Jumpstart Your Dream Life

10 Signs You Need to Let Go of Someone

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A strong social network is important to our well-being.

But what if components of that network fail us? What if instead of uplifting us, supporting us, and making us better, they make us feel worse and drag us down?

The obvious answer would be to cut those people out. Stop talking to them altogether. But sometimes the answer isn’t so obvious. There are gray areas.

Maybe a friend pushes you into doing things you’re uncomfortable with, but has a great sense of humor and is fun to be around. Or a partner is thoughtful and means well, but simply isn’t relatable. It’s hard to cut the cord for a number of reasons.

So when is it time to say goodbye?

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Why We Suffer From Losses More Than We Gain From Wins

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Imagine two scenarios:

In the first one, you make a $10 bet with a friend. You lose. The next day, fortune smiles on you as you walk down the street. You see a $10 bill lying on the sidewalk.

In the second scenario, nothing happens. You neither enter into any bet with anyone, nor do you find any money lying on the street.

In both scenarios, your net gain is $0.

Would both of these scenarios affect you the same psychologically? Or would one have a greater emotional impact than the other? Which scenario would you choose?

If you picked the second scenario, you made the right choice.

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Just-World Hypothesis: Do People Always Get What They Deserve?

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“Whoops – My wand is a little over excited!” – Gilderoy Lockhart in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling

Do you believe people get what they deserve in the end?

Because that’s exactly what happens to Gilderoy Lockhart, a character in the Harry Potter books.

Born in 1964 to a Muggle father and a witch mother, Lockhart attended school at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, where he joined the house of Ravenclaw. While there, Lockhart proved to be a good student, even though he constantly attempted to seek attention for himself.

In 1982, Lockhart mastered the spell of Memory Charms, enabling him to erase people’s memories. After graduation, he travelled to all sorts of exotic places. Using his newfound skill, he learned the greatest deeds that witches and wizards performed before promptly erasing their memories and claiming their deeds as his own.

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You Are Capable of Change, You Just Need Your Brain to Believe It Too

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Your brain becomes fossilized with age.

At least, that’s what they say.

In order to be classified as a fossil, a specimen usually has to be over 10,000 years old. When you consider this, comparing aged brains to fossils isn’t exactly a flattering metaphor. Fossils are hard, lifeless remains of what once was a thriving being – and that’s exactly what your brain becomes with time.

But it starts even earlier than that.

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The Diderot Effect: Why We’re Still Unhappy After Buying What We Want

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One fateful day, Diderot’s world turned upside down.

No, he wasn’t laid off from his job. No, he wasn’t moving into a new apartment. And no, he wasn’t getting a divorce. In fact, he didn’t even realize at the time what was happening.

But before we get into all that, we need to answer the question: Who was Diderot?

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Where You Are Right Now Doesn’t Matter. Where You Are Headed Matters More

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In 1979, the deadliest peacetime disaster in New Zealand’s history occurred.

On November 28, a flight was scheduled for takeoff at 8:00 am from Auckland International Airport. The aim was to provide passengers with an aerial sightseeing experience that showcased breathtaking views of Antarctica.

An experienced guide would narrate as the plane dipped above McMurdo Sound, explaining various scenic spots and landscapes. By 9:00 pm on the same day, the plane would return back at Auckland, New Zealand.

Air New Zealand Flight 901 was not a particularly unusual air flight. There was, however, one minor exception: someone had entered a typing error in the coordinates, changing the route coordinates by two degrees. Although seemingly insignificant, these two degrees proved to be fatal.

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Why Bronze Medalists Smile More Than Silver Medalists

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When it comes to the Olympics, the rankings are clear: the gold medalist is the top athlete, followed by silver, and finally, bronze.

The top athletes go for gold. If not gold, then silver is better than the bronze medal. But if that’s the case, why do medalists holding the bronze have a wider grin on their faces than the silver medalists?

How Olympic Athletes React Based On Which Medal They Receive

In a study comparing the reactions of medal winners, researchers took video recordings of the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. The first recording showed the athletes as they learned their placement and the second recording showed the medal winners standing on the podium.

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Drinks, Drugs, and Dinners: How Diet Affects Your Sleep

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It’s that dreaded time again.

Not when you have to get out of bed. Not when you have to step into a meeting. It’s when the clock strikes, signaling time for you to sleep.

As you crawl into bed, you wonder if things will be different. Will you shut your eyes and finally fall into slumber? Or will you once again stare at the ceiling, waiting until you drift asleep? If it’s the latter, you’re likely to end up exhausted the next morning, even though you went to bed early.

There are numerous reasons why we have difficulty falling asleep. Sometimes, it’s psychological. Other times, it’s due to the stresses that life cruelly throws at us. But what about our dietary habits?

We carefully plan out our diets to energize ourselves, trim our figures, and improve our overall health. Yet, the substances we ingest take a secondary role when it comes to sleep.

Here are four dietary factors that might be affecting your sleep:

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Are Humans Built to Be Happy?

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These days, the concept of happiness seems ever-present on our minds.

We reflect on the things that give us joy and how to incorporate more of it into our lives. We talk about how to deal with mental disorders and depression. We battle isolation, criticism, and negativity on a regular basis.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), over 4 percent of the world’s population suffers from depression. Global economic losses amount to over $1 trillion a year due to decreased productivity. When people become fatigued or stressed, they find it hard to resolve problems at work and in the home.

If we’re so obsessed with happiness, why are we so unhappy?

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Vicious Cycles and Virtuous Cycles: Why the Poor get Poorer (and the Rich Get Richer)

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Sometimes, it feels like situations compound upon themselves.

Those who experience good fortune continue to have more of it. Others just can’t stay away from bad circumstances. It’s as if we’re stuck in an endless cycle, where our actions and their consequences further perpetuate the situation that we’re in.

One of the most alarming examples of this concerns social mobility, or the lack of it.

The Legacy of Surnames

What’s in a name?

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