Addicted to Awe: Why Some People Turn Into ‘Wonder Junkies’

I read an interesting article titled How Traveling Abroad in Your Twenties Will Ruin Your Life and the clickbait title dragged me into what I thought would be a rant on how travelling will ruin your career prospects. But what the author delivers instead is a tongue-in-cheek and extremely relatable sentiment about how travel obsession. For some…

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Don’t Let the Pursuit of Experiences Turn Into a Status Game

A strong case can be made for prioritising ‘experientialism’ over materialism; that is, looking for contentment in experiences, rather than material things. Psychological research shows that pursuing experiences over things makes us happier. Materialism has been linked to personality disorders such as narcissism, social anxiety and generally being dissatisfied with life. Taking some time out to travel might…

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Are Human Beings Driven by a ‘Will to Novelty’?

Philosophers and psychologists throughout history have tried to define and elucidate the human species by referring to certain basic drives that we all have. One that I would like to suggest, which I believe reflects the trajectory of humanity, is the will to novelty – the desire to seek out what is new and innovative.…

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The Value of Dark Humour

Not everyone likes dark humour. That’s pretty clear. While someone may be able to laugh at a joke about a horrific and tragic event, someone else may find the topic far too sensitive to be used in that way. But this raises an important question: are some subjects too sacred for comedy? A lot of…

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How to Develop a Stable Sense of Self-Worth

A group of American Buddhist teachers once met with the Dalai Lama during a conference, and one teacher, Sharon Salzberg, brought up the problem of unworthiness: “What do you think about self-hatred?” I asked when it was my turn to bring up an issue for discussion. I was eager to get directly to the suffering I…

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