The Alchemist is a bestselling novel written by Paulo Coelho and published in 1988. Since then, it’s been translated into languages all over the world and adapted to film, theatre, and music. One of the most popular and most highly recommended novels of all time, it seems almost silly introducing it. However, while it is a novel, The Alchemist can often read more like a…
Napoleon Hill might not have known how influential his book Think and Grow Rich would be when he published it in 1937. But, nearly a century later, copies are still flying off the shelves. Think and Grow Rich was a commissioned piece; Hill was asked by none other than Andrew Carnegie to put together a list of the common qualities all wealthy, successful people share.…
Morning people are an enviable bunch. To some of us, the idea of being able to jump out of bed the minute our alarm goes off, no matter how early, is laughable. Who actually wants to get out of bed, especially at 5 or 6 in the morning? If you think the best morning routine is the one that doesn't require getting out of bed,…
Imagine you’re at a movie theater to see a film. This theater is special, however; instead of just sitting in a seat and watching the movie, the theater completely immerses you in the experience. You are able to smell, taste, and feel everything that’s going on around you. You even hear the protagonist’s thoughts as if they were your own. According to Michael A. Singer,…
It’s nearly 1 AM. You should be in bed but you’ve been hit with a nasty case of the midnight munchies. You’ve tried everything but meditating cravings away doesn’t ever seem to work nearly as well as health bloggers say it does. Before you know it, you’ve inhaled a pint of ice cream and, after deciding there’s no coming back from your failure, going back…
“You’re so sensitive.” “You need to grow a thicker skin.” “Buck up.” If anyone has ever said anything like this to you before, you know how unhelpful it is to hear. While everyone has a different capacity for handling difficult people or situations, according to Dr. Judith Orloff, some of us may be especially sensitive to other people’s thoughts, feelings, and emotions: Empaths. Anyone is…
The most common cause of our unhappiness is ourselves. We create limits and assumptions in our heads that create anxiety, rob us of joy, and cause our own needless suffering. Don Miguel Ruiz wrote The Four Agreements to teach us how to eliminate those self-imposed beliefs from our thoughts and live our happiest lives by reminding ourselves of four simple mottos. These four mottos, which…
You’ve probably heard of an IQ, before. You may have even taken a test to determine your own IQ. We’re often told that our IQ, or intelligence quotient, is a predictor of our future health and success. But what if it wasn’t? In fact, it may actually be our EQ—emotional intelligence quotient—that better judges our capacity for success and good health. Not to be confused…
Michael Pollan is no stranger to food. He's written several books on the subject and is best known for his criticism of modern-day agriculture. He believes that the industrial revolution has distorted our relationship with our food and where it comes from. In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto distills his approach to healthy eating into three simple steps: Eat food. Not too much. Mostly…
David Burns’s psychiatry career started like that of many psychiatrists before him. He would meet with patients, assess their moods and lives, and prescribe medications to help even out the presumed chemical imbalances in their brains. He spent many years working this way. However, he rarely if ever saw his patients improve in any meaningful way, which was the industry norm... until Cognitive Behavioral Therapy…
