The School of Life

We are not living in an age of unusual folly. We’re simply rediscovering how rare good government has ever been – and how much there was to appreciate. 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/7VE6e Be more mindful, present and inspired....

We tend to get very attached to plan As. We’ll get married, move into a house near the park, work in financial services, pivot into philanthropy and then end up in a cottage by the sea painting and looking after our grandchildren. Or we’ll become a famous actor, play in a selection of thoughtful dramas about the inner life and in time move into production or, perhaps, mentorship. Enjoying our Yout...

For Zen Buddhists, fireflies are not just a quirk of nature — they’re the perfect metaphor for the bitter-sweet brevity of life. 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/9seyZ Be more mindful, present and inspired. Get the best of The Sch...

George Orwell is the most famous English language writer of the 20th century, the author of Animal Farm and 1984. What was he trying to tell us and what is his genius? If you like our films, take a look at our shop (we ship worldwide): https://goo.gl/vSiVRh Enjoying our Youtube videos? Get full access to all our audio content, videos, and thousands of thought-provoking articles, conversation cards...

Emotional Intelligence, Daily. Start now: https://www.theschooloflife.com/subscription/ Discover The Rule of Simplicity in relationships. We often glorify emotional complexity, but what if true, mature love isn't about endless puzzles and misunderstandings? This insightful piece explores why genuine connection should feel straightforward, offering a vital perspective on identifying healthy, viable...

Mental illness affects almost every aspect of our cognition, from threat-perception to decision-making. We must learn to be sceptical about the legitimacy of negative 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/8YqaH Be more mindfu...

A short film about what it feels like to spend too much of life alone - why loneliness feels painful, and how it can be handled. 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/D_53N Be more mindful, present and inspired. Get the best of The Sch...

At the very darkest points of individual and national life, we need – more than ever – to practice the art of resilience. 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/2flx8 Be more mindful, present and inspired. Get the best of The School of...

Being a victim of infidelity is one of the worst things that can befall us in love. One of the ways to come back from the harrowing experience is to ask what the real meaning of the infidelity might be. 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:/...

Emotional Intelligence, Daily. Start now: https://www.theschooloflife.com/subscription/ Why do we mock superstition? This film challenges the perceived superiority of rationality, arguing that our skepticism often stems not from intellect, but from luck and privilege. Explore how profound despair and lack of options can drive a seemingly irrational search for comfort, prompting a deeper empathy fo...

What if being lonely were actually a sign of being an interesting, emotionally sincere and thoughtful person? What if, in a world of superficial alliances, lonely was just what a more serious person tended naturally and legitimately to be? 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...

One of the reasons why we tend not to make friends as often as we might comes down to a powerful background idea whose full destructive force we may not even be aware of: the belief that any decent person already has all the friends they need. Enjoying our Youtube videos? Get full access to all our audio content, videos, and thousands of thought-provoking articles, conversation cards and more with...

Repeatedly choosing unsuitable partners may not be a sign of one’s misfortune. We’re more likely to be making the same mistakes on purpose — because, secretly, we believe we’re unworthy of love. 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/OU...

There remain few expressions better able to capture the futility of a task than one which compares our efforts to ‘rearranging the deckchairs on the Titanic.’ However, once we get to know them, we might come to think that they are what we should have been focused on all along. Enjoying our Youtube videos? Get full access to all our audio content, videos, and thousands of thought-provoking articles...

The process of locating a partner to love is famously so hard, it may for a long time disguise an alternative, even more complicated reality: that whatever we claim, it would be a lot easier for us if we never found them. FURTHER READING You can read more on this and other subjects here: https://9qq0.short.gy/OscLTV “The process of locating a partner to love is famously so hard, it may for a long...

We don’t end up with maddening partners by mistake. We’re driven towards them by quirks of our psychology we should learn to understand better. 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/0T4oY Be more mindful, present and inspired. Get the...

Emotional Intelligence, Daily. Start now: https://www.theschooloflife.com/subscription/ Have you ever encountered someone who seems to shift their identity effortlessly? This film explores the profound challenge of lacking a sense of self, often rooted in childhood experiences where authentic expression was stifled. Understand the complexities of loving someone who struggles to know themselves, an...

Flirting is an art that deserves to be far more widely known and far more often practiced. Here is a short guide. 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/e8YIW Be more mindful, present and inspired. Get the best of The School of Life del...

We often wake up from a dream with a powerful urge to tell those around us about what happened. But our listeners are also liable to feel restless and bored during our narration of the dream. The issue takes us to the heart of the challenges of communication. FURTHER READING “It’s been a dramatic night: you were in a hotel at a crossroads; the tide was coming in; someone threw a pencil at you; you...

Much is constantly happening that annoys us. But the question is how much does it all, beneath the surface, have to feel intentional as well? 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/lKRdv Be more mindful, present and inspired. Get the be...

Emotional Intelligence, Daily. Start now: https://www.theschooloflife.com/subscription/ Is getting back with an ex ever wise? The School of Life's Re-Entry Exam, provides a rigorous, unsentimental framework for couples considering reconciliation. Move beyond nostalgia and explore whether true change has occurred, delving into past conflicts and individual growth to determine if a second chance is...

The existence of snobbery explains why we work so hard and are so worried about our reputations. We are all terrified of humiliation and disrespect. If you like our films, take a look at our shop (we ship worldwide): https://goo.gl/ReltQR 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...

Our desire to build good and lasting friendships is often undermined by a lack of focus on what friendship should really be about. Getting clear about what friendship is for isn’t cynical; it provides the foundation for genuine bonds. 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 Scho...

A lot of our problems come from living in a culture that forces us to laugh all the time. That’s why it can be helpful to gather the darkest truths in one place, feel sad about them for a while, then head out with a lighter heart, certain that we have seen the worst life can throw at us. If you are struggling with Mental Health there are lines where you can get professional support: https://www.nh...

There is a huge emphasis on having new experiences; but very little emphasis on revisiting them in memory. We would be wiser (and happier) if we learnt to travel more concertedly around the good memories we already have. 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 Sub...