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Photo of people in a sunny square with bikes and scooters, near Les Tontons and a large building advertisement in Bordeaux.

Your life is not a story: why narrative thinking holds you back

Our stories help us make sense of a chaotic world, but they can be harmful and restrictive. There’s a liberating alternative

by Karen Simecek

Photo of two men in dark clothing sitting and smiling at a round table in a dimly lit room with glasses.

How to tell a better story

Personal stories have the power to connect, entertain, persuade. Use a pro storyteller’s tips to pick and prepare a great one

by Micaela Blei

A person watering plants in an urban garden with buildings in the background on a cloudy day.

How to make your life feel more meaningful

Existential psychology offers specific ways to find meaning, giving you a buffer against despair in these anxious times

by Steven Heine

Monks in colourful robes and hats, forming a circle during an outdoor festival with flags and onlookers in Tibet.

Complexity science can deepen your mindfulness practice

What if ‘stress reduction’ is the least interesting thing mindfulness does? Complexity science offers new ways forward

by Pavel Chvykov

A waterfall under a stormy sky with mist and a building on the left cliff surrounded by trees in the background.

How to think about the sublime

An exquisite mix of fear and awe, pleasure and pain, the sublime stretches the imagination and reveals the limits of reason

by Nicole A Hall

Illustration of diverse people in warm tones, depicting a crowded scene with varied clothing and hairstyles.
WISDOM

Wisdom is a virtue, but how do we judge if someone has it?

Our team explored who is considered wise in cultures with contrasting philosophical traditions. The results surprised us

by Igor Grossmann & Maksim Rudnev

A surfer riding a wave under a cloudy sky, with another large wave shown behind.

Equanimity is not stillness – it is a mobility of the mind

To grasp the power of this lauded quality, think of it less as a mountain than as a flexible, even playful way of seeing

by Michael Uebel

A cityscape at night with two silhouetted figures in the foreground and a full moon above a mountain in the background.

We can live well, even though we don’t have a higher purpose

The novelist and poet Ursula K Le Guin shows we can reject nihilism and naive optimism by practising our collective freedom

by Alexis Shotwell

Painting of a bundle of American banknotes tied with a green ribbon pinned to a wall on a brown background.

Greedy people might be frowned upon, but are they the winners?

Some individuals have a persistent tendency to want ever more stuff and status. Psychologists are examining the lives they lead

by Karlijn Hoyer

A dirt path lined with baobab trees by water, an ox-drawn cart carrying people.
WISDOM

African proverbs provide the blueprint for a meaningful life

Incorporating ancient African wisdom into wellbeing interventions could push positive psychology beyond its Western roots

by Richard Appiah

A film still of a woman, Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games movie franchise, with a braid standing in a transparent elevator looking out with a thoughtful expression.
FILM

Hollywood’s fixation on the wrong stories won’t help our world

Today’s global problems are caused by broken systems, but the studios still feed us a diet of movies focused on individuals

by Namir Khaliq

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Psychedelics are philosophical tools for demolishing assumptions

By shaking up our sense of how things are, substances like LSD or psilocybin have the potential to promote deep learning

by David J Blacker

Photo of a woman with tattoos taking a selfie on a smartphone wearing an off-shoulder dress in front of glass doors.

Social comparison is driving us to despair. It doesn’t have to

In the social media age, it seems impossible not to measure ourselves against others – but we can dodge the worst pitfalls

by Wojciech Kaftański

Painting of a forest at night with a small house and dimly lit sky visible through the trees.

Is modern asceticism about conformity or quiet revolution?

From detoxes to slow food, today’s asceticism is often about fitting in. But we can rediscover its transformative power

by Iryna Mykhailova

Black and white photo of two elderly women sitting on a wooden bench in a chapel with heads bowed, one has a handbag beside her.

Find meditation really boring? You’re not the only one

Other practices like sermons, yoga and retreats can also trigger ‘spiritual boredom’. Here’s why it’s normal and even useful

by Thomas Goetz

A blurred black cat jumps on dirt ground in the foreground, with a distant statue of Pope John Paul II with arms outstretched against the sky in the background

Cultural taboos arise from a basic feature of the human mind

Unquestioned community rules on marriage, dining and even black cats often stem from our hunger to explain random events

by Kevin (Ze) Hong