The great failure of too high expectations
From the first positive pregnancy test, parents often build up expectations for their baby. And as the little one grows, so do the expectations—emotional, cognitive, moral and academic. While it's only natural that this should be the case, as children need to be set standards, parents' expectations can often turn out to be a double-edged sword.
In search of balance
The year 2022 was perhaps richer than previous years in events that affected the whole world.
The slalom between regrets and wrong estimates
In October 2012, Forbes magazine published a list of the top 25 biggest regrets people have. According to the magazine, the most significant regrets are those concerning relationships with family members and friends, regrets concerning oneself, and career regrets.
The only death that can be avoided
"If there is anything more heartbreaking than a body perishing for lack of bread, it is a soul which is dying from hunger for the light." (Victor Hugo)
Gambling’s dark underbelly
Problem gambling in Australia and New Zealand is an issue seldom talked about, but we ignore it at our peril.
Rewiring the cynical mind
Cynicism might feel smarter and more realistic—but the evidence simply doesn’t back it.
Does shopping addiction really exist?
Maria is 21 years old. She is in her third year at the Academy of Economic Studies and has been working and paying rent for a year. Ever since she reached economic independence, she started going out in the city and being very concerned about the way she looks.
How (and why) should we cultivate our sense of humour?
The importance of humour, including in the workplace, is often undervalued, as a series of studies suggest.
The power of grief: How to survive the death of a loved one
There has been an increase in the number of so-called "experts" in an increasing number of so-called "fields". It seems that all of life has been divided into neatly-marketable industries. No wonder then that the arrival of a new expert in something familiar to mankind for ages, is met with caution. In the case of Julia Samuel's expertise in the field of grief...
Is there a cure? The painful limitations of the fight against paedophilia
Little over a decade ago, a highly acclaimed British documentary filmmaker, Louis Theroux, stepped into the midst of 500 paedophiles admitted to the psychiatric hospital in Coalinga, California, trying to find out if the complex treatment the convicts had to go through was really working.
The art of slowing down time
"When things happen too fast, nobody can be certain about anything, about anything at all, not even about himself" (Milan Kundera).
The discovery of our century: t = t
"There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens" (Ecclesiastes 3:1).
Choosing happy
Paul was imprisoned by the Roman Emperor. He was on Death Row. Every morning, when he opened his eyes, he didn’t know if this day would be his last, and whether he would be thrown to the lions or burned.
When faith falters, and couples drift apart
Live the questions now. Perhaps you will then gradually, without noticing it, live along some distant day into the answer. – Rainer Maria Rilke
Should I ever regret anything?
Two popular songs in the second half of the twentieth century have influenced entire generations, to this day, with a message we can call at least provocative: "Non, Je ne regrette rien" ("I do not regret anything"),[1] crooned to us by Edith Piaf, and "My Way", Frank Sinatra's melodic boast.[2]