Psychoscope

There is this idea which I see all the time in self-help books and articles, but which is very difficult for me to follow:  Never compare yourself to others Apparently, t here are at least 2 reasons why you shouldn't compare yourself to other people: One - because it's like comparing apples to oranges: there is no point in making this comparison. Two -  because it will only make you unhappy as there always will be someone smarter, funnier, more successful, more beautiful, etc. This is something I could never fully understand and internalize, no matter how hard I tried. Is this really so  that comparing yourself to others has no point?  That is true that other people had different paths which led them to where they are, however, fundamentally we all are following the same path: we are born under similar circumstances, we grow in similar environments, we make choices which lead us to where we are, we perform our daily activities which shape us little by little. Is tha

Expressing strong opinion presupposes a conviction. A conviction presupposes high level of expertise. High level of expertise requires time, dedication, deep analysis of the subject. How many of us can claim that we are experts when we talk with confidence about something? Reading and/or hearing about something, does not mean you know it. It means you know some aspects of it, but not others. If we knew how little we know, it would be so quiet... Thankfully, people are self-centered, overconfident, ambitious and flawed in many other ways when it comes to their opinions! That’s why we keep talking and having discussions.  Yet, it's a good idea to stay humble when expressing a strong opinion. There are many reasons for that, two of them are: First, you may be embarrassed later, when you learn how little you knew when you spoke, and when you learn that you were wrong; Second, you may not be able to truly hear other opinions, so you may miss some important insights, which

It's a good idea to review your ancestry and try to find interesting turns of events, similarities, differences, etc. Like with human history, it will not give you the ability to predict the future, but It may give you an indication of a trend and may inspire you to either contribute to the trend or change it for better.

When you dare to do something very tempting, extravagant, extraordinary and risky, a taboo, something you are not supposed to do, at least try to pause and apply second and third-order thinking: while it may be obvious that immediate result of your action will be extremely satisfactory (it wouldn't be so so tempting otherwise), the second and third-order consequences may not be that great, and thinking about them can make you change your mind. The point here is not in diverting yourself from daring and taking bold actions, but in understanding consequences of those actions. If not immediate, but second or third order consequences are undesirable, but something you would accept and be ready to live with see yourself being happy in a long run, it may still be worth taking the action, however if those second or third order consequences are absolutely unacceptable and will make your life miserable, taking action may no longer seem so tempting after thinking about it. A very s

It is good to be a stable, gravitational force, a rock, against which trivial petty worries crash and disappear, like waves. This force is your integrity. Integrity is important. If you have integrity people can rely on you, and that's how you know that you are the person of integrity. Everyone needs to cultivate stability and integrity within themselves. Although to be a stable force is good, it shouldn't stop anyone from changing the narrative they've chosen for themselves so far, even it it takes them a little off the direction of the gravitational force. If we see a need for change - new forces, new interests - we need to recognize them. We need to practice watching out for those new trends and give way for them, put effort into developing them, as that's what make us change and grow. But at some point,  new trends need to be merged into your personality so they become part of the 'stable force', and not just fits of random ideas or desires, which are n