How to Break Free from the Yes Autopilot: Setting Boundaries that Work

Have you ever found yourself saying yes to something, even when deep down you knew you didn’t have the time or energy? Many of us struggle with setting boundaries. It can feel like we’re stuck on a “Yes Autopilot”, automatically agreeing to requests without fully considering the consequences. Over time, this can leave us feeling … Read More

Temporal Curiosity: Exploring the Past, Present, and Future

The idea of time travel has captivated human imagination for centuries. In H.G. Wells’ classic 1895 novel The Time Machine, the protagonist invents a device that allows him to travel through time, exploring the distant future. While we may still be far from physically traversing time, there is a way to embark on a temporal … Read More

Rediscovering Ikigai: What We Got Wrong and How to Find Meaning in Life

I lived in Japan for seven months when I was younger. For all of the challenges I faced there as a woman and a foreigner, I still learned a lot from Japanese culture. Because Japan experienced a long period of relative isolation from the outside world — caused by sakoku (literally “closed country”), the isolationist … Read More

Self-Anthropology: Become your own anthropologist with personal field notes

When was the last time you stopped to truly observe your own life? Turning an anthropological lens on yourself might feel strange, but it can lead to invaluable insights, allowing you to uncover patterns, gain self-knowledge, and imagine new possibilities. Anthropologists ask fundamental questions such as: What does it mean to live in our world … Read More

You Don’t Need to Choose

“I’ve decided to take it easy at work this year and focus on myself.” I’ve recently been hearing variations of this sentence over and over again. Magazines are publishing stories about “the end of ambition” and how more people are taking extended sabbaticals. It seems like we need to make a constant choice between our … Read More