The School of Life

There is one question that, perhaps more than any other, gets to the root of who we are and what motivates us: “What did I need to do in childhood to win the support and approval of my parents?” We might - to sharpen the picture - need to lean on a few subsidiary enquiries… Enjoying our Youtube videos? Get full access to all our audio content, videos, and thousands of thought-provoking articles, c...

Our societies have dropped ever more rituals from our calendars. The long history of rituals seems to be winding down. That’s a great pity. Enjoying our Youtube videos? Get full access to all our audio content, videos, and thousands of thought-provoking articles, conversation cards and more with The School of Life Subscription: https://t.ly/lh5Jq Be more mindful, present and inspired. Get the best...

Sometimes we may end up in a couple where we spend a lot of time complaining - to concerned friends and family - that the other person is evidently and committedly ‘afraid of intimacy.’ They don’t often talk of their emotions; they may find it hard to be physically cosy; they don’t cry so often. Enjoying our Youtube videos? Get full access to all our audio content, videos, and thousands of thought...

The School of Life founder (and voice behind this channel) Alain de Botton lays out his ideas on love in the modern world - at a conference by Google held in London in May 2016 called Zeitgeist [many thanks to them for the film]. Enjoying our Youtube videos? Get full access to all our audio content, videos, and thousands of thought-provoking articles, conversation cards and more with The School of...

This video sees Alain de Botton, Creator of The School of Life and narrator on the majority of our videos, talking at a Google event in London in 2017. Enjoying our Youtube videos? Get full access to all our audio content, videos, and thousands of thought-provoking articles, conversation cards and more with The School of Life Subscription: https://t.ly/K3Syr Be more mindful, present and inspired....

Emotional Intelligence, Daily. Start now: https://www.theschooloflife.com/subscription/ Are you mistaking pain for passion? This film delivers a vital lesson: the only love worthy of the name is reciprocal love. We explore why we settle for ambiguity and emotional unavailability, tracing this self-abandonment back to childhood trauma. Learn the non-negotiable rules for healthy, fully present, and...

The answer to what humans need to find happiness is entirely different in the East than the West. Westerners would do well to understand the Eastern point of view. Enjoying our Youtube videos? Get full access to all our audio content, videos, and thousands of thought-provoking articles, conversation cards and more with The School of Life Subscription: https://t.ly/PEDjc Be more mindful, present an...

We may check our phones to see if any messages might have come in, if someone posted an interesting film, if something dreadful has happened overseas. But this is in danger of sounding far too normal and too kind to us. The truth is a lot darker and rather more humbling. Enjoying our Youtube videos? Get full access to all our audio content, videos, and thousands of thought-provoking articles, conv...

Nowadays, in our more difficult moments, many of us turn to social media for reassurance. Unfortunately, we're more likely to encourage further self-hatred. FURTHER READING You can read more on this and other subjects here: https://bit.ly/3MWP2rK MORE SCHOOL OF LIFE Watch more films on SELF in our playlist: http://bit.ly/TSOLself SOCIAL MEDIA Feel free to follow us at the links below: Facebook: ht...

Nearly all of us wish to be known as 'nice' people. Yet our happiness may depend on a willingness to be — at points — strategically selfish. Enjoying our Youtube videos? Get full access to all our audio content, videos, and thousands of thought-provoking articles, conversation cards and more with The School of Life Subscription: https://t.ly/u0B7- Be more mindful, present and inspired. Get the bes...

What is it that makes us most distinctively ourselves? Our bodies, our memories, our values...? Take a tour through the philosophy of personal identity. Enjoying our Youtube videos? Get full access to all our audio content, videos, and thousands of thought-provoking articles, conversation cards and more with The School of Life Subscription: https://t.ly/qoEu2 Be more mindful, present and inspired....

Emotional Intelligence, Daily. Start now: https://www.theschooloflife.com/subscription/ This film explores the three non-negotiable psychological ingredients that lead to deep connection, transforming mystery into actionable insight. Learn how Curiosity, Broad-Mindedness, and Kindness are the real keys to romance—and why you should only ever choose a partner who seeks to truly know and accept your...

