The World's Best Book Summaries
What does Imago mean in psychology? Do you have your own Imago? According to Harville Hendrix and Helen LaKelly Hunt in Getting the Love You Want, an Imago figure is an idealized image that resembles the people who raised you. This image is sometimes used to find romantic partners to fill the void that your caretakers couldn’t fill. Read more to discover your own Imago, psychology’s history of Imago figures, and an example.
How did the crew of the Endurance survive? How did the crew live on ice glaciers? Alfred Lansing’s book Endurance recounts the Endurance crew’s journey home against impossible odds. What started as an expedition to Antarctica turned into years of living on ice and islands. Find out the most incremental moments that helped the Endurance crew survive the harsh conditions.
Do you have a feeling you’re pursuing the wrong goals? Why would you make decisions and choose goals that waste your energy and make you unhappy? Many people chase after the wrong goals—pursuing things for the sake of getting social approval. While impressing others may feel good in the short term, it will eventually make you feel miserable and unfulfilled. Here’s why chasing after superficial goals is the worst kind of self-sabotage.
How do you write a purpose statement that actually works? What are Simon Sinek’s tips for creating a purpose statement? A purpose statement is a sentence that declares your Why, or purpose. In the book Find Your Why, Simon Sinek presents a step-by-step process to discover and articulate your purpose, which you can go through with a partner or in a team workshop. Keep reading to discover Simon Sinek’s purpose statement traits, including an example for starting your own.
What is love? How does love connect to philosophy? How can it lead to human happiness? The ancient Greek philosopher Plato addresses these questions and more in his Symposium, a work which claims that passionate desire, rather than cold and detached analysis, drives philosophy. Symposium also provides insight into Plato’s views on happiness, education, and reproduction. Below is a brief overview of Plato’s Symposium on love.
What is a progressive income tax? Why should the wealthy pay more taxes? In Capital in the Twenty-First Century, Thomas Piketty argues that since the 1980s, wealth inequality has made a troubling comeback that demands a response. His proposed solution is a progressive income tax. Read more about Piketty’s case for progressive taxation and why other economists think differently.
What are the best habits to change your life today? How can you embrace new habits permanently? In Untamed, speaker, author, and activist Glennon Doyle shares how she was unable to express her emotions or cope with the heartache, pain, anxiety, and depression she experienced as a young woman. Eventually, Doyle discovered new habits that freed her from the strictures of society by rejecting the limitations society imposes on women. Read on to find out two of the most important habits for living a happier life, according to Doyle’s advice for women.
If humans are cooperative by nature, why do we wage wars with each other? Does our species owe its survival to competition or to cooperation? According to Rutger Bregman, the author of Humankind, human cooperation is the reason our species survived. Based on archaeological evidence, he concludes that early humans were compassionate and cooperative. He argues that, contrary to popular belief, they didn’t engage in war with each other. Here’s why humans are cooperative—rather than competitive—by nature, according to Bregman.
What is the number one cause of unhappiness? How does trying to make other people happy eat away at your own happiness? One of the most common pitfalls that prevent people from being happy is, paradoxically enough, trying too hard to make others happy. Relying on positive feedback to feel happy creates a breeding ground for unwanted experiences and negative feelings. This is because seeking validation compels you to engage in two habits that disconnect you from your true needs: suppressing your feelings and pursuing the wrong goals. Let’s explore how these two inauthentic habits eat away at your happiness.
What makes an effective presentation? What are some things you should keep in mind when putting together a slideshow? An effective presentation is one that’s put together with the audience in mind. If you are creating slides, simplify things as much as possible: make sure the text is easy to read and digest, minimize distractions (e.g. animated slide transitions), and avoid superfluous language. Here are a few useful tips for a good presentation.