All posts tagged: mindset

From ‘market value’ to levelling up, the manosphere is shaped by a financial mindset

From ‘market value’ to levelling up, the manosphere is shaped by a financial mindset

Published by Sam Flores

Louis Theroux’s recent Netflix documentary Inside the Manosphere shines a spotlight on masculinity influencers and the dangers of online misogyny, conspiracy theories and anti-feminist ideologies. Responses to the documentary have ranged from outrage to disbelief, criticising how the manfluencers treat the women in their lives and discussing the importance of role models in countering manosphere influences. But what has been less talked about is how it reveals the relentless pursuit of financial gain driving these “manfluencers” and the language they use to normalise their views. Amid a cost of living crisis and a declining job market, Theroux shows why “manfluencers” resonate so strongly with their target audience of boys and young men. Theroux meets four key figures in the manosphere, all of whom sell a carefully curated lifestyle based on conspicuous consumption, hypersexuality and an “alpha masculinity” mindset to their millions of followers. Although this may seem like a tempting lifestyle to some, the main effect is to reinforce a sense of inadequacy and failure among their audiences. Do this enough times, then you can …

How to spring clean your life: From mindset to digital declutter

How to spring clean your life: From mindset to digital declutter

Published by Daniella Wilson

Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more A deep clean? Some decluttering? Spring cleaning can be so much more. You can use it for inspiration to do that one thing you’ve been putting off. Whether it’s your skincare or your inbox, you can use the changes in the seasons to make some life changes. Here, The Independent’s writers share what they’ll be spring cleaning: The clocks have changed. The winter fug is lifting. And it’s time for a sleep reset. Begone, cosy hibernation; see you later, comforting red wine and sleep patterns that are all over the shop (sometimes, over the endless gloom of winter, I’ve found myself wondering as early as 7.30pm if it might be bedtime). Based on the advice I’ve heard from sleep experts over the years, but …

Can a Single Therapy Session Make a Difference? Experts Say Yes, With the Right Mindset

Can a Single Therapy Session Make a Difference? Experts Say Yes, With the Right Mindset

Published by Sam Flores

Just before the holidays in 2025, Julie Hart felt stuck. A nagging problem she had struggled with for years left her ruminating all day and questioning nearly everything she had ever said, done or could do. She was considering traditional therapy but decided instead to try single-session counseling. Rather than committing to weekly therapy sessions, she would get only 60 minutes to tackle the problem. It worked. “It helped me get unstuck, is how I would describe it, in a very positive, meaningful and effective way,” said Hart, of Springfield, Virginia. Hart joined what experts say is an increasing number of people who, at least for now, have decided to forgo the weeks, months or even years that traditional therapy implies in favor of a more targeted approach. The therapy is what it sounds like: one session, typically an hour, where a counselor helps the client identify concrete steps toward relieving a specific problem. The intention is not to completely solve a problem, but rather to help clients walk away with a toolbox of strategies …

A healthy mindset can help you live longer. Here’s how

A healthy mindset can help you live longer. Here’s how

Published by Daniella Wilson

Get the Well Enough newsletter with Harry Bullmore for tips on living a healthier, happier and longer life Get the Well Enough email with Harry Bullmore Get the Well Enough email with Harry Bullmore America’s life expectancy is at an all-time high right now, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Women are still expected to live longer than men – a decades-long trend – with an average life expectancy of 81.4 years and men are expected to live at least 75.8 years. But life expectancy is not a fixed point and experts say how you approach life contributes to longevity – especially if you maintain a healthy mindset. Previous research shows that there’s real-world power in positive thinking. “When people repeatedly imagine the future as limited or declining, which a lot of people aging do, the brain begins to kind of reinforce those expectations,” Deepika Chopra, a health psychologist, told The New York Times on Thursday. “But if we can consciously direct attention toward even something small, a small positive future …

A Positive Outlook About Aging Is Just As Powerful As Having Good Genes

A Positive Outlook About Aging Is Just As Powerful As Having Good Genes

Published by Jenni Sidey

We’re all secretly looking for the fountain of youth, and while waters that can turn back the hands of time might be fictional, the ability to age backwards actually isn’t. A new study from Yale found that people who approach getting older with a positive outlook end up aging backwards. Aging is one of those things that most people think about, but not everyone is actually fully prepared for. We’re constantly being told that while taking care of our body and mind plays the biggest role in aging, so does having good genetics. Those things are undoubtedly important, but researchers found that a simple mindset shift could have more anti-aging benefits than genetics. If you want to age backwards, approaching the process with a positive outlook is just as powerful as having good genes. A study from Yale, published in the journal Geriatrics, found that aging isn’t as simple as some people aging faster or slower than others due to lifestyle and genetic factors. In fact, they found that major markers of aging can actually …

