Shortform Books

The Housing Shortage: Causes, Effects, & Outlook

What factors are contributing to the housing shortage? Does it look like prices will go down, or are the high prices here to stay? How is it affecting renters? If you’ve looked into buying or selling a house recently, then you will have noticed the exorbitant prices of homes at the moment. Unlike the 2006 housing crisis, the high costs have a more complicated cause this time. Continue reading to learn what factors are causing the current housing shortage and if the prices will go back down.

Circle of Competence: How to Identify & Develop Your Own

What are your circles of competence? How can you identify them? What should you do if you need to work outside of them? Shane Parrish and Rhiannon Beaubien explain a simple model for pinpointing where your strengths and weaknesses lie. Knowing whether you’re in a circle of competence allows you to avoid blunders and make better decisions. This helps you learn, grow, and succeed more in life and work. Keep reading to learn how to identify your circles of competence, what to do if you find yourself outside of one, and how to develop a new one.

Rupi Kaur’s Poems About Love in The Sun and Her Flowers

What are some of the best poems about love from Rupi Kaur? What does Kaur say about falling in and out of love? In The Sun and Her Flowers, Rupi Kaur’s poems about love explore both the celebration of new love and the heartache of loss and abuse. Her poetry demonstrates a journey toward self-love, realizing she is deserving of safe, healthy relationships. Keep reading for an overview of Rupi Kaur’s poems about love in The Sun and Her Flowers.

Finding Your Art’s Audience: Is Art for Yourself or Others?

Who is your art’s audience? Should you make work for yourself or for other people? The Practice by Seth Godin claims that finding your art’s purpose involves figuring out who the work is for. Maybe your art is just for yourself, or maybe it’s for other people who might enjoy your work. Read below to decide who you should make art for.

How to Ace Your Arts and Humanities Classes

Are you majoring in the humanities field? Do you want to get good grades in your arts and humanities classes? If you’re taking an arts or humanities class such as English or design, you might need to change your study habits. As Cal Newport says in How to Become a Straight-A Student, studying for a humanities course is different than studying for a STEM course. Read below how to pass your arts and humanities classes with the best grades.

The 4 Strategies for Overcoming Procrastination

What causes procrastination? Why do we put off things that matter to us the most? More importantly, how can you stop procrastinating once and for all? Contrary to a common misconception, procrastination doesn’t result from laziness or lack of motivation. Rather, procrastination stems from how you think about and approach work. Therefore, the key to overcoming procrastination is changing your relationship with work (and play). With this in mind, here are four strategies for overcoming procrastination.

What Creates a False Sense of Entitlement?

How does a person create a false sense of entitlement? Why is it harmful to themselves and others? According to psychologist Martin Seligman, unearned self-esteem leads to a false sense of entitlement by making people believe it’s not necessary to work hard for success. Seligman says this is in part due to societal pressure to always maintain high self-esteem. Read on to learn the causes and dangers of a false sense of entitlement, according to Seligman.

Understanding Other People’s Feelings: The Myths & Truths

How can you better understand other people’s feelings? What are the benefits of empathizing with others? If you want to understand other people’s feelings, you need to first understand your own emotions, according to Lisa Feldman Barrett. Barrett is a neuroscientist and psychologist who has devoted herself to deconstructing old theories of emotions to create a new, more accurate theory. Read on to learn the myths and truths Barrett has identified about understanding other people’s feelings.

The #1 Rule of Thumb for Making Hard Decisions

Are you facing a difficult decision? How do you make a decision when neither option is appealing? When making hard decisions in life, first and foremost, consult your values. If you make a decision that contradicts your values, you’ll likely regret it down the road. Your core values are the guiding compass that will lead you in the right direction even when you don’t know your final destination. Keep reading to learn about the importance of values in decision-making.

Emotion and Facial Expression: Can You “Read” People?

Is there a relationship between emotions and facial expressions? How can you “read” someone’s emotions, according to psychology? According to Lisa Feldman Barrett’s research, the idea that facial expression reveals emotion is an outdated concept. Barrett claims that emotions are constructed rather than innate to humans, so a facial expression could have different meanings from one person to the next. Keep reading to learn why facial expression and emotion actually aren’t related, according to Barrett.