The real danger for most people is not that they ignore others in the name of their own needs, it’s precisely the opposite: that they constantly put aside authentic inner development for the whims of so-called respectable opinion. Enjoying our Youtube videos? Get full access to all our audio content, videos, and thousands of thought-provoking articles, conversation cards and more with The School o...

Emotional Intelligence, Daily. Start now: https://www.theschooloflife.com/subscription/ Ever wonder why your ex is so happy? This film explores the bittersweet truth that we often serve as the unwitting teachers for our ex-partners, helping them mature into ideal future companions. Discover how our most painful relationship struggles can become the groundwork for someone else's happiness, and—with...

When it comes to deciding what to do with our lives, we are frequently presented with what looks like a very painful choice: the passionate path vs the safe path, but which is best for us in the long term? Enjoying our Youtube videos? Get full access to all our audio content, videos, and thousands of thought-provoking articles, conversation cards and more with The School of Life Subscription: http...

The key to originality doesn't lie in seeking out new ideas and experiences, but rather in examining our own neglected thoughts. Enjoying our Youtube videos? Get full access to all our audio content, videos, and thousands of thought-provoking articles, conversation cards and more with The School of Life Subscription: https://t.ly/e2Sxq Be more mindful, present and inspired. Get the best of The Sch...

It’s extremely nice when other people agree with us. But it’s also not unpleasant when we find people whose views revolt us completely. Enjoying our Youtube videos? Get full access to all our audio content, videos, and thousands of thought-provoking articles, conversation cards and more with The School of Life Subscription: https://t.ly/UpuRQ Be more mindful, present and inspired. Get the best of...

There is a widespread tendency to assume that others must know what we mean and want without us having actually told them clearly. We assume that if they don’t, then it must be a sign that they are being wicked or deliberately obtuse. The truth is we have forgotten the fundamental importance of teaching. Enjoying our Youtube videos? Get full access to all our audio content, videos, and thousands o...

The set of ideas we can call Romanticism is responsible for making our relationships extremely difficult. We shouldn’t give up on love; we should just recognise that it’s a skill, not an emotion. Enjoying our Youtube videos? Get full access to all our audio content, videos, and thousands of thought-provoking articles, conversation cards and more with The School of Life Subscription: https://t.ly/v...

How could we lose touch with feelings that belong to us? Where might they go? And what might be driving their loss? Enjoying our Youtube videos? Get full access to all our audio content, videos, and thousands of thought-provoking articles, conversation cards and more with The School of Life Subscription: https://t.ly/sWea7 Be more mindful, present and inspired. Get the best of The School of Life d...

There are few more important tasks for parents than to be able to listen properly to their children. It’s on the basis of having been listened to with close sympathy and imagination that a child will later on be able to accept themselves. FURTHER READING You can read more on this and other subjects here: https://bit.ly/39RwTwy “There are few more important tasks for parents than to be able to list...

Listening is something we’re very reluctant to do, not because we’re lazy, but because we have never actually been taught how to do it properly, in a way that can be interesting and rewarding for us. Enjoying our Youtube videos? Get full access to all our audio content, videos, and thousands of thought-provoking articles, conversation cards and more with The School of Life Subscription: https://t....

Enjoying our Youtube videos? Get full access to all our audio content, videos, and thousands of thought-provoking articles, conversation cards and more with The School of Life Subscription: https://www.theschooloflife.com/the-school-of-life-youtube/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=description&utm_campaign=The%20Achievement%20of%20Missing%20Someone Learn, heal and grow. Get the best of The School of...

The Russian 19th century novelist Fyodor Dostoyevsky deserves our attention for the austerity and pessimism of his vision – from which we can nevertheless gain enlightenment and hope. Enjoying our Youtube videos? Get full access to all our audio content, videos, and thousands of thought-provoking articles, conversation cards and more with The School of Life Subscription: https://t.ly/vsVeX Be more...

Emotional Intelligence, Daily. Start now: https://www.theschooloflife.com/subscription/ Want to know your partner's true character? This film explores the paradox that we often only see a person's authentic self when the relationship ends. Discover why the breakup reveals more than years of marriage—exposing hidden immaturity, or surprising decency—and why you should marry the person you'd want to...