Why Christians must reject the ‘throw away the key’ mindset

Why Christians must reject the ‘throw away the key’ mindset

Published by Sam Flores

(RNS) — “Lock them up and throw away the key.” It’s a familiar refrain in today’s political climate — a line that promises safety, yet demands little engagement. But this reactionary impulse is at odds with both Scripture and what actually promotes safety in practical terms. For Christians, incarceration is not only a policy issue, but a deeply spiritual matter. Many of us have witnessed worship in prison chapels, where voices rise with the same conviction and hope found in any Sunday congregation. The people our society locks away are not invisible to God. They too bear his image and hold the God-given capacity for repentance, relationships and renewal. In the Gospel of Matthew’s much quoted 25th chapter, Jesus requires his followers to care for “the least of these.” To the weak and the outcast, he offered healing, friendship and ultimately salvation. Jesus did not despise prisoners as disposable, and he specifically commended those who visited the imprisoned. This is quite pointedly the opposite of the “throw away the key” perspective. A recent national study …

Nearly half of older adults improve in cognition or walking over time

Nearly half of older adults improve in cognition or walking over time

Published by Jenni Sidey

A steady slide into frailty is the story many people tell themselves about old age. The numbers in a long-running federal survey tell a messier tale. In a new study led by Becca R. Levy at Yale University, nearly half of older adults tracked for up to 12 years improved in at least one basic marker of brain or body function. The odds of improvement rose with something that rarely gets treated like a health factor at all: whether someone started out with more positive beliefs about aging. “Many people equate aging with an inevitable and continuous loss of physical and cognitive abilities,” Levy said. “What we found is that improvement in later life is not rare, it’s common, and it should be included in our understanding of the aging process.” When the average hides the people Levy, a professor of social and behavioral sciences at Yale School of Public Health, and co-author Martin Slade, a lecturer in occupational medicine at Yale School of Medicine and in the Department of Environmental Health Sciences at the …

Psychology study shows how a “fixed mindset” helps socially anxious people

Psychology study shows how a “fixed mindset” helps socially anxious people

Published by José Betancourt

New research published in the Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin suggests that changing how people think about first impressions can help ease the burden of social anxiety. The findings indicate that believing other people form stable and unchanging opinions tends to make social interactions feel much less demanding. This shift in perspective provides evidence that socially anxious individuals can feel more at ease by simply assuming they are not being constantly reevaluated. “Social anxiety is a prevalent problem that affects the lives of 5-15% of the population chronically, and affects most people occasionally (e.g., during a job interview or dating). It can make people feel very uncomfortable or lead them to avoid social situations, and may seriously limit their ability to live life to its full potential,” said study author Liad Uziel, an associate professor at Bar-Ilan University. “There are different approaches to address social anxiety, which involve medications and potentially long-term therapy. Much of the recent work on the topic has focused on cognitive biases that characterize individuals high on social anxiety and which …

How to Cultivate an Experimenter’s Mindset

How to Cultivate an Experimenter’s Mindset

Published by Jenni Sidey

Tom’s neighbor is a member of a group called Extreme Desert Gardeners. The group tries to grow things that shouldn’t grow well in the desert. His neighbor’s yard is a rotating experiment. Some experiments work, and some don’t, but his neighbor never seems to get discouraged. She just tries again. That unfazed quality is central to an experimenter’s mindset. Once you develop it, it spreads to other areas of your life, becomes a source of resilience, and helps keep you mentally agile. Try these tips if you’d like to improve your own experimenter’s mindset. 1. Engage With a Community of Experimenters Most people don’t operate with an experimenter’s mindset. To learn from others’ thinking patterns and receive encouragement, join an experimentation-oriented community that interests you. For example, you might familiarize yourself with the “beer money” subreddit, which is devoted to low-effort side gigs that bring in a little extra cash (it has nothing to do with beer!). Or, you might participate in a community of people using AI for automation or to create AI-driven businesses. …