Does life feel too short? Get off your ass.

In 1654, Blaise Pascal wrote: "All of humanity's problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone." That's more true today than ever.

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  • Explorer Erling Kagge is the first person to have completed the Three Poles Challenge on foot: the North Pole, the South Pole, and the summit of Mount Everest.
  • The average American spends 4 hours each day on their phone. Imagine that 20% of it is productive. That still means that at the end of your life you'll have spent a cumulative 4,000 days on what Kagge calls "bullshit".
  • Walking is the engine of life – you can do it alone, learning to cultivate your thoughts; you can walk to meet people and learn to respect humanity; and you can walk to experience nature. Don't live through other people or through apps. Get out and explore.
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The science of why we can’t live forever

Here's why stars fade out — and so do we.

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  • According to scientists the reason we die is because the second law of thermodynamics and natural selection.
  • The whole universe runs down, so, ultimately, even if you could lengthen your lifespan indefinitely, the universe itself will eventually die in a heat death.
  • We die, one predominant view goes, so that our progeny may live — because there are limited resources.
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5 critical life skills everyone should have

According to the World Health Organization, there are 5 general life skills that everybody needs.

The WHO's 5 critical life skills
  • The World Health Organization identified 5 basic life skills that are crucial to cultivate and learn in order to have a better and more productive life.
  • Ranging from creative thinking to learning to cope with stress, these skills should be instilled in youth during their education and nurtured over a lifetime.
  • Although the best time to develop these skills is during one's youth, the second best time is right now.
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Personal Growth

Longer lifespans: A coming crisis or reason to celebrate?

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  • A huge segment of America's population — the Baby Boom generation — is aging and will live longer than any American generation in history.
  • The story we read about in the news? Their drain on social services like Social Security and Medicare.
  • But increased longevity is a cause for celebration, says Ashton Applewhite, not doom and gloom.


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Alan Watts on the meaning of life

The British philosopher reminds us that meaning is anywhere we choose to look.

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  • Alan Watts suggests there is no ultimate meaning of life, but that "the quality of our state of mind" defines meaning for us.
  • This is in contradiction to the notion that an inner essence is waiting to be discovered.
  • Paying attention to everyday, mundane objects can become highly significant, filling life with meaning.
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Personal Growth