Work and vocation

Self-knowledge and personal growth Relationships, work and leisure Values and ethical living

Animals Caregiving Communication and language Community Conflict and conflict resolution Cooperation and collaboration Food and drink Forgiveness Friendship Home Love Money and economics Parenting and families Place Pleasures and pastimes Sports and games Technology and media Travel Work and vocation

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Personality

idea

Introverts are excluded unfairly in an extraverts’ world

One in three people are introverts, physically present, but culturally absent. We shouldn’t have to change to be heard

by Noa Herz

A painting of a man with long hair wearing a black outfit and hat, holding a lit cigarette, and sitting in a café with a glass of green liquid.

Thinkers and theories

idea

Learning to be a loser: a philosopher’s case for doing nothing

For Emil Cioran, a life devoid of action, practical ambitions and busyness is a life in which room has been made for meaning

by Costica Bradatan

Creativity

guide

How to be lucky

Most of us think that luck just happens (or doesn’t) but everyone can learn to look for the unexpected and find serendipity

by Christian Busch

Meaning and the good life

film

A boatbuilder above the Arctic Circle works hard at his epicurean life

Directed by Vern Cummins & Jamie Gallant

Neon signs reading “Willkommen im Love Story” and “Caffe” with two women in lingerie at the entrance, illuminated by red lights.

Gender

idea

The reality of prostitution is not complex. It is simple

Prostitution is not sex and it’s not work. Its reality is far from complex – in fact, it’s simple. Trust me, I’ve done it

by Rachel Moran

The self

idea

The self of self-help books is adrift from social and economic facts

Self-help books are a broken parachute: to win friends and influence people, take advice from a social scientist instead

by Craig Schamel

Painting of a woman in black sleeping on a wood-frame bed, on a yellow textured coverlet and with her feet under an orange blanket.

Pleasures and pastimes

guide

How to rest well

Taking a break isn’t lazy – learning to recharge is a skill that will allow you to enjoy a more creative, sustainable life

by Alex Soojung-Kim Pang

Travel

film

‘It pulls you in’: the staff seduced by the rhythms of the Trans-Siberian railway

Directed by Anastasia Kirillova

Work and vocation

idea

In an unstable economy, I found freedom and security in sex work

Speculation about the mental health of sex workers is undermining. Focus instead on how to improve our working conditions

by Tamara MacLeod

Man in cap and blue jacket using a pitchfork to cut turf in an open landscape with a spade resting in a partly dug hole.

Work and vocation

idea

For the Stoic Musonius Rufus, manual work is philosophy too

The Stoic Musonius Rufus practised philosophy by bridging the seeming gulf between intellectual work and manual labour

by Lee Clarke

Black-and-white photo of two people examining a map on the desert sand, with tyre tracks leading into the distance behind them under a clear sky.

Decision-making

guide

How to make a difficult decision

It’s tempting but unwise to delay important choices. Grasp the nettle by using both systematic checklists and gut instinct

by Joseph Bikart

Artists and art history

film

One Kandinsky, one viewer and one guard, in a Moscow power station

Directed by Nastia Korkia