Parenting
fromThe Atlantic
1 day agoThe Thrill of Childhood Rituals
Children create their own folklore through games and traditions, which are shared across time and space.
#curiosity
#curiosity
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#psychology #personal-growth #mental-health #creativity #child-development #self-awareness #problem-solving
Retirement
fromSilicon Canals
1 day agoPsychology says the secret to a good retirement isn't wealth or health or even relationships - it's having at least one thing you're still in the middle of, still becoming, still learning how to do - Silicon Canals
Retirement fulfillment stems from ongoing pursuits and curiosity, not just financial security or traditional metrics of success.
#boredom
fromSilicon Canals
5 days agoMental health
Psychology says people who intentionally limit their social media use aren't more disciplined than everyone else - they became more honest about what the unlimited version was replacing, which was the interior life, the undirected thought, the boredom that produces things, and once they understood what was being replaced they didn't need discipline, they needed only the honesty to stop - Silicon Canals
Psychology
fromSilicon Canals
2 weeks agoHighly intelligent people often don't realize it but psychology says the way they experience boredom is fundamentally different from most people - Silicon Canals
Boredom manifests differently in highly intelligent individuals compared to those needing external stimulation, requiring distinct resolutions.
Mental health
fromSilicon Canals
5 days agoPsychology says people who intentionally limit their social media use aren't more disciplined than everyone else - they became more honest about what the unlimited version was replacing, which was the interior life, the undirected thought, the boredom that produces things, and once they understood what was being replaced they didn't need discipline, they needed only the honesty to stop - Silicon Canals
Boredom can lead to meaningful engagement and creativity, rather than being a sign of lack of activity.
Psychology
fromSilicon Canals
2 weeks agoHighly intelligent people often don't realize it but psychology says the way they experience boredom is fundamentally different from most people - Silicon Canals
Boredom manifests differently in highly intelligent individuals compared to those needing external stimulation, requiring distinct resolutions.
#identity
Psychology
fromSilicon Canals
3 days agoI realized recently that I've spent years becoming whoever the room needed me to be - and now I honestly can't tell the difference between what I actually enjoy and what I've just been pretending to for so long it stuck - Silicon Canals
Constantly adapting to others' expectations can lead to losing touch with one's authentic self and preferences.
Psychology
fromSilicon Canals
1 week agoPsychology says people who feel like they've been living someone else's life aren't confused or ungrateful - they're often the ones who were so good at adapting in childhood that they never stopped adapting long enough to find out who they actually were - Silicon Canals
Adapting to others' needs in childhood can lead to feeling disconnected and lost in adulthood.
#solitude
Mental health
fromSilicon Canals
5 days agoPsychology says people who genuinely enjoy being alone aren't missing the need for connection - they've located the one condition under which their full self is available, and that condition happens to require an empty room, and there is nothing wrong with that except that the world was not designed with them in mind and has been making them feel guilty about it ever since - Silicon Canals
Society often mislabels the need for solitude as a deficiency, while those who recharge alone are more emotionally stable and focused.
Mental health
fromSilicon Canals
5 days agoPsychology says people who genuinely enjoy being alone aren't missing the need for connection - they've located the one condition under which their full self is available, and that condition happens to require an empty room, and there is nothing wrong with that except that the world was not designed with them in mind and has been making them feel guilty about it ever since - Silicon Canals
Society often mislabels the need for solitude as a deficiency, while those who recharge alone are more emotionally stable and focused.
#happiness
Mindfulness
fromSilicon Canals
3 days agoPsychology says the happiest people aren't the ones who found their passion - they're the ones who stopped treating their life as a problem that needed solving - Silicon Canals
The relentless pursuit of passion may lead to unhappiness, while embracing diverse interests can foster a richer, more fulfilling life.
Mindfulness
fromSilicon Canals
3 days agoPsychology says the happiest people aren't the ones who found their passion - they're the ones who stopped treating their life as a problem that needed solving - Silicon Canals
The relentless pursuit of passion may lead to unhappiness, while embracing diverse interests can foster a richer, more fulfilling life.
