psychology

How to Argue Better!

/ Ava Rosenroth (The Goodness Geek) / Leave a comment

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Life in 2016 is fraught with controversy. Politics are growing more and more polarized, casual racism and microaggressions are becoming less socially acceptable, and traditional gender roles are being challenged. No matter where you stand on the issues (or if you have yet to form an opinion), chances are, you’ve got someone yelling at you on either side. This makes staying cool, respectful, and rational all the more difficult. Here are some tips on how to share your opinions on controversial topics in a way that is most likely to get your point across without any hard feelings: Continue reading →

No More Excuses: Striving to be a Better Person

/ Ava Rosenroth (The Goodness Geek) / 1 Comment

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“I don’t give to charity, because too many of them are scams,” “I didn’t give to that homeless person because she will just spend it on drugs anyway,” “I didn’t comfort that crying person because he should toughen up!” Too often, we make excuses for not doing the most we can to help others. As human beings, we are not always able to help everyone who needs help, but much of the time, making excuses like this do even more harm that doing nothing at all. Today, I am exploring these different excuses, their effect, and what you can do instead. Continue reading →

Being Logical and Being Compassionate are Actually the Same Thing

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Like many of you, I was deeply saddened to learn of Leonard Nimoy’s passing this week. Since this is a blog about being both compassionate and logical at the same time, I think it is pretty clear that I, like so many of my fellow nerds, hope to follow in Mr. Nimoy’s footsteps – not just in being an intelligent, accomplished person, but also in being a caring and compassionate one. Today, in his honor, I wanted to talk about the many ways in which being compassionate is actually a quite logical choice.

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How to be a supportive friend in times of crisis

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Close-up of psychiatrist hands holding those of her patient

We all want to be a caring and supportive friend to the people in our lives, but we are also all human beings, so we’re not 100% good at it all of the time. Here to help me lend a little insight into the art of being a good friend, is Licensed Mental Health Clinician Christy Paul. Christy is Head of Personnel and Training at TalkSpace – an innovative new app that lets you talk anonymously to a therapist in real-time, making mental health care more accessible to those of us who can’t afford to visit a therapist regularly and in person. Today, Christy is helping me reflect on being a supportive friend, even over long distances and in times of crisis, with these tips:

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Empathy, Part One: Why Are We Sometimes Nice and Sometimes Not?

/ Ava Rosenroth (The Goodness Geek) / Leave a comment
This entry is going to be the first of a two-parter about empathy. I’m starting this week by exploring the concept of empathy and how it is deeply ingrained into human nature, despite the many ways we sometimes suppress it. Next week I will follow it up with advice on how to channel empathy and overcome some of the obstacles to compassion that we humans face on a daily basis.
em·pa·thy
noun
1. the ability to understand and share the feelings of another.

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Why should we care about having a positive impact in the world?

/ Ava Rosenroth (The Goodness Geek) / Leave a comment

It is a common belief that you have to choose to either live your life for others, or for yourself. This is a really tough choice to grapple with, and most people find themselves struggling to balance helping and supporting other people alongside taking care of their own wants and needs. However, in truth, our needs and the needs of others overlap way more often than we think.

 

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