From “Doing Good Better: How Effective Altruism Can Help You Help Others, Do Work that Matters, and Make Smarter Choices About Giving Back” by William Macaskill When Norman Borlaug was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970, the committee suggested that he’d saved one billion lives. Was he a politician? Or a military leader? Or […]
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From “Let Your Life Speak: Listening for the Voice of Vocation” by Parker J. Palmer As often happens on the spiritual journey, we have arrived at the heart of a paradox: each time a door closes, the rest of the world opens up. All we need to do is stop pounding on the door that
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From “Trust the Whisper: How Answering Quiet Callings Inspires Extraordinary Stories of Ordinary Grace“ by Kathy Izard When I first noticed these God Dots, I was simply amazed by each connection, and I wondered about the likelihood of these seemingly serendipitous moments. Over time, I’ve come to believe that these remarkable stories are not simply
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From “Discernment: Reading the Signs of Daily Life” by Henri Nouwen with Michael J. Christensen and Rebecca J. Laird Life is God’s initiative and can end or change suddenly, unexpectedly, and unpredictably. When we humans are ready to give up hope and resign ourselves to inevitability, God intervenes and reveals completely new beginnings. The resurrection
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From “Mindset: The New Psychology of Success” by Carol S. Dweck, PhD No one knows about negative ability labels like members of stereotyped groups. For example, African Americans know about being stereotyped as lower in intelligence. And women know about being stereotyped as bad at math and science. But I’m not sure even they know
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From “Where Good Ideas Come From: The Natural History of Innovation” by Steven Johnson This is a book about the space of innovation. Some environments squelch new ideas; some environments seem to breed them effortlessly. The city and the Web have been such engines of innovation because, for complicated historical reasons, they are both environments
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From “Listening to Your Life: Daily Meditations with Frederick Buechner” by Frederick Buechner TO TOUCH ME AND to feel my touch they come. To take at my hands whatever of Christ or comfort such hands have. Of their own, my hands have nothing more than any man’s and less now at this tottering, lamewit age
From “Listen To Your Day: The Life-Changing Practice of Paying Attention” by Paul Angone Many psychologists recommend the idea of taking microbreaks at work to be more productive. In the report on the “Qualitative Study of Daydreaming Episodes at Work,” a group of researchers concluded that “mind-wandering may be able to be used strategically to
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From “The Language of the Soul: Meeting God in the Longings of Our Hearts” by Jeff Crosby I first encountered Chalmers by reading Ben Patterson’s book, The Grand Essentials. In it, Patterson quoted Thomas Chalmers as having said, “The grand essentials of happiness are: something to do, something to love, and something to hope for.”
From “Wanting: The Power of Mimetic Desire in Everyday Life” by Luke Burgis ESTABLISH AND COMMUNICATE A CLEAR HIERARCHY OF VALUES A hierarchy of values is an antidote to mimetic conformity. If all values are treated equal, then the one that wins out – especially at a time of crisis – is the one that
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