Psychology
fromSilicon Canals
4 days agoResearch suggests that people who pursue happiness directly almost never find it - but people who pursue meaning, connection, and acceptance report a quiet contentment that outlasts every peak experience - Silicon Canals
Pursuing happiness directly often leads to disappointment and lower satisfaction, as expectations create a gap between reality and feelings.
Mindfulness
fromSilicon Canals
6 days agoPsychology says the people who look back at the end of their lives with the least regret aren't the ones who made the fewest mistakes - they're the ones who were most fully present for the life they were actually living, who didn't spend it waiting for a better version to begin, who loved the people in front of them rather than the idea of people, and who understood, early enough to act on it, that this was always the whole thing and there was never going to be another one - Silicon Canals
Presence, not perfection, leads to a life without regret at the end.
Psychology
fromSilicon Canals
4 days agoPsychology says the most self-centered people in any room aren't the ones who talk loudest - they're the ones who respond to every story you tell with a story about themselves, so automatically and so consistently that they've long since stopped noticing they do it - Silicon Canals
Self-absorbed individuals often hijack conversations by redirecting focus to their own experiences, showing a lack of empathy for others.
#trauma
Psychology
fromSilicon Canals
5 days agoPsychology says the adults who seem the most indifferent aren't cynics - they've simply been disappointed so many times that their nervous system reclassified hope as a threat - Silicon Canals
Indifference may stem from a nervous system response to past trauma, where hope becomes associated with pain and disappointment.
Psychology
fromSilicon Canals
6 days agoPsychology suggests the most reliable sign that someone had a difficult childhood isn't what they tell you about it - it's how startled they look when you are simply kind to them without a reason, as though kindness without a transaction attached is something the body recognizes as unusual before the mind has finished deciding what to do with it - Silicon Canals
Kindness can trigger confusion in those with a history of trauma due to learned survival responses from past experiences.
Psychology
fromSilicon Canals
2 weeks ago9 signs your brain is wired for pattern recognition in a way most people never develop, and it almost always traces back to how unpredictable your childhood environment was - Silicon Canals
Heightened pattern recognition often stems from childhood adversity, not genetic gifts, as the brain adapts to unstable environments for survival.
OMG science
fromwww.scientificamerican.com
3 weeks agoScientists built a tickle robot to solve one of biology's strangest mysteries
Neuroscientists use Hektor, a tickle robot, to systematically study the neurological and physiological mechanisms of ticklishness by measuring brain activity, facial expressions, heart rate, and other bodily responses.
#intelligence
Psychology
fromSilicon Canals
6 days ago9 signs you have a genuinely sharp mind (even if you never thought of yourself as particularly intelligent) - Silicon Canals
Intelligence often manifests in quiet observation and attention to detail rather than loud proclamations or traditional measures of success.
Psychology
fromSilicon Canals
6 days ago9 signs you have a genuinely sharp mind (even if you never thought of yourself as particularly intelligent) - Silicon Canals
Intelligence often manifests in quiet observation and attention to detail rather than loud proclamations or traditional measures of success.
Psychology
fromSilicon Canals
6 days agoPsychology suggests people who were never taken seriously as children grow into adults who either compulsively over-explain or go completely silent - and both responses are the same wound wearing different clothes - Silicon Canals
Over-explaining often stems from trauma and anxiety, leading to chronic justification of one's presence in conversations.
Education
fromSilicon Canals
1 month agoPsychology says people who educated themselves through reading and curiosity instead of formal degrees solve problems in a fundamentally different way - and these 8 cognitive patterns explain why classrooms can't replicate it - Silicon Canals
Self-taught learners achieve innovative solutions by connecting learning directly to problems they want to solve, rather than learning subjects first and seeking applications later.
