In 2006 I went to a book reading and slide show by legendary alpine climber Ed Viesturs. He’d just published his book about summiting the world’s 14 peaks over 8,000 meters (26,264 feet) without supplemental oxygen, No Shortcuts to the Top and my friends and I had a front row seat for his show. We … More The Usefulness of Play
The common definition of narcissism is the pursuit of gratification from vanity or egotistic admiration of one’s idealised self-image and attributes. Narcissists are people who believe to be unique, superior to others and masters of a wonderful existence that no one can imagine. As a result, they may be bullies and arrogant. They need constant … More How to Identify a Narcissistic Personality
Dear, readers, I recently had a chance to interview Troy Headrick, blogger here at Pointless Overthinking. The transcript of our conversation follows. *** TLH: While preparing for this interview, I read your brief autobiographical blurb on the PO “Our Team” page. The accompanying photograph got my attention. You seem to be grinning from ear to … More Troy Headrick Interviews…Troy Headrick
Happy November to my fellow bloggers and blog-lovers. I have always been a free spirit and lately I’ve been thinking about what’s next. So here’s my question for you all. If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be? I’m interested to see where our readers would choose. I, for one, would … More Question of the Day No. 544
Hi everyone! This week’s topic is change of opinions. This came out of a discussion with my friend this past week. The main point is that for many people, including me, their opinions change almost radically as they go through from teenager years to young adulthood and especially adulthood. I definitely did a lot of … More Change
Scrolling down our various social media profiles may give us the impression that everyone that we know is having the time of their lives 24/7. Glowing smiles of newly formed relationships, exotic foods, sculpted flawless bodies all exemplify the perfection that they have achieved. One puts down their phone and is immediately filled with a … More The Perils of Perfectionism and the Joy of Being Ordinary
The Parable of the Second Arrow According to the Buddha, any time we suffer misfortune, two arrows fly our way. The first arrow is the bad event itself, which certainly can (and often does) cause pain. The second arrow is our reaction to the bad event, the suffering we attach to our pain. This secondary pain, he tells us, is … More Escaping the Emotional Rabbit Hole
My 6-year-old has discovered the gift of reading. The other day as we were wandering up an alley on our way to a little park in our neighborhood, I was idly listening as she was reading the signs on fences, garages and painted on the cement. “No nuck-es” she said. I looked down at the … More Internal Peace
The words you use can change your reality. Language actually generates changes in your brains and changes your perception of the environment around you. Language is linked to emotions. Your words are constantly sending messages to your brain. According to neuroscientists Andrew Newberg and Mark Robert Waldman, negative words cause the increase of cortisol, the … More Why You Are the Words You Use
Hi, everyone. I want to start by saying “thanks” to you, our readers. Without you, there would be no Pointless Overthinking. We are so grateful that you spend your precious time with us, and we are deeply inspired by your “likes” and comments to the pieces we publish here. If you’ve been a long-time reader … More Pointless Overthinking Seeks Your Advice and Feedback
The great resignation of 2021 has been a huge headline this year. After millions of people lost their jobs in 2020, this year we saw millions of employees voluntarily leave their jobs. Here’s my hot take—employers can’t fight this. If somebody isn’t willing, you can’t coerce them to be willing. Even if you do, that willingness won’t be sustainable. … More Work With The Willing: A rule of thumb for human capital management (and life)
Hello! As I said in a previous post, I have had some health issues in recent months, things that were kind of (thank God, not much) affecting my daily life without me realizing it much. Before the diagnosis, I was having some trouble and I did not understand why and how. I kept asking if … More Clarity
Why is it that we spend so much time and effort pursuing goals and desires that go against our natural intuitions and inclinations? Motivated by the longing for external praise and validation, we chase lofty ambitions which ultimately feel inauthentic and unnatural. This is akin to trying to swim against rather than with the flow … More The Flow of Life: The Wisdom of Wu Wei
Here are a couple question I’m keen to get your thoughts on: What are your most important values and why? How do you live up to them? I look forward to hearing your answers. *** You can find AP2’s personal blog here at: https://clear-air-turbulence.com You can also find him on Medium at: https://anxiouspilot2.medium.com Or on Twitter at: @AnxiousPilot
By Jack Canfora Trigger Warning: this post has no content. Not literally, obviously. I mean, the very words “this post has no content” proves that there IS content. I mean, there’s nothing in this post in terms of, well, anything. It’s a blank canvass, minus the blankness and the canvass. This piece is pure Zen, … More Nothing Is Good (In a Good Way)
I was recently reading the fourth book in the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling to my 6-year-old daughter and she asked, “Why are they telling us that his parents were killed by Valdemort and he lives on Privet Drive with his aunt and uncle again? We already know that!” So we talked about the … More Creating Context
Leonardo da Vinci was the most creative genius in history. Of course, saying that I learned things from Leonardo is perhaps a bit risky, because in fact Leonardo is the very embodiment of genius. As we know, Leonardo lived in a particular era for humanity, the Renaissance, when literature, philosophy, science and the fine arts … More What I Have Learned from Leonardo da Vinci
By Troy Headrick If I had a dollar for every hour I’ve stood at the front of classrooms and talked to a room of college students, I’d be rich. Unfortunately, I’m not wealthy. If only I’d been paid by the hour, in the way I’ve just described! Most of those who know what I do … More Sunday Thoughts, Monday Mornings
Hello there! Welcome back on another Sunday! I want to talk about emotions today; about how weird they are. I am a believer that emotions guide us. I made many decisions based on how I felt and most turned out to be good for me (If you have taken the MBTI test at 16personalities.com, there … More Understanding Emotions
If there is anything that we seem to fear most in this world, it is uncertainty. The great unknown, the darkness that lies in the abyss. Uncertainty about how the future will unfold is the source of many of our anxieties. This is because we desperately crave certainty. We dream of secure and orderly lives … More How to Manage Uncertainty: Lessons from Philosophy