Deserts of Plenty

Anything you do — daily, weekly, yearly — will have a last time you do it . You almost never know when that “last time” is happening. Reflecting on this, helps you slow down and savour these moments.

When it comes to living life, upgrading your health and wellbeing (mental, physical, and spiritual) is like upgrading your travel from coach to business class. The exact same trip but the perks are spectacular. Ralph MacLeod

Top Ten Psychological Truths that life has taught me.

So much can happen to your chickens once they hatch that waiting on counting can make sense.

Our expectations influence how hard something feels

Main Question: Why Is Sugar Sweet? Initial assumption: “Sugar is sweet because… sugar” But that’s not an explanation — sweetness isn’t inherent Two possibilities: Sugar is inherently sweet (unlikely) Humans evolved to perceive sugar as sweet because it’s a high‑value energy source

Did you make any New Year's Resolutions? How many did you keep?

Charlie Munger asked... would you rather be the world's greatest lover and nobody knows it, or being a terrible lover but everything THINKS you're the greatest.

The history of the Populist Movement in the late 19th century and Civil Rights in the 1960's was a push by opponents to put race above class. Today, the left tries a similar feat putting ideology above class.

Extending the benefit of the doubt to people will aid you.

Behaviour, results, performance tend to stay pretty close to the average. An outlying event - either good or bad - happens but, eventually things return to 'normal'. If that event is 'good' praise won't make it continue but if that event is 'bad' yelling seems to work.

Human beings have an inherent bias towards us vs them thinking. Only by being aware of it can we hope to reduce its effect on us.

On the eve of my 60th birthday, I have recently discovered what held me back for so many years. Now that I know, how much peace and happiness it has brought me.

It doesn't matter how good is your idea if you're a jerk.

"Having a routine frees us from the burden of making choices". That quote by Brianna Wiest really resonates with me so i discuss it here.

The TDSB, in my opinion, is a flawed institution while the people within it are, by and large, incredibly competent, talented, and caring. What's up with that?

Twenty years ago a family member prompted me to try something that, at the time, I thought was useless and dumb. Now, I do that thing regularly. How did that happen?

In 1994, Stella Liebeck ordered a coffee from a McDonald's drive through. What happened next was a master class in public relations.

The Buddha believed that the mind was a sense organ, similar to the ears or eyes. What the mind sensed was not sounds not images but thought bubbling up from what we would call our subconscious.

James Clear in his book, Atomic Habits, shows a better way to change our habits. We tend to think motivation comes before change but it's often the other way around. We don't become motivated to change until we see changes.

Recently, a friend wanted to offer me her review of a new movie. However, before she felt safe to do so, she had to check to make sure no one was listening. Is this the future we want?

Technology, inventions, changes, choices we make... are all examples where we can rarely know the full impact of them until far into the future. The Birth Control Pill, designed to curb unwanted pregnancies, actually led to more pregnancy. The far-reaching political ramifications of this technology couldn't have even been dreamed of by its inventors.

A repeat from earlier in the year. Antifragility is a term coined by Nassim Nicholas Taleb in his book "Antifragile: Things That Gain From Disorder." It refers to a property of systems or organisms that thrive and improve when exposed to stressors, volatility, and uncertainty. Unlike fragile things that break under pressure, antifragile entities become stronger and more resilient over time. The co...

"In a hundred years we'll all be dead and none of this matters." That statement can fill one with an existential dread but it also has another way to approach it. Ruminating on ones own mortality has an upside.

Right now, the present moment, is the only time you can DO something. The rest is just thinking.