The School of Life

Markers of a Psychologically Mature Adult

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Why You Still Have Time To Pivot Your Career

We often feel as if we might have run out of time to change career. That’s because we usually have a wrong understanding of time. Enjoying our Youtube videos? Get full

What Is an Emotionally-healthy Childhood?

We know how many adult problems come down to issues from childhood - but what exactly is that wondrous, hugely desirable thing, an emotionally-healthy childhood? This fil

LITERATURE: Franz Kafka

Franz Kafka is a guide to some very dark feelings most of us know well concerned with powerlessness, self-disgust and anxiety. This literary genius turned the stuff of ni

NEW! LEGO 'THINKING' RANGE

After wasting too long making kits about police forces and Indiana Jones, Lego has at last raised its game and begun to produce a far more worthwhile range about… philoso

Why People Develop Mental Illness

It sounds really strange to speak of the upsides of being ill. Surely there are only downsides? Enjoying our Youtube videos? Get full access to all our audio content, vi

I'm Wounded

The modern world, especially online, is full of people getting offended with one another. There has to be a better way. Enjoying our Youtube videos? Get full access to

Why Design Signifies

Far from being some sort of luxury or add-on, good design is central to a good society. It changes how we feel and interact. Enjoying our Youtube videos? Get full acces

How to Tell If You Have Been Manipulated

We’re unlucky enough if we meet with people who want to do us wrong, show us contempt and take advantage of us. But this is as nothing next to the monumental bad luck of

How to Panic a Little Less

The philosopher Spinoza shows us that our minds possess an under-appreciated ability to adopt a broader perspective, from which our anxieties appear vanishingly small - a

NIETZSCHE ON: Amor Fati

Friedrich Nietzsche had a particular fondness for a concept called (in Latin) 'amor fati', a Stoic acceptance of one's fate and a commitment to embrace reality, in all it

Eastern versus Western Philosophies

Eastern philosophy is a great deal more popular than its Western counterpart. That’s not because Western philosophy has nothing valuable to teach us - but because of the

What is 'prosperity'?

We often think of being a success in status and financial terms. But being a success just means doing anything well, and there are so many ways to be successful, once we

The One Question We Need to Ask Ourselves When We Feel Anxious

The problem with anxious moods is that they often hide from us what it is we're actually concerned about. It feels like we're worrying about this or that, when in reality

The Importance of Flattery

We’re used to thinking rather badly of flattery; but in fact, it’s one of the moves that can help people to develop and grow into better versions of themselves. Uploaded

Why Do We Sometimes Escape From the Very Love That We Crave?

Emotional Intelligence, Daily. Start now: https://www.theschooloflife.com/subscription/ Get weekly insights for better relationships, deeper self-knowledge, and inner c

How To Be A Genius

The route to our best, most genius-like thoughts is not to be afraid of our stranger-sounding insights and hunches. Uploaded 08-08-17Enjoying our Youtube videos? Get full

PHILOSOPHY - Hegel

The German philosopher Hegel believed that strange and alien bits of history have much to teach us. He believed story and civilisation do not move in a straight line, so

A Question to Ask Ourselves When We're Down and Distrustful

There’s a difficult mood we’re in danger of falling into that’s made up of four elements in particular: low spirits, guilt, paranoia and irritability. It’s in such a mood

The Ultimate Test of Your Social Skills

You’ll know you’ve truly become socially adept when you finally manage to make small talk with that most challenging and unforgiving of characters: a small child you hard