Psychology Archives

Martha Beck: The Way of Integrity (Book Overview & Takeaways)

Do you feel like you’re living out of sync with who you truly are? Who are you, deep down? What do you really want out of life? A book by Martha Beck, The Way of Integrity, is a guide to living in alignment with your true self. Beck argues that, deep down, you know who you want to be and what you want to do with your life. She contends that the greatest source of chronic misery is living out of alignment with these wants. Keep reading for an overview of this book and understand Beck’s solution to chronic unhappiness.

How to Tell if Someone Is Lying to You: 3 Verified Ways

Want to know how to tell if someone is lying to you? How do professionals detect lying? What should you look for? As a former interrogator, Evy Poumpouras knows how to understand others’ true feelings and intentions through careful observation. In Becoming Bulletproof, she argues that learning how to tell if someone is lying to you can help you to get more out of your relationships. Read on to learn how to tell if someone is lying to you, according to Poumpouras’s three methods.

Mental Filtering: How It Keeps You From Being Happy

How does your brain filter information? How does that mental filtering affect your outlook? Your brain struggles to handle all of the information it takes in. It has to sift out some data. The way it filters impacts your perceptions and ultimately your happiness. Continue reading to understand how mental filtering works and discover what you can do about it.

Is Fear Good? No—You Must Confront It & Send It Packing

Is fear good? Does it serve a positive purpose? If not, how can you get rid of fear? According to Mo Gawdat, fear is useless and just gets in the way of your happiness. In his book Solve for Happy, he recommends confronting your fear and dispelling it by asking seven questions that expose it as an unworthy intrusion in your life. Read more to learn Gawdat’s argument and his advice on how to confront your fear.

Focus on What Matters Most: Set Priorities Like a Stoic

Should you seek fame, approval, wealth, and pleasure? What would such pursuits produce in your life? Too often, what people think will make them happy ends up robbing them of joy. They waste energy going down fruitless paths in life. In A Guide to the Good Life, philosophy professor William B. Irvine argues that the ancient Greek and Roman philosophy of Stoicism offers a better way. Read more to learn how to focus on what matters most, according to Stoic philosophy.

Why Do Mass Shootings Happen in America? It’s Debatable

Why do mass shootings happen in America so frequently? What are the best measures to prevent mass shootings? According to reports, there have already been 600 mass shootings in the United States in 2022. To understand why mass shootings happen in America, researchers seek to learn what motivates mass shooters, whether it be mental illness, easy access to guns, or something else. Read on to learn both sides of the debate seeking to answer why mass shootings happen in America.

How the Environment Affects Human Behavior Positively

How does the environment affect human behavior? Is the environment a positive influence on us? In Influencer, the authors claim that you can make the environment a positive influence on your life by taking the necessary steps. If you do, your environment (whether man-made or not) will be instrumental in improving your life. Keep reading to learn how the environment affects human behavior.

What Can You Control? Not as Much as You Might Think

When it comes to your own life, what can you control? Is your perception accurate? Citing black swan events and the butterfly effect, Mo Gawdat argues that the notion that you’re in control of your life is just a myth. He advises that, in order to find happiness, you should come to grips with that reality and employ something he calls “committed acceptance.” Keep reading to get a better understanding of what you control in your life and how to practice committed acceptance.

Stoic Voluntary Discomfort: Build Up Your Tolerance for Life’s Pain

Do you worry about getting hurt? Is it possible to train yourself to hurt less? In A Guide to the Good Life, William B. Irvine argues that the ancient Greek and Roman philosophy of Stoicism has answers for many of today’s challenges. He describes six techniques that promise happiness through counterintuitive methods, including deliberately exposing yourself to discomfort. Read more to learn about the practice of Stoic voluntary discomfort and see how it can help you handle what life throws at you.

The Importance of Storytelling: 5 Ways They Make an Impact

Why are stories so impactful? How are they important personally, socially, and professionally? Stories can be powerful elements of lectures, advertisements, sermons, and therapy sessions. Stories are more effective than most other ways of relaying information, and the importance of storytelling goes far deeper than communication. Continue reading to see how storytelling engages, teaches, inspires, makes things real, and even heals.