On April 16th, 1963, the reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. was in a bad position. Specifically, he was in a jail cell in Birmingham, Alabama. More broadly, the civil rights movement had few allies and was being violently opposed by the people in power.1 He could have spent this time becoming bitter about his imprisonment or stoking anger among his followers. He could have despaired about how badly things were… Read More »Stoic Positioning
You: “Once I take care of this week’s unexpected chores, then I’ll have some breathing room.” Next week: “Hold my beer.” The “Yes … Damn!” Effect Tell me if this sounds familiar: You currently feel a little too busy, a tad overscheduled. Your to-do list feels a bit overwhelming. Someone asks you to do something in the near future that you either sort of want to do or kind of… Read More »Will You be Less Busy in the Future?
I have no idea what it feels like to be trans. I was born with a male body, and I’ve never felt like there was anything wrong with that. But I’ve also never felt like there was anything right about that. I don’t feel any sense of gender identity in my mind. But perhaps that’s because my gender and my biological sex are aligned. For a trans person, they must… Read More »You Don’t Have to “Get It”
“For many of us in the industrialized world, happiness is directly related to how big the container is. … Get the bucket size right and your life changes.”1 How much do you need to be happy? How much does it take to fill your happiness bucket? Is your home enough? Your work? Your spouse? Your hobbies? Or are you constantly craving more or better? If your happiness bucket is tiny,… Read More »Your Happiness Bucket