Hanan Parvez 
Seeking validation from others means seeking their approval for your thoughts, feelings, beliefs, choices, values, and actions. The desire to seek validation stems from the basic human need to be liked and accepted by others. Since we’re a social species, we have a fundamental need to belong to our herd and be accepted by them.
A genius is a person who has reached the highest level of skill in their chosen craft. Geniuses are highly creative individuals who make original, useful, and surprising contributions to the world. Geniuses are usually geniuses in one area, but there have been some who excelled in multiple areas. One can be a genius in
While any family member can be toxic, parental toxicity is the most prevalent and damaging to an individual. Parental toxicity is characterized by a persistent pattern of toxic interactions where the victim is subjected to physical or psychological abuse. In short, any parental behavior that harms you in any way is toxic behavior. When parents
A toxic family is defined as one where there’s a consistent pattern of family members exhibiting harmful behaviors toward other members. While conflict is a normal part of a family dynamic, a toxic family handles conflict in ways that are damaging to one or more members. In a toxic family, there’s a constant pattern of
Laughter is not only the best medicine but also a great way to raise your status in society. When you make people laugh, you make them feel good. This makes them perceive you as a valuable member of society, and your self-esteem rises. So, it makes sense to want to learn how to make someone
Being a social species, humans crave love, support, and care from others. Since human babies are born helpless and unable to tend to themselves, we have a natural fear of abandonment. Abandonment means being left helpless and unprotected. Having abandonment issues means having a persistent fear of being abandoned in your close relationships. If you
Brainwashing is the process of repeatedly indoctrinating a person with a new set of beliefs. It’s helpful to think of brainwashing in terms of identity. When someone is brainwashed, they ditch their old identity and acquire a new one. The indoctrinated beliefs that support the person’s new identity change their thoughts and behaviors. The person
People with abandonment issues fear being abandoned by their loved ones. Being the social species that we are, all of us dislike being abandoned by others, especially by our relatives and in-groups. While some level of this fear is normal, a person with abandonment issues lives in this fear constantly. Accepting and rejecting someone lies
Life is full of ups and downs. The ups are accompanied by positive emotions and the downs by negative emotions. Negative emotions bring discomfort and pain. The mind uses negative emotions to draw our attention to the pain. One could, theoretically, listen to one’s negative emotions, work through them and find solutions to end the
The ladder of inference is one of the most useful mental models I’ve come across to become a better thinker. Inference means deriving general conclusions from specific instances. The ladder of inference shows us the steps we take to make inferences and then act on those inferences. The ladder consists of six rungs with selected