Mindfulness
fromPsychology Today
3 weeks agoUsing a Beginner's Mind
Beginner's mind, rooted in Zen practice, enables conscious observation of present moments through widened perception, revealing unique interrelationships and sustaining well-being by treating time as an active verb rather than static noun.
Psychology
fromSilicon Canals
2 weeks agoPsychology says people who are intellectually curious but socially selective aren't antisocial - they've simply reached a level of self-awareness where they'd rather be alone than accommodate conversations that require them to shrink their thinking - Silicon Canals
Selective social withdrawal can lead to positive outcomes like creativity, contrasting with the negative perceptions often associated with being antisocial.
Online learning
fromSilicon Canals
1 month agoPeople who educated themselves through curiosity instead of classrooms solve problems in a fundamentally different way - and these 8 habits explain why formal education can't replicate it - Silicon Canals
Self-educated individuals develop distinct thinking habits through curiosity-driven learning, treating confusion as exploration rather than failure, enabling superior problem-solving compared to formal education approaches.
fromPsychology Today
1 month agoThe Cave You Didn't Build
Plato's choice of this word is deliberate. He is not describing neutral carriers. He is describing people whose job is manufacturing a convincing reality for an audience that cannot see behind the curtain. Here is what matters clinically: the conjurers are not necessarily villains. They may be devoted parents, conscientious teachers, or well-meaning community leaders.
Philosophy
Psychology
fromSilicon Canals
3 weeks agoIf you find yourself constantly researching topics that have zero practical application to your life and falling down Wikipedia rabbit holes at 2am, psychology says you share these 7 cognitive traits of genuinely curious minds - Silicon Canals
Curiosity is a multidimensional psychological trait with distinct facets that predict personality, emotion, and well-being outcomes, with joyous exploration being one key dimension where learning itself provides intrinsic reward.
Psychology
fromSilicon Canals
3 weeks agoBehavioral science says people who learned about life outside the classroom didn't miss an education - they got a different one, built from necessity and curiosity rather than curriculum, and the thinking it produces is less organized and considerably harder to break - Silicon Canals
Real learning occurs through direct experience and active engagement outside formal education, producing more resilient and adaptable thinkers than classroom instruction alone.
fromPsychology Today
2 months ago3 Tell-Tale Signs of Invisible Growth
Some of the most meaningful forms of growth an individual can experience happen beneath their conscious awareness. Typically, it registers first as discomfort, ambiguity, or even a sense of regression. When growth is happening at a person's core level, they're likely to underestimate it or misinterpret it entirely. As a psychologist, I often see individuals who assume they're "stuck" precisely when some of the most important internal shifts are underway. This is because the mind rarely announces these changes with clarity.
Mental health
Education
fromwww.theguardian.com
2 months agoMy youngest is starting school for the first time. How can I best preserve his relentless curiosity? | Shadi Khan Saif
Curiosity is both innate and nurtured, evident as a child drawn to books and a brother who cultivated a love for reading despite hardship.
Psychology
fromSilicon Canals
4 weeks agoPsychology says people who remember the exact location of every item in their childhood home - which drawer, which shelf, which cupboard - aren't sentimental, their brain mapped that house the way a body maps a minefield, and the precision that looks like nostalgia is actually surveillance that never turned off - Silicon Canals
Detailed childhood home memories reflect survival-based hypervigilance rather than nostalgia, with brains mapping familiar spaces like tactical terrain to navigate unpredictable or chaotic environments.
fromPsychology Today
1 month agoYes, You Can Increase Your Curiosity. Here's How.
In psychology, it's associated with openness, learning, creativity, and well-being. But in real life-especially under stress -curiosity often feels impractical, slow, or even risky. When emotions run high, curiosity is usually the first thing to go. That's not a character flaw. It's biology. Decades of research show that when people perceive threat-social, emotional, or status-related-the brain shifts into protection mode. Instead of prioritizing exploration and learning, the nervous system reallocates resources toward basic survival.
Psychology
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