Books that changed my life: How Successful People Think

    Hello, and welcome back to The Thoughts that Bind. Today I want to begin a new series, one that highlights other people’s ideas outside of my own. I’ve briefly recommended a few books on this site, acknowledging that they’ve made a big difference in my life and how I think of things. Now I feel it’s time to talk about them and showcase them all on their own. These books changed my life, and I think they could change yours too. So let’s get into it!

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How to build a new self authentically

   The other day I was reading an article about how a lot of guys these days become men but still don’t feel like men. It was actually a pretty good article, if you want to take a look at it. (Click here to learn how to feel like a man from the art of manliness blog.) And while it may seem like an odd place for me to be drawing inspiration from since I am not a man, this one post really struck a nerve in me, so I wanted to talk about it. 

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Advice for young people: How to look at life

   Recently, I was looking back on my early days of having moved out of my parent’s house. I certainly wasn’t prepared for what the outside world would bring me, and the more I’ve gotten to know others who’ve done the same, the more I think that that’s pretty normal. There’s no way of me knowing what your parents have and haven’t prepared you for, but there are still many things that I would try to make sure newly independent young adults check in with. And so I want to talk to all you young people who are considering finally moving out, or who have recently done so. I have a lot of advice for you! Some is from me and my experience, and much of it is from conversations I’ve had with others about things they wish they would have been told. But I hope that as a whole, it can bring you some useful perspective.

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Don’t be yourself

   We tell people all the time, “Oh, just be yourself!” It’s both advice and encouragement, and it’s pervasive. Especially when we’re talking to people that we like, or people who we deem impressionable. I’m no different. Even here on the Thoughts that Bind, I’ve written a piece to that effect. (You can find that here, if you’re interested. It’s a fairly quick read.) And yet today, we’re going to do the opposite–I’m going to challenge you not to be yourself. Sounds odd at first blush, right? Well, bear with me.

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Feel a little better right now

   There are many ideas out there that fall flat when you simplify them down to a platitude, particularly in the space of philosophy and wellness, because like we’ve discussed already, everything in moderation will actually ruin your life if you apply it indiscriminately. (You can find that discussion here if you’re not sure what I’m referring to.) But there is one platitude that (while I don’t consider the be-all, end-all of living a wonderful life), seems to hold up with a minimal amount of necessary caveats. 

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