What causes self-righteousness? And what’s the difference between self-righteousness and authentic confidence or certainty? Self-righteousness comes from a psychological place of fear. Authentic certainty comes from serenity. When people are self-righteous, they often feel attacked. It’s like they’re attacking you … Continue reading
Dimitrious Pagourtzis, the Santa Fe High School shooter, appears to be “disoriented,” and his mood varies from “very emotional,” to “weirdly nonemotional”, according to his lawyers. Why do you always read this when a sociopathic killer is arrested and held? … Continue reading
The stronger you love, the stronger you hate. It’s inevitable. It’s logical. It’s psychologically necessary. You love what you value. You love a person. You love your child. You love your pet. You love your home, your car, or whatever … Continue reading
A motorist suspected of killing 10 people by driving a van down a sidewalk in Toronto is scheduled to appear in court Tuesday. Canadian police have been looking for a motive behind Monday’s attack that also injured 15 others. Toronto … Continue reading
Here’s the psychology of socialism, in 3 simple-to-understand components. # 1: Wish-fulfillment # 2: Eradication of the law of cause and effect # 3: Virtue-signaling Example: Vermont Independent and self-described socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders has a new plan to give … Continue reading
The following is from my booklet, Self-Esteem and Other Tools for Rational Living: What is the emotional appeal of being considered a victim, since so many people—especially people like Betty—seem to like it? Being a victim is easy. It … Continue reading
The following is from my book Bad Therapy Good Therapy: And How to Tell the Difference: To accept the view of man as a rational animal does not preclude the fact that emotions are a normal and potentially beautiful … Continue reading
So many people misunderstand forgiveness. You cannot forgive someone who’s not sorry. I repeat: You CANNOT forgive someone who’s not sorry. This isn’t merely an opinion. I’m not saying, “You SHOULD not forgive someone who’s not sorry.” That would be … Continue reading
“Police: Woman Shot 3 Victims at YouTube’s San Bruno HQ, Then Killed Self” reads the headline. It’s still a developing story, of course. Regardless, it’s obviously tragic. But already people are asking why someone would do this — kill themselves … Continue reading
How do you know if your standard of happiness is realistic? I hear a lot of people asking, “Do I want too much?” I know of two ways to answer this question. Does somebody you know, or know about, have … Continue reading
Why do people get hostile when fighting about politics, religion, etc.? The main reason: Because they take it personally. And usually this is a mistake. It’s understandable to feel or think: “If someone assaults one of my most important values … Continue reading
It’s really important to fill your life with beauty. Particularly because we live in such a cynical, hard-edged era. Beauty matters. And it can take on many forms. Art can be beautiful. It’s often trash or mediocre, but the classics … Continue reading