“But I don’t want comfort. I want God, I want poetry, I want real danger, I want freedom, I want goodness, I want sin." “In fact," said Mustapha Mond, “you’re claiming the right to be unhappy." “All right then," said the Savage defiantly, “I’m claiming the right to be unhappy." “Not to mention the right […]
Resilience: Becoming Antifragile In The Face Of Adversity
April 16, 2015 by Leave a Comment
Bad things happen. It’s just a fact of life. As far as I can tell, this isn’t going to change anytime soon, unless, of course, a super-intelligent AI comes along and solves all human problems. For the sake of this post, let’s assume that this doesn’t happen for a little while. What are we going […]
Write About Your Experiences. It’s Good For You.
March 22, 2015 by 3 Comments
Those of you who have been reading my blog for a while are well aware of the value I place on writing. I find that any time I’m mulling something over, writing down my thoughts on it really helps give me more clarity. In general, I feel as though I’ve framed writing as a more […]
The Positive Side Of Negative Emotions
March 1, 2015 by 4 Comments
This blog is called Feel Happiness for a reason. The pursuit of happiness is indeed a noble pursuit, and working to become a happier person has many obvious (and some not so obvious) benefits. But it would be easy to take this truth and derive some altogether false and damaging ideas from it. Happiness is […]
Stop Being A Jerk And Learn To Cultivate Empathy
February 8, 2015 by 1 Comment
In a classic episode of The Simpsons, Bart won an elephant named Stampy. At the end of the episode, they had to give Stampy to a wildlife preserve because they could no longer afford him. Back in the wild, Stampy began to head-butt the other elephants and knock them over as Bart cheered him on. […]
Kabbalah and Self-Reflection
January 8, 2015 by 6 Comments
One of the things that separates humans from other species is our capacity for self-reflection. We don’t need to blindly react to stimuli in the same way every single time. Instead, we can learn from our mistakes, take advantage of our strengths, and structure our lives in ways conducive to bettering ourselves. Many spiritual traditions […]
Reflections on One Year with a Standing Desk
December 25, 2014 by 5 Comments
It was right around Christmas 2013 when I began to use a standing desk at work. One year later, I can safely say that this was one of the better decisions I’ve ever made. The only reason I’ve ever heard of a healthy person not choosing to use a standing desk is that they are […]
Cuddling: If It Wasn’t Obvious Already, Here’s Why You Should Be Doing It
October 31, 2014 by 3 Comments
Who doesn’t enjoy a good cuddle? Well, there is Michael Kelso of That 70s Show, who once remarked to his girlfriend, “Why would we cuddle when we could do it?" As crazy as it may sound, we’re about to answer that question here. We all know that cuddling just feels great. That much is practically […]
Serendipity and Baseball Cards
September 14, 2014 by 8 Comments
“There are two ways to live: you can live as if nothing is a miracle, or you can live as if everything is a miracle." -Albert Einstein I had already been collecting baseball cards for a few years before it happened. Sometime in elementary school, I believe it was around the fourth grade, I […]
Busyness Is A Choice
August 3, 2014 by 3 Comments
A little under a year ago, I got a new job. I suppose you could call it my first “real" job. Man, have I been busy. This job (which I very much enjoy, in case you were wondering) has me working from 6:30-6:30 every day (including a half hour commute each way), plus occasional weekends, […]
