:

What Chekhov’s Seagull and Jaspers’ “boundary situations” get right is that we are each much more vulnerable than we might want to allow. A wedding, three years and a fortune to plan, is ruined by a stomach bug. An hour-long journey home for Christmas winds up getting you stuck in the traffic of a freak snowstorm. A lifetime achievement is overshadowed by a national disaster.Our lives are defined by the unforeseen. We have our dreams, hopes and are flying to some faraway shore. Yet life doesn’t care. Around every corner, at every flap of our wings, everything can change.

The best laid plans

“So much of life, it seems to me, is determined by pure randomness.”-Sidney Poitier

Life Randomness Quote

“Everything's not going to go perfect. You're going to have some losses that you're going to have to bounce back from and some things that are a little unforeseen that you're going to have to deal with.”-Tony Dungy

Quote on the Unforeseen

The most momentous and significant events in our lives are the ones we do not see coming. Life is defined by the unforeseen.

For a human or animal to learn whether to avoid, or seek out, a particular experience again in the future, their brain must associate a positive or negative feeling, or “valence” with that stimulus. The brain’s ability to link these feelings with a memory is called “valence assignment”.

Valence And Valence Assignment

In 2016, Kay Tye, today a professor in Salk’s Systems Neurobiology Laboratory and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator, discovered that a group of neurons in the brain’s basolateral amygdala (BLA) helps assign valence when mice are learning. One set of BLA neurons was activated with positive valence, as the animals learned to associate a tone with a sweet taste. A separate set of BLA neurons was activated with negative valence, as the animals learned to associate a different tone with a bitter taste.

The Neurons Assigning Valence

In the new study, the researchers homed in on the importance of the signaling molecule neurotensin to these BLA neurons. They already knew that neurotensin is a neuropeptide produced by the cells associated with valence processing, but so are a few other neurotransmitters. So, they used CRISPR gene editing approaches to selectively remove the gene for neurotensin from the cells—the first time that CRISPR has been used to isolate specific neurotransmitter function.

The Molecule Signaling Valence 

Without neurotensin signaling in the BLA, mice could no longer assign positive valence and didn’t learn to associate the first tone with a positive stimulus. Interestingly, the absence of neurotensin did not block negative valence. The animals instead became even better at negative valence, having a stronger association between the second tone and a negative stimulus.

Blocking Valence

The findings suggest that the brain’s default state is to have a bias toward fear—the neurons associated with negative valence are activated until neurotensin is released, switching on the neurons associated with positive valence. From an evolutionary perspective, Tye says, this makes sense because it helps people avoid potentially dangerous situations—and it probably resonates with people who tend to find the worst in a situation.

Negative Valence Is The Default State

“We can actually manipulate this switch to turn on positive or negative learning,” says co-first author Hao Li, a postdoctoral fellow in the Tye Lab. “Ultimately, we’d like to try to identify novel therapeutic targets for this pathway.”The researchers still have questions about whether levels of neurotensin can be modulated in people’s brains to treat anxiety or PTSD. They are also planning future studies to probe what other brain pathways and molecules are responsible for triggering the release of neurotensin.

Manipulating Valence

“We’ve basically gotten a handle on the fundamental biological process of how you can remember if something is good or bad,” says senior author Kay Tye. “This is something that’s core to our experience of life, and the notion that it can boil down to a single molecule is incredibly exciting.”

Valence And Prevalence (Valēre And Praevalēre)

Researchers discovered a specific neurotransmitter that helps assign either positive or negative emotions to memories. Their discovery paves the way for a better understanding of why some people are more likely to retain negative emotions than positive ones—as can occur with anxiety, depression or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Researchers discovered a specific neurotransmitter that helps assign either positive or negative emotions to memories.

health

Health

communication

Communication

scienceandnature

Science & Nature

What’s Making a Memory Positive or Negative

Try making a list of tasks you want to tackle the next day — especially if you find that worrying often keeps you awake. Writing a to-do list can not only help you be more productive the next day but can help establish peace of mind for you to sleep better. The next day all you got to do is, make some essential changes to the list and get to work!

Make your To-Do list for tomorrow 

Reflect on your day — This will take no more than 5 minutes a day but can have a tremendous effect on your personal development. Consider what worked and didn’t work today. This helps you appreciate your accomplishments, and shape a better tomorrow. Start by acknowledging one or two things you wish had gone better, and end your reflection by thinking of a few wins you had. Even if you had a bad day, make an effort to end by thinking about something good that happened. Write lingering thoughts or reflections in your journal. This keeps you from going to bed with a head full of worries.

