Isn’t it strange that we now almost automatically feel shame after doing anything pleasurable or relaxing? I shouldn’t have wasted so much time in the shower this morning. I should have skipped the tiramisu last night. I shouldn’t have curled up watching 4 episodes of New Amsterdam yesterday. While there’s wisdom in learning not to overindulge in […]
Unusual Lessons from a Thirty-Year Career In Medicine
If I could choose my doctor, I’d like it to be Rachel Naomi Remen. She writes with a rare mix of elegance and tenderness. Her work is a shimmering oasis in the vast desert of content that surrounds us. If you need a warm, life-affirming break from scrolling through overnight oat videos on Instagram, turn to […]
These Netflix and Prime Shows Will Warm Your Heart
Who doesn’t love an uplifting and thought-provoking show? We think of the time spent passively in front of our laptops as though it were a complete waste. The truth is that movies and shows can tell stories that help us reflect on what we want out of life. These shows will evoke a lot of […]
This Single Question Will Help You Feel Wealthy Right Now
As I tried on several items from the clothing store my parents own, I marvelled at how I’d failed to notice the pretty things they sell. It was almost summer. I’d been thinking my wardrobe could use an upgrade and hadn’t considered that my parents might be able to help in this respect. On a […]
Five Words That Move You Much Closer To Your Goals
When I’m tutoring a student in maths and we come across a difficult problem, I ask: “What if this was simpler?” I was helping an 8-year-old to practice dividing. The topic is fairly new to him. He tilted his head to consider the question “40 ÷ 5”. As he pondered it, I said: “James, what […]
These Beautiful Letters Will Help You Relax Into Your Own Skin
So you’ve heard a lot about the need to be kind to yourself. You have no idea how to actually do it. It’s not your fault. You’ve learnt from the culture we live in to blame yourselffor being lazy and undisciplined/wasting time on social media/not taking enough chances with your career/being a lousy parent/insert the many other failings you […]
What If This One Question Can Always Make You Feel Better?
It’s funny how the things we avoid the most — like moving our bodies, eating whole foods and finally doing our taxes — can help us the most. We tend to think of work as a burden and vacations as a reward. Our chores and to-do lists are to be tackled as quickly as possible, […]
The Mathematical Theorem That Also Serves As Fantastic Life Advice
If you’re surprised to hear that maths can be used as a tool to teach self-help, don’t be. I believe so deeply in its powers that I’ve written a book about it. So let’s turn to the theory in question. In his excellent book ‘Man vs Maths’ Timothy Revell puts Bayes’ theorem in simple terms: for any […]
It Pays Not To Do Your Best. Just Do.
A fellow tutor I deeply admire* said something to me a few weeks ago that has since stuck: anything worth doing is worth doing badly. It reminded me of some wise words my husband shared with me: 20 minutes of doing something is more valuable than 20 hours of thinking about doing something. Imagining you […]
How To Find Fun Everywhere You Go
In his book Indistractable, Nir Eyal make the point that we can reimagine the concept of fun. Eyal explained that Ian Bogost, who studies fun in great depth (as we all should), says fun doesn’t have to have be enjoyable. He defines fun as: ‘the aftermath of deliberately manipulating a familiar situation in a new […]