Psychology Archives

Principled Living: The Key to Finding Meaning

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What does it mean to live a principled life? Do you uphold any personal principles of behavior? As the name suggests, principled living means abiding by certain principles or core values when making decisions and interacting with others. Many self-help gurus advocate that living a meaningful life entails defining and living by certain non-negotiable principles. Read on to better understand principled living, with ideas drawn from various popular sources.

Olivia Fox Cabane: What Makes Someone Charismatic?

What makes someone charismatic? Are some people just born that way or is it a trait that can be learned? Charismatic people are magnetic: their personalities make you want to spend time with them. According to Olivia Fox Cabane, the author of The Charisma Myth, charisma is a combination of three traits: mindfulness, authority, and goodwill. Here is a breakdown of each trait so you can better understand what charisma is.

What Makes You You? It’s Up to You

What makes you you? Do you think what you are is determined by internal factors (thoughts, feelings, moods) or external factors (your circumstances and social identity)? There are many different views about what makes someone who they are. Some argue that one’s self is a repertoire of their internal world (their thoughts, feelings, beliefs, values, etc.). Others say that you are the product of a combination of your genetics and conditioning. Continue reading to understand what makes you you.

The Problem With Self-Help Books

Do you read self-help books? Have you ever thought that reading self-help literature can actually hinder, not help, your progress and self-esteem? While the desire to better yourself is commonly accepted as a positive character trait, it can be taken too far—damaging both how you view yourself and how you view other people. There are two main problems with self-help books: 1) they can ingrain the message that there’s something inherently wrong with you, and 2) they overemphasize the self. Keep reading to learn about the problems with self-help books and the self-help genre as a whole.

Subjective Words: Are You Communicating Reality?

What do we communicate when we use subjective words? Are we conveying reality or merely our perception of it? Subjective words do not convey objective reality. Like everyone else, you use subjective words to convey what you believe to be true. However, your beliefs—just like your perceptions—are subjective. These are the assertions of authors don Miguel Ruiz and don Jose Ruiz, who further argue that linguistic subjectivity—and our blind acceptance of subjective beliefs as concrete facts—are at the root of our unhappiness. Read more to learn how we communicate with subjective words and what impact that has.

How to Be More Charismatic and Still Be Yourself

Want to know how to be more charismatic? Is charisma a natural talent or can anyone develop it? Many people think that charisma is something you either have or you don’t. However, Olivia Fox Cabane dispels that myth in her book The Charisma Myth and posits that charisma is a quality that can be learned and developed. She says that the first step to becoming more charismatic is to mastering your mind and emotional state. Here’s how to master your mind.

The Top 7 Quotes From Outliers

What are some of the best quotes from the book Outliers? What are their meaning and context? In Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell shows us that where you’re from and the opportunities you’re given matter as much as personal advantages such as talent and intelligence. He pokes holes in the myth that successful people are “self-made.” Continue reading for a few thought-provoking quotes from Outliers and their context.

The Importance of Beliefs: Your Key to Happiness

What do you believe to be true about the world and yourself? How well do you realize the importance of beliefs? In The Fifth Agreement, Miguel Ruiz and Jose Ruiz discuss the importance of beliefs. They also explain that beliefs determine happiness—and how wrong beliefs cause damage to ourselves and others. Keep reading to learn about the importance of beliefs.

Stop Holding Yourself Back With Self-Limiting Beliefs

Do you often tell yourself that your dreams are too big and that you’ll never reach them? Why must you be willing to be bad at something? When you tell yourself that you’re not capable of something, you’re actually making your statement come true. Self-limiting beliefs hold you back from accomplishing your goals because if you convince yourself that you will fail, then you will fail. The truth is that nobody is great at something when they just start—you just have to be willing to work to get better. Here is Rachel Hollis’s advice for overcoming self-limiting beliefs from Girl,

Outliers by Gladwell: Self-Made Success Is a Myth

What is Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers about? What does this book say about success? Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell is a collection of stories, each exploring a variety of external factors that contribute to success. Gladwell tells these stories through the lenses of various disciplines, including history, sociology, and psychology. Keep reading to learn the basics of Outliers by Gladwell.