By Melissa
How would you help someone who is struggling in school?
Imagine you meet a high school student. The person doesn’t seem particularly enthused about school or learning in general. They struggle with understanding concepts in their classes, and their friends also don’t care much for school.
The sad truth is that a student’s fate is set in stone as early as first grade.
By Melissa
Going viral can be a fluky process.
Once in awhile, you write a piece that seems so-so, which ends up popular with readers. But more often, you think an article is going to be a hit, only for it to be a dud. You pour hours of work into something you think is brilliant. And yet it goes by unnoticed and unappreciated.
All that wasted time and effort feels disappointing.
Why does it happen? How can something that seems promising end up going nowhere? Is there a way to keep that from happening?
Let’s dive in.
By Melissa
Imagine it’s the start of a car race.
All the cars are lined up, people are cheering, and engines are roaring. Everyone’s waiting for the race to begin. The tension is high.
Bang! goes the pistol. The cars speed off, leaving only a cloud of fumes that dissipates into the sky. The drivers feel the adrenaline through their veins as they accelerate.
They know exactly what to do. Hopefully, that’s the feeling you get when you write, too. You sit down, open up a document, and start typing away furiously.
Except that’s probably not what happens.
By Melissa
Why do some people accomplish so much, while others do hardly anything at all?
How is one person able to exercise, hold meetings, and finish numerous tasks before lunch, while someone else hasn’t gotten out of bed yet? How does someone work on their craft, day after day for years, while someone else can only daydream about getting started?
We all know what we should be doing. We should be learning. We should be staying healthy. We should be working on things that will pay dividends in the future.
But we don’t. You see, those things aren’t easy. In fact, they can be incredibly hard.
By Melissa
Imagine that it’s close to bedtime.
You’ve finished a long day of work, ate dinner, and watched TV. You get into bed and relax by doing some reading.
After a while, you realize it’s getting late and decide to call it a night. You reach over and turn off the light. It’s pitch dark now.
You know you should be falling asleep. And yet there you are, staring at the ceiling. Your mind is racing with all sorts of thoughts.
You think back to something you said and wonder if things came out wrong. You reflect on a past action that resulted in negative consequences. Then, you start to worry about all the things that could possibly go wrong.
With each passing thought, you feel yourself sinking into a low mood.
If this sounds like you, you may be suffering from overthinking.
By Melissa
We often assume intelligence is fixed from birth.
If you’re born with it, you have it. And if you aren’t? That’s too bad. End of story.
Previously, neuroscientists believed that our brains were “fixed”. No matter what someone did, there was nothing they could do to change their brains. If anything, our brain functions would become worse over time.
However, more recent research shows otherwise.
But before we get to that, let’s answer the question: what is intelligence?
By Melissa
In January 2002, a lone man predicted a natural disaster that would impact the lives of hundreds of thousands of people.
Local expert Dieudonne Wafulah had been studying Mount Nyiragongo, a volcano in Congo, for 15 years without pay. He tracked the activity of Nyiragongo and another nearby, smaller volcano for signs of change. Although his equipment had been stolen and vandalized over the years, he persisted in his work.
Then, he saw it. Based on the patterns Wafulah witnessed, Mount Nyiragongo was about to blow. There had been a series of tremors in the earth some months before. Black smoke rose from the mountain. The lava pool inside the crater had shifted and was getting higher.
By Melissa
Picture this: It’s the year 10,000 B.C. The sun is just rising.
You wake up to the sounds of rustling nearby. A few people sharpen their spears as they discuss the upcoming hunt. After downing a few gulps of water and some dried meat, you collect your supplies in a bag for the day.
You go out hiking with a few close relatives and friends to a berry patch. As you pick the ripest berries and place them in your basket, you overhear a funny story that your cousin shares about a conversation that morning. Laughter erupts.
The day carries on, dragging the sun along the sky. Beads of sweat accumulate on your forehead while your basket grows heavier. Finally, you hear a call from a fellow forager. It’s time to head back.
By Melissa
Malpractice lawsuits are every doctor’s nightmare.
Once a doctor gets sued for malpractice, the implications reach far and wide. Patients distrust their doctor. Self-doubt creeps in. Some doctors even take it as a sign to leave the medical profession altogether. Even though many cases are dismissed or settled outside court, the effects of receiving that dreaded notice letter can last a lifetime.
A study using a malpractice database in Florida found that 6 percent of obstetricians accounted for over 70 percent of all malpractice-related expenses over a 5-year period. Further research showed that claims at all levels, from unpaid claims to large paid claims, played a predictor in whether a doctor was sued in the past.
Basically, some doctors get sued repeatedly, while others hardly ever get sued. There’s clearly a difference between the two. But what is it? Why do malpractice lawsuits happen in the first place?
By Melissa
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?