Psychology

Humans encounter difficulties and cover our innate purity, eventually forgetting our essential nature. We begin to believe that our personalities, our particular abilities or habits, are who we truly are, losing sight of the truth that lies beneath the surface.

Meditation Teacher & Author of "Radical Acceptance

In essence, we suffer from a mistaken identity, identifying ourselves as individuals rather than recognizing our interconnectedness. Through evolution, we've developed the ability to sense connection, collaborate, empathize, and show compassion, gradually discovering our belonging to a larger whole.

Meditation Teacher & Author of "Radical Acceptance

The more we recognize that we are the ocean and the waves represent different aspects of our being, the less any individual wave of difficulty will consume, overwhelm, or define us.

Meditation Teacher & Author of "Radical Acceptance

Don't base your identity on your opinions. This can be a perilous path because it makes it challenging to change your mind. Instead, it's preferable to root your identity in your values and character.

Founding Executive Editor of Wired Magazine & Technology Thinker

We are made up not of atoms, but of stories.

Founding Executive Editor of Wired Magazine & Technology Thinker

It's quite remarkable that we, creatures who evolved dodging predators on the African savannah, have been able to develop quantum mechanics. I find this to be a splendid evolutionary offshoot.

Theoretical Physicist & Public Advocate for Science and Atheism

What makes him dangerous is an unwavering determination; those who suggest potential exit strategies are overlooking a key aspect of his character. Any off-ramp simply provides an opportunity for him to seek the next on-ramp.

U.S. National Security Advisor under President Donald Trump

Each time we learn something new or encounter a fresh experience, we trigger a reconfiguration of our brains. Neuroplasticity is highest during youth, explaining why children and young adults up to the age of 25 absorb knowledge so rapidly. Their learning capacity is immense, akin to sponges soaking up water.

Alzheimer's disease researcher and Harvard Medical School neuroscientist

If you truly immerse yourself in a role, it's akin to spontaneously adopting an accent – suddenly, you find yourself expressing thoughts that seem to emerge from an unexplored facet of your personality. This latent potential has always existed within us.

Actor known for 1980s films like "St. Elmo's Fire

Truth be told, fatherhood was never a role I envisioned for myself, never an ambition I pursued. Yet now, I consider it the most defining aspect of my identity and my place in the world.

Actor known for 1980s films like "St. Elmo's Fire

In a peculiar way, failure can sometimes be simpler to grapple with. You can simply resist it, dismiss it with a defiant 'to hell with this, to hell with them', and return to square one. Conversely, success can be considerably more subtle and insidious.

Actor known for 1980s films like "St. Elmo's Fire

Success and fame, especially fame, can instigate fundamental shifts within us at a cellular level. The very nature of fame is peculiar; it's akin to an insatiable flame that ceaselessly yearns for more, compelling you to endlessly seek something, despite its ultimate emptiness.

Actor known for 1980s films like "St. Elmo's Fire

Relationships are an emotional exchange hub. We bestow energy upon one another, help each other de-stress, and ignite joy in each other's lives. However, we must acknowledge that the digital realm filters out a significant portion of our emotional bandwidth.

Director of Harvard Study of Adult Development & Psychiatrist

When we crafted that phrase, it was because we saw a similarity with physical fitness. If you work out today, you don't return home and declare, 'Great, I'm finished, I never have to exercise again.' Those with the strongest social bonds diligently nurture them throughout their lives.

Director of Harvard Study of Adult Development & Psychiatrist

When our original participants reached approximately 80 years of age, we asked what are your greatest sources of pride, and what are your deepest regrets? The predominant regret was the disproportionate time spent working and the inadequate time spent with loved ones.

Director of Harvard Study of Adult Development & Psychiatrist

One of my Zen mentors authored a book entitled 'Ending the Pursuit of Happiness'. He criticises the concept of chasing happiness as a curative fantasy – the mistaken belief that happiness is an attainable, sustainable, and permanent state. No one is in a state of perpetual happiness.

Director of Harvard Study of Adult Development & Psychiatrist