One of my favourite insights from the German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer relates to the human negativity bias, that is, our tendency to focus on what bothers us. As he writes: Just as a brook forms no eddy so long as it meets with no obstructions, so human nature, as well as animal, is such that…
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Cringing at ourselves, while painful, can lead to greater awareness of our personal identity. First, one of the most common forms of self-cringe is cringing at our past selves, which reminds me of this meme (our brains are incredibly adept at recording cringe memories in crisp detail, whereas positive memories are a bit more blurry).…
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The German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer wrote extensively on – what he believed to be – the intrinsic misery of existence. Even if you don’t end up agreeing with Schopenhauer’s pessimistic worldview, reading some of his writings on the human condition is still a reliable way to dampen your mood. As I will elaborate in this…
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