Extremism

In the Zone

Picture this: You’re engaged in an activity, whether that’s writing computer code or painting a landscape, and you get so absorbed you completely lose track of time. Does this sound familiar? If you’re nodding yes, then you’ve likely experienced what psychologist Mihály Csíkszentmihályi calls a flow state. Flow, says Csíkszentmihályi, is the optimal creative state. We […]

Swallow a Whale

Nowadays, most people believe in science, but even science has very human limitations. Our intellect, in fact, can even prevent us from experiencing life to the fullest. An ancient Greek myth perfectly illustrates this point. The philosopher Aristotle was walking on the beach. The sunset was beautiful, but Aristotle was so lost in thought that […]

A Simple Life

My dad told me this story when I was a little kid, and even though many of us have heard it before (it was originally told by Heinrich Böll), I believe it deserves to be regularly shared, especially at every high school graduation around the world. Enjoy! One summer, many years ago, a banker was […]