We are all caught in a pessimism trap but there is a way out
When the world is going to hell in a handcart, it’s easy to fall into the pessimism trap. But it’s not the right thing to do
More from Aeon+Psyche
How to know what you really want
From career choices to new purchases, use René Girard’s mimetic theory to resist the herd and forge your own path in life
«These are people whose desires are in some sense intertwined with your own – they can affect your desires, and you can in turn affect theirs»
Slow down, it’s what your brain has been begging for
It’s no small task to live a life of sustained attention. So slow down, and give your brain a break to do its work
«Paying attention to the moment during a walk shifts focus away from the internally generated, anxiety-provoking scenarios, creating much-needed space.»
To meet your goals, forget willpower and fill your toolbox
Achieving your goals has nothing to do with willpower and everything to do with using the right mix of psychological tools
Dogs are symbolic containers of human hopes, desires and vices
In all its baroque and sometimes cruelly overbred forms, the dog is a paramount symbol of both human hopes and foibles
«As a rising middle class started to focus on their own family trees, creating an ‘elite’ from new money, so dogs started to be classified too.»
Empathic friends can provide the right kind of peer pressure
Research on empathy development in adolescents suggests an under-appreciated potential for positive peer influence