-
Week 17 Questions for Know Thyself 2019: Happiness
by Emily Kluge(This post is part of a weekly series for Know Thyself 2019, a 365 day journal project. Start here!) This Week’s Journal Topic: Happiness Do you want to be happy? For all humans, the answer is an unambiguous Yes. To be human is to seek happiness, wouldn’t you agree? The desire for happiness simultaneously brings humanity together and tears us apart. Sure, we are...
Comments 0 -
A Cheerfulness Practice to Radically Improve Your Mindset and Get Rid of Ennui
by Emily KlugeDon’t let a chronic case of the Mondays bring down your entire life. Have you ever felt that each week is more of the same? You make it through Monday to Thursday. Finally, it’s Friday! But suddenly it’s Monday again. How did that happen? The weeks run like torturous deja vu. Or perhaps it feels like every day is worse than the last. ...
-
Can you Be Present AND plan for the Future?
by Emily KlugePop-culture’s Enlightenment Error “Happiness is only achievable in the present moment.” “To be present you must put aside thoughts of the past and future.” “Just breathe, trust, let it go and see what happens.” Statements about being present are multiplying as quickly as smoothie shops. Mindfulness websites, motivational wallpapers, and Instagram captions recycle and repurpose ancient wisdom into naïve platitudes that briefly catch our...
-
Week 10 Questions for Know Thyself 2019: What’s Love?
by Emily Kluge(This blog is part of a weekly series for Know Thyself 2019, a 365 day journal project. Start here!) This Week’s Journal Topic: Love In English, the word “love” can refer to anything from pleasant regard (“I love your blouse.”) to deep interpersonal affection (“Your love completes me.”). Although the word is frequently used, many of us, when asked, would have to think about...
-
Week 1 Questions for Know Thyself in 2019: Sleep
by Emily Kluge(This blog post is part of a weekly series for Know Thyself 2019: A Journal Project) S L E E P The question topic might surprise you. Why start a self-knowledge journal asking about something that we’re unconscious for? Two major reasons to figure out your relationship with sleep: Your brain health. Deep thinking and creativity require proper brain function. If you’re not sleeping well, then...
-
Know Thyself in 2019: A Journal Project
by Emily KlugeThe most important thing you can do is learn who you are. There are so many motivational speakers available to us, so why are we still doing so little with our resources? I mean, we don’t seem to be getting any happier. That is what we want, right? Maybe it’s time to admit that motivation enough to find a happy and healthy life. Why...
-
How to Live without Shame and Avoid Rationalizing
by Emily KlugeA few days ago I was discussing justification with a colleague. The previous two blog posts were about Justification (Parts 1 and 2). He suggested a third aspect of justification: excuse-making or rationalization. This is distinct from the epistemic notions of justification. A discussion of rationalization justification falls under the categories of pragmatism (human, goal-oriented reasoning) and psychology. What is Rationalization Justification? Rationalization is...
-
My Favorite Tool to Break Free from Hopelessness and Depression
by Emily KlugeToday I want to share with you one of the most powerful healing tools I used early on, and still occasionally use, to manage painful emotions such as anxiety, sadness, hopelessness, or emotional “flatness”. Deep thinkers are often sensitive people, which is why this post is appropriate for a critical thinking blog. Make a List Start by writing a list of some things that...
-
Life Lessons At the Xerox Machine
by Emily KlugeA lesson for self-acceptance from an unlikely place Yesterday at work I walked by a co-worker who was having some difficulty with a new printing system that had recently been installed. She sighed and explained to me that I was lucky since I was new and didn’t know the old system at all. She was used to doing things the old way and, therefore,...
-
Psychology of Competition: Why you don’t Value what will make you Happy
by Emily KlugeOur Inconsistent Set of Values As a society we say that “it’s what’s inside that counts.” However, the fact of our ultra-busy, career-chasing lives, and the billion-dollar beauty and med-spa industry reveals that we actually seem to think it’s the external things that give us value. Why is there this split between what we want to value, what we say we value, and what...
