In his book, The Paradox of Choice, Barry Schwartz demonstrates that having too many choices often leads to feelings of bewilderment and a decrease in life satisfaction. Schwartz argues an abundance of choice is bad both in terms of emotional well-being and the ability to make meaningful progress. The Big Ideas! Contrary to conventional wisdom, humans … Read more

Gregg Easterbrook explores the exact phenomena detailed in the title of his book, The Progress Paradox: How Life Gets Better While People Get Worse. The Big Ideas! Nearly every standard of living measurement shows that the average person’s life is considerably better than it was as little as fifty years ago. Despite these improvements, people … Read more

Urban Mindfulness provides pragmatic guidance to help transform an everyday experience into an occasion for reflection, stress relief, and even fulfillment. The Big Ideas! City life is exciting, but stressful. Chronic stress causes physical, mental, and emotional difficulties. Practicing mindfulness can help bring balance and calm back into our lives. Mindfulness is a special way of … Read more

In 1990, mindfulness expert Jon Kabat-Zinn published Full Catastrophe Living, a guide to releasing stress in times of great challenge. A few years later, Kabat-Zinn released a follow-up to this landmark book. Named Wherever You Go, There You Are this guide was created specifically for those resistant to traditional programs. In his introduction to the book, Kabat-Zinn mentioned his desire … Read more

Many people feel called to change the world and be of service to other, but they don’t know how to fulfill this calling. Well-known life coach Martha Beck shows how anyone can give to the world – while also realizing their destiny. The Big Ideas! Knowledge is power, right? Not anymore! Knowledge is easy to … Read more