Shortform Books

How to Improve Your Marriage: The 4 Principles to Follow

Are cracks beginning to show in your marriage? What are some things you can do to prevent your marriage from deteriorating beyond repair? If you are seeing signs that your marriage is beginning to fail, put your efforts toward improving your marital friendship. According to relationship researcher John Gottman, improving your marital friendship is a matter of following four principles. Here’s how to improve your marriage, according to Gottman.

How Practicing Forgiveness Can Heal You From Suffering

Do you tend to harbor grudges and ruminate on past hurts? How can practicing forgiveness help you rid yourself of suffering and truly move on with your life? By practicing forgiveness, we can leave the negative experiences of our past behind and move forward with our lives. According to Louise Hay, the author of You Can Heal Your Life, we can even rely on forgiveness to heal from diseases. Here’s why it’s important to practice forgiveness and letting go.

How Is the Brain Structured? A Neuroanatomist Explains

How is the brain structured? How does its structure impact its function? The brain is the most complex organ in the body. Though each part of the brain serves its own function, they all work in tandem to create your sense of self, direct your body’s movements, and generate a coherent picture of your surroundings. Here’s how neuroanatomist Jill Bolte Taylor explains the brain’s structure.

Anti-Inflammatory Diet for Beginners: 4 Changes for a Healthy Life

What should you eat (or not eat) if you’re fighting inflammation? What’s a good substitute for trans fats? Is intermittent fasting a good idea? The food you eat directly impacts the amount of inflammation in your body. Inflammation damages cells and overloads your mitochondria, resulting in fewer antioxidants and more free radicals in your body. Ultimately, this leads to disease and makes you age faster. Keep reading to discover a practical anti-inflammatory diet for beginners.

What Is the FairTax Act? How It Works & Main Critiques

What is the FairTax Act? How does it work? Will the FairTax Act be passed? A House Republican has introduced the FairTax Act of 2023, a bill that would replace the income tax and other taxes with a national sales tax. If the bill became law, Americans would no longer file tax returns—instead, they’d pay a 30% tax on their purchases. Read on to learn about what the FairTax Act is, the main critiques of the Act, and the likelihood of it being passed.

How to Transcend a Poverty Mindset

How does your mindset influence your financial success? How can you shed your self-sabotaging beliefs about money and adopt a rich mindset? The beliefs you hold about money greatly affect your financial outcomes. If you have a poverty mindset, you’ll end up poor even if a large sum of money lands in your lap (e.g. through inheritance or winning a lottery). Here’s how you can transcend the beliefs and ideas about money that keep you stuck in poverty.

What Is Homophily? Examples From Matthew Syed

What is homophily? What are some examples of the negative consequences of homophily? In his 2019 book, Rebel Ideas, Matthew Syed explains why cognitively diverse groups are superior to homogeneous ones. According to Syed, homogeneity can lead to dangerous outcomes, including homophily, which means our tendency to surround ourselves with like-minded people. Read on to learn what homophily is, including some examples from Syed’s book Rebel Ideas.

How Is Trust Earned? The 3 Proven Ways

Why is trust so important in relationships? How is trust earned? What does it take to destroy trust? Trust sets the tone of every interpersonal interaction. Trust is earned gradually but can be destroyed in an instant. Therefore, you should make maintaining trust your top priority in all your relationships, personal and professional. Learn how trust works, why it’s important, and how to build it with others and yourself.

General McMaster: Afghanistan Was a Tragic Missed Opportunity

When it comes to Afghanistan, where did U.S. policy go wrong? How did it become such a failure? According to General McMaster, Afghanistan was an opportunity for the U.S. to make peace in the region. Instead, the U.S. allowed it to return to a place of conflict that once again poses a serious threat to the world. Continue reading to learn McMaster’s take on Afghanistan and the lessons to be learned.

The Kochtopus: The Multiple Arms of the Koch Brothers

What on earth is the Kochtopus? How has it shaped politics and economics in America? The Kochtopus is an informal term used to describe the network of nonprofits that Charles Koch and David Koch funded to spread their free market ideals. In her book Dark Money, Jane Mayer discusses this network, arguing that it does more harm than good. Keep reading for Mayer’s history of the Kochtopus.