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[theemotionmachine]

The Art of Rejection and Saying No: One of the Most Underrated Social Skills

Learning how to reject people in a direct and polite way is one of the most difficult and underrated social skills in today's world.

Here’s how to tell people “no” and be more clear and upfront about your intentions while minimizing the hurt in others.

Learn more here!

[theemotionmachine]

There are lessons to be learned from hunter-gatherer lifestyles, but I think it's misleading to romanticize them or strive to be exactly like them. Time moves forward. The fish doesn't try to change the temperature of the water, it migrates to new seas. Man must do the same.

Steven Handel, The Emotion Machine: Self-Improvement in the 21st Century

[theemotionmachine]

Strive to become someone that your past self would look up to.

Steven Handel, The Emotion Machine: Self-Improvement in the 21st Century

[theemotionmachine]

It's a complex world – don't beat yourself up for looking 'hypocritical' when you're actually just growing and evolving as a person.

Steven Handel, The Emotion Machine: Self-Improvement in the 21st Century

[theemotionmachine]

Creative destruction: sometimes you need to break things down before you can rebuild them even better.

Steven Handel, The Emotion Machine: Self-Improvement in the 21st Century

[theemotionmachine]

How Aesthetic Chills Boost Feelings of Acceptance, Inspiration, and Meaning

Aesthetic chills or “goosebumps” are a pleasurable sensation that people experience while listening to their favorite music, watching a powerful film, or observing classic art.

New research shows that it’s not just a temporary feeling; it can also have a deeper impact on our beliefs and self-image, as well as serve as a potential treatment option for depression.

Learn more!

[theemotionmachine]

"Exaggerations in every sense is as essential to newspaper writing as it is to the writing of plays: for the point is to make as much as possible of every occurrence. So that all newspaper writers are, for the sake of their trade, alarmists: this is their way of making themselves interesting. What they really do, however, is resemble little dogs who, as soon as anything whatever moves, start up a loud barking. It is necessary, therefore, not to pay too much attention to their alarms, and to realize in general that the newspaper is a magnifying glass, and this only at best: for very often it is no more than a shadow-play on the wall." Arthur Schopenhauer

[theemotionmachine]

The best therapy teaches people how to look inwards and find their own answers.

Steven Handel, The Emotion Machine: Self-Improvement in the 21st Century

[theemotionmachine]

Highly educated people can end up believing the most ridiculous things, because certain myths and lies require an olympian level of mental gymnastics to actually believe them.

Steven Handel, The Emotion Machine: Self-Improvement in the 21st Century

[theemotionmachine]

The core element of heroism – in thought, speech, and action – is honesty and sincerity. In today's culture, we see things like irony, sarcasm, and edginess become a false appearance for 'strength,' 'leadership,' and 'confidence.' To the contrary, they are a mask; and another way to hide one's true self and beliefs. You can always fall back on the idea that you were just being 'ironic,' 'sarcastic,' or 'edgy' when you aren't willing to stand up for what you believe in with both feet firmly planted to the ground. We desperately need more heroes in today's world and that starts first and foremost with more honesty and sincerity.

Steven Handel, The Emotion Machine: Self-Improvement in the 21st Century

[theemotionmachine]

Wounds can't heal when you keep poking at them.

Steven Handel, The Emotion Machine: Self-Improvement in the 21st Century

[theemotionmachine]

No matter what you find on your back or in your pockets, the most important thing to take with you wherever you go is the right perspective.

Steven Handel, The Emotion Machine: Self-Improvement in the 21st Century

[theemotionmachine]

Learn how to trust your mind and recall facts from memory without needing to google everything.

Steven Handel, The Emotion Machine: Self-Improvement in the 21st Century

[theemotionmachine]

I thought of a new Latin proverb this morning:

Sui incrementum infinitum

(“infinite self-growth”)

Then I had an idea for a symbol to represent it (infinity sign made out of leaves).

Then I used AI to create the symbol.

[theemotionmachine]

Money is a weak motivation for me. I just imagine myself on my deathbed.

Steven Handel, The Emotion Machine: Self-Improvement in the 21st Century

[theemotionmachine]

I was angry this morning so I did a random act of kindness to reverse the energy.

Steven Handel, The Emotion Machine: Self-Improvement in the 21st Century

[theemotionmachine]

Emotional regulation means knowing which feelings to reign in and which feelings to let loose.

Steven Handel, The Emotion Machine: Self-Improvement in the 21st Century