Do you love yourself? I know, it’s an extremely personal question. When a counselor first asked me this question I was taken aback. It’s offensive and puts one in a defensive position. And who likes feeling defensive? But therapy is about healing and I answered as best I could. Again, and again. I’m fairly certain every counselor, therapist, and coach I have worked with has asked me some form of this question. I do love…
Have you ever felt like scientists were assholes? Or at least super arrogant? I often hear scientists sound this way. And when I was in academia it seemed they surrounded me. Being an academic seemed synonymous with being so arrogant that you turned people off. I think many of us have experienced this and it does academia and science a disservice. It’s like a medical doctor with no bedside manner. If you can’t communicate with…
Lately, I’ve been wondering about capitalism and competition. As I have mentioned in other episodes (links below), competition only occurs when resources are limited. Also, capitalism requires competition to protect consumers from monopolies. While I argue in older episodes that this protective feature often doesn’t work, the fact remains that capitalism requires competition. That competition is a requirement of capitalism is critical BECAUSE competition only occurs when resources are limited. When there are plenty of resources, there…
Would our ancestors be proud of us? When I think of the problems humans face today: suffering, anxiety, inequality, social justice issues, war, pollution . . . I try to put things in an evolutionary context. On the one hand, we have come so far. We have created many wonderful ‘science’, ‘technology’, and ‘engineering’ elements that benefit individuals and society. Clean water. Sanitation. Medicine. On the other hand, it hasn’t all been rainbows and unicorns. We can’t seem…
Much of our lives seem haphazard and disorganized. Sometimes doing our best simply means being able to get out of bed and go through the motions. As we gain awareness we learn how to better navigate life’s obstacles. We learn to see the obstacles as the way. It is possible – I am living proof. As my journey – specifically the work I am doing here on my podcast – evolves I go back and…
Knowledge + Experience = Wisdom 138 One of the most influential papers from my former career described the ‘River Continuum Concept’. Though quite basic, this paper revolutionized how we thought about streams and rivers. Specifically how freshwater systems changed from their springs where they began to the oceans into which they drained. This paper introduced me to systems thinking and changed how I think about the world and nearly everything in it. Generally, systems are comprised…
Episode 137 Do you ever think about your comfort zone? You know, the thing that keeps you doing the same things over and over. And helps you stay calm, minimize anxiety, and do the things you need to do. I think of the comfort zone as being like a cocoon that surrounds our bodies. When we get into situations where we are uncomfortable, scared, or unfamiliar we start to experience negative emotions. Sometimes we’re afraid.…
This episode is inspired by the idea that the USA has the world’s most expensive yet least h care. At least this has been the type of conclusion drawn from many analyses that compare things like GDP, cost of health care, and individual health. The idea is that we have come a long way, but we don’t necessarily have a lot to show for it. Or, maybe it’s about making all of this so-called ‘progress’,…
The words ‘leader’ and ‘narcissist’ bug me. I think these two words are overused. I also don’t think we really know what they mean anymore. Maybe we never did. Maybe the words have been usurped by the very people defined by them. Let’s start with leadership. What is this, exactly? If you look on LinkedIn (which I did, then I quit) you will see ‘leadership’ as being a top-tier achievement. The word is thrown around…
This is really the third in a series about the evolutionary significance of sex. I recorded this Episode first, then forgot about it and recorded the previous two episodes (117 and 118). Funny that this was all on my mind to the point where I forgot talking about it. But that’s how important this is. I can’t stress it enough and so give it three Episodes. The evolution of sexual selection as the way to…