Reflect on your day

Do some reading — A better alternative to looking at your phone is to read a book. If you find it hard to get yourself to sleep, add this to your night routine. Not only will you bring the essential practice of reading daily, but you’ll also learn new stuff, get inspired, and/or come up with new ideas. It will help you calm your mind and get ready to sleep.

Do some reading

Write down at least 3 things you’re thankful for each day. Making expressing gratitude a part of your routine can help you lead a healthy and happy life. The more you make an effort to notice the things that you feel thankful for, the more you prime yourself to just naturally feel grateful instead of having to work at it.

Practice gratitude journaling 

Take care of your hygiene — Don’t forget to brush your teeth and wash your face before bed. This practice is extremely important, it helps you regulate your hygiene, and does not allow acne or bacteria to form. This is basic. Start from the simple practices and then curate a skin routine for yourself.

Take care of your hygiene 

Regular meditation practice can help you relax physically and mentally. Mindfulness meditation, in particular, may help improve your ability to release the day’s stress and tension in preparation for a good night’s sleep. Meditation can also help reduce behaviors that keep you up, like cycling through anxious thoughts.

Meditate 

If you like these ideas, kindly follow my DeepStash profile for more such ideas :<a href="https://deepstash.com/u/maaz.zulf">https://deepstash.com/u/maaz.zulf</a>You can also buy me a coffee to support my work:<a href="https://www.buymeacoffee.com/maazzulf">https://www.buymeacoffee.com/maazzulf</a>Thanks!

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Following are some of the best evening habits to clear your thoughts and set your mind for the upcoming day before going to bed.

Last Tuesday, I wrote about habits you should include in your morning routine, so I figured, today we’ll discuss about habits you should have in your night routine! You’ve probably heard a lot about…

6 Habits To Include In Your Night Routine.

5 key insights from,Rewired: Protecting Your Brain in the Digital Age. by Carl Macri

Rewired: Protecting Your Brain in the Digital Age

We form early attachments that influence our future relationships; we make friends who influence what we watch, wear, and say; we work in groups that form societies; we stay connected to people we love for most of our lives.Humans are wired for social interactions. Our brains are endowed with networks of neurons that compel us to form strong attachments and social bonds. It is critical to have empathy and form strong social bonds. Mental health is under siege in the Digital Age.

1. Our brains are uniquely wired for social interactions.

As a result of spending so much time with our smartphones and a growing number of apps that penetrate nearly every aspect of our lives, we use media and technology as a mood regulator. We no longer tolerate boredom because we don’t have to—stimulation and reward are an arm’s reach away. Over time, online social media and other applications began displacing offline face-to-face interactions. This disrupts attachments with parents, weakens bonds with friends, and diminishes the full capacity of our prefrontal cortex as we become more distracted, divided, and depressed.

2. Beware of your smartphone.

The human brain goes through an impressive transformation from birth to adulthood and we have a pretty good understanding of how and when these changes occur. Can we use developmental neurobiology to inform our understanding of the impact mobile media consumption has on children and adults alike? The answer is yes.The seduction of media multitasking, the risks of constant social media comparisons, and an internet laden with advertising superstimuli are all designed to keep you coming back for more. This contributes to rising rates in adults of anxiety, depression, narcissism, and loneliness.

3. To manage the impact of smartphones, we need to think developmentally.

There are a lot of wonderful things about mobile media, information, and communication technology. But we are all walking around with an incredible amount of computational power with full access to the internet and a world of temptation and titillation in our pockets. Sometimes habits slip into addiction. It’s hard to tell with technology when this line has been crossed since it is so easy to hide unhealthy smartphone habits and their use is pervasive.“When you change your habits, you change your brain—it’s that simple.”

4. Not all tech habits are addictions, but all tech addictions start as habits.

There are many causes for worry about the corrosive effects of mobile media, information, and communication technology in our lives and brains. But there are also reasons to believe that we will create a common expectation that these technologies can and should support us, not divide and depress us. Humans are capable of positive change and there are signs that we will survive the threats of our many smartphone habits. Our incredibly adaptive brains will see us through the technology revolution of the Digital Age—a revolution that will likely accelerate.

