towardinsight's blog

Human relationships lend themselves readily to a spatial metaphor: within any relationship, someone functions as its axis, and someone else revolves around that axis. People tend to organize their relationships around one of two such axes. In the self-centered mode, the individual places himself at the center and expects others to accommodate him. In the other-centered mode, the individual treat..

Introduction: The Root of Disillusionment — Distorted Expectations, Not the Failings of the OtherAmong the most corrosive experiences in interpersonal life are resentment and disappointment. We instinctively attribute these to an external cause — the perceived shortcomings or betrayal of another person. Yet a closer look at the psychology of disappointment suggests something less flattering: dis..

IntroductionWe talk about willpower constantly—"she has such strong will," "I just don't have the willpower for this"—as though the phrase were self-explanatory. Yet few of us stop to ask what will is actually made of, or how it works beneath the surface. To use the will effectively, we first need to understand its mechanics. This essay begins from a single premise: the essence of will is choice..