5. There is hope for a future with tech-life balance.

There is a difference between surviving and thriving. We need to be more proactive than reactive in order to create a digital literacy for our children and a tech-life balance for ourselves. We need healthy brains functioning at their peak if we will have any chance of dealing with the many problems society faces. The same brain science that informs our understanding of the negative consequences of too much media consumption and unhealthy smartphone habits can also inform clear recommendations about how to move forward.

Surviving and Thriving

“Brains are tricky and adaptable organs. For all the ‘neuroplasticity’ allowing our brains to reconfigure themselves to the biases of our computers, we are just as neuroplastic in our ability to eventually recover and adapt.”-Douglas Rushkoff

Neuroplasticity Quote #1

“Because of the power of neuroplasticity, you can, in fact, reframe your world and rewire your brain so that you are more objective. You have the power to see things as they are so that you can respond thoughtfully, deliberately, and effectively to everything you experience.”-Elizabeth Thornton

Neuroplasticity Quote #2

Rewired: Protecting Your Brain In The Digital Age

Harvard neuroscientist Carl Marci shares 5 key insights from his new book, Rewired: Protecting Your Brain in the Digital Age.

Understand yourself and those around you.

psychology

Psychology

mentalhealth

Mental Health

artsandculture

Society, Arts & Culture

Nothing […] is a better proof of a well ordered mind than a man’s ability to stop just where he is and pass some time in his own company.

You ask: what is the proper limit to a person’s wealth?First, having what is essential, and second, having what is enough.

Certainly you should discuss everything with a friend; but before you do so, discuss in your mind the man himself.After friendship is formed you must trust, but before that you must judge.

[P]eople who never relax and people who are invariably in a relaxed state merit your disapproval - the former as much as the latter. For a delight in bustling about is not industry - it is only the restless energy of a hunted mind. And the state of mind that looks on all activity as tiresome is not true repose, but a spineless inertia.

Let our aim be a way of life not diametrically opposed to, but better than that of the mob. Otherwise we shall repel and alienate the very people whose reform we desire; we shall make them, moreover, reluctant to imitate us in anything, for fear they may have to imitate us in everything.

Philosophy calls for simple living, not for doing penance, and the simple way of life need not be a crude one […] One’s life should be a compromise between the ideal and the popular morality.People should admire our way of life but they should at the same time find it understandable.

Cease to hope, and you will cease to fear […] Fear keeps pace with hope […] both belong to a mind in suspense, to a mind in a state of anxiety through looking into the future. Both are mainly due to projecting our thoughts far ahead of us instead of adapting ourselves to the present. Wild animals run from the dangers they actually see, and once they have escaped them they worry no more.

You ask me to say what you should consider particularly important to avoid. My answer is this: a mass crowd […] When a mind is impressionable and has none too firm a hold on what is right, it must be rescued from the crowd: it is so easy for it to go over to the majority.

A single example of extravagance or greed does a lot of harm […] what then do you imagine the effect on a person’s character is when the assault comes from the world at large? You must inevitably either hate or imitate the world. But the right thing is to shun both courses: you should neither become like the bad because they are many, nor be an enemy of the many because they are unlike you. Retire into yourself as much as you can. Associate with people who are likely to improve you. Welcome those whom you are capable of improving. The process is a mutual one: men learn as they teach.

Cling […] to this sound and wholesome plan of life: indulge the body just so far as suffices for good health. It needs to be treated somewhat strictly to prevent it from being disobedient to the spirit […] Reflect that nothing merits admiration except the spirit, the impressiveness of which prevents it from being impressed by anything.

The ending inevitably matches the beginning: a person who starts being friends with you because it pays him will similarly cease to be friends because it pays him to do so.If there is anything in a particular friendship that attracts a man other than the friendship itself, the attraction of some reward or other will counterbalance that of the friendship.

The wise man, Chrysippus said, lacks nothing but needs a great number of things, whereas the fool, on the other hand, needs nothing (for he does not know how to use anything) but lacks everything. The wise man needs hands and eyes and a great number of things that are required for the purposes of day-to-day life; but he lacks nothing, for lacking something implies that it is a necessity and nothing, to the wise man, is a necessity.

One’s physical make-up and the attributes that were one’s lot at birth remain settled no matter how much or how long the personality may strive after perfect adjustment. One cannot ban these things any more than one can call them up. The tokens used to portray embarrassment by professional actors […] are a hanging of the head, a dropping of the voice, a casting down of the eyes […]; a blush is something they can never manage to reproduce; it is something that will neither be summoned up not be told to stay away. [These things] are quite independent; they come unbidden, they go unbidden.

Epicurus said ‘We need to set our affections on some good man and keep him constantly before our eyes, so that we may live as if he were watching us and do everything as if he saw what we were doing’.So choose someone whose way of life as well as words […] have won your approval. Be always pointing him out to yourself either as your guardian or as your model. There is a need, in my view, for someone as a standard against which our characters can measure themselves. Without a ruler to do it against [we] won’t make the crooked straight.

A philosophy that saw self-possession as the key to an existence lived 'in accordance with nature', Stoicism called for the restraint of animal instincts and the severing of emotional ties. These beliefs were formulated by the Athenian followers of Zeno in the fourth century BC, but it was in Seneca (c. 4 BC- AD 65) that the Stoics found their most eloquent advocate. Stoicism, as expressed in the Letters, helped ease pagan Rome's transition to Christianity, for it upholds upright ethical ideals and extols virtuous living, as well as expressing disgust for the harsh treatment of slaves and the inhumane slaughters witnessed in the Roman arenas. Seneca's major contribution to a seemingly unsympathetic creed was to transform it into a powerfully moving and inspiring declaration of the dignity of the individual mind.

mindfulness

Mindfulness

'It is philosophy that has the duty of protecting us ... without it no one can lead a life free of fear or worry' For several years of his turbulent life, in which he was dogged by ill health, exile and danger, Seneca was the guiding hand of the Roman Empire. This selection of Seneca's letters shows him upholding the ideals of Stoicism - the wisdom of the self-possessed person immune to life's setbacks - while valuing friendship and courage, and criticizing the harsh treatment of slaves and the cruelties in the gladiatorial arena. The humanity and wit revealed in Seneca's interpretation of Stoicism is a moving and inspiring declaration of the dignity of the individual mind. Selected and translated with an Introduction by Robin Campbell

Lucius Annaeus Seneca (often known simply as Seneca or Seneca the Younger); ca. 4 BC – 65 AD) was a Roman Stoic philosopher, statesman, and dramatist of the Silver Age of Latin literature. He was tutor and later advisor to emperor Nero, who later forced him to commit suicide for alleged complicity in the Pisonian conspiracy to have him assassinated.

Seneca

Letters from a Stoic

Being wrong is an unavoidable aspect of the human condition. Defining what constitutes “wrong,” however, can get messy. People can be wrong about any multitude of things, from misremembering the name of a ’90s pop song to incorrectly casting blame onto a friend during a heated argument. Mistakes happen on scales big and small, topics tangible and moral or ethical. Being wrong can be defined as a deviation from external reality, or an internal upheaval in what we believe, with the caveat that wrongness is too vast to fit neatly into either category.

The Familiar Feeling Of Being Wrong

Cognitive dissonance: When two beliefs or behaviours conflict or when a person’s actions contradict their beliefs. This conflict usually results in anxiety or feelings of uncertainty.The motivation to reduce the dissonance leads us to double down on our beliefs and come back to those beliefs stronger.

Barriers To Recognizing Error

When we err, we risk social ostracism or embarrassment.Admitting that you’re wrong actually improves our reputation.By owning up to our errors, others see us as friendlier and more agreeable.

Admitting That You Are Wrong Is A Positive Thing

<ul><li>Normalizing wrongness can help people more easily come to realizations of their own fallibility</li><li>If we see people own up to mistakes and move on from them, it may be that we are more likely to admit fault ourselves</li><li>Uncovering a mistake in your work allows you to grow</li><li>Here's an opportunity for me to learn something"</li></ul>

Use Mistakes as An Opportunity to Model Wrongness

Admitting wrongdoing isn’t a failure, it’s an opportunity.

How to admit you’re wrong

It’s only when you get back home that you can really begin to understand a trip and implement the changes it may have set into motion inside you.Think about what stood out to you on your trip.When did you feel moments of joy, wonder, excitement or longing? What are some of the things that you experienced on it that you rarely or never experience in the same way at home?Was it being face-to-face with natural beauty, like craggy caverns, clear waters or sunny fields?Or was it something more human, like murals made by local artists, buzzing street markets or nightlife, or school kids?

The Trip You Take Can Be Life Changing

One of the keys to a life-changing journey is taking the time afterwards to unpack your experiences, and not just your suitcases. Celebrated travel writer Pico Iyer explains how.

3 questions that turn a trip – even a day trip! – into a life-changing one 

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