1/ No matter what we achieve or attain, our biology always leaves us wanting more. But there’s a way out. @arthurbrooks shares three practical ways to beat the dissatisfaction curse. bit.ly/34KTjwY
@arthurbrooks 3/ “In truth, our formula, ‘Satisfaction = getting what you want,’ leaves out one key component.
To be more accurate, it should be: ‘Satisfaction = what you have ÷ what you want.’ … The secret is to manage our wants,” @arthurbrooks writes. bit.ly/34KTjwY
@arthurbrooks 4/4 Want to hear more from @arthurbrooks? Sign up to get new editions of his “How to Build a Life” column delivered straight to your inbox each week. 📨 bit.ly/3GxQNqV
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1/4 Today we’re welcoming a new addition to The Atlantic’s newsletter lineup: Famous People, in which @kait_tiffany and @space_clam reflect on the New York City parties and events they attend with each other and their friends—and nobody famous. Sign up: theatlantic.com/newsletters/
2/4 Here’s more from Kaitlyn and Lizzie on what this newsletter is all about:
3/4 In their first twice-monthly dispatch, Kaitlyn and Lizzie report back on hosting a Russian buffet á la Martha Stewart, featuring borscht, an ice block fused to a bottle of vodka, and a medically questionable discussion about cat-scratch fever: theatlantic.com/newsletters/ar…
1/ In a turbulent year, Atlantic writers have sought to provide readers with practical advice. But some of the stories that have resonated most have also offered insight for our everyday life. Here are a few words of wisdom from the year: theatlantic.com/newsletters/ar…
3/ Your 20s don’t have to be the “best time of your life,”@Rainesford wrote. “This glorification of youth also seems to assume that everyone has the same resources; moves on the same timeline, in the same way; and has the same kind of life.” on.theatln.tc/UdiAuRQ
2/ “We seek shows anywhere we can find them—sometimes hearing about them directly from producers, other times from a friend of a friend’s mother’s uncle, or sometimes through our own secret methods of rooting out gems. Then we dig in,” @LJStandley and @McQuadeEric write.
3/ Below, we look back at a few of their favorites from the year.
1/ Maybe your New Year’s resolution is to read a great book. Find one on our Culture team’s roundup of the 20 best from this year. theatlantic.com/culture/archiv…
2/ “The Right to Sex,” by Amia Srinivasan. “Srinivasan excels at closely analyzing, then questioning, the facts of our sexual lives that we might take for granted.” — Kate Cray
3/ “Intimacies,” by Katie Kitamura. “Kitamura’s fourth novel spins a taut web of dread from the start.” — Stephanie Hayes
1/ How can we work toward satisfaction and enjoyment even in uncertain times? That’s a question @arthurbrooks has tackled in each installment of his weekly series, “How to Build a Life.”
2/ “Falling in love is the start-up cost for happiness—an exhilarating but stressful stage we have to endure to get to the relationships that actually fulfill us,” @arthurbrooks wrote in February. theatlantic.com/family/archive…
3 /Job satisfaction has little to do with the “what” of your work, and much more to do with the “who” and the “why.” @arthurbrooks on the kind of professional development that will actually make you happier. theatlantic.com/family/archive…
1/ Last year, TV became essential, our Culture team writes. When the stages we used to go to—concert halls, movie theaters, sports arenas—closed amid the pandemic, the small screen became the only outlet for safe viewing entertainment. bit.ly/3sMvFtN
2/ In their list of the top TV shows of 2021, @shirklesxp, @sophieGG, and @megangarber reflect on how TV kept us enthralled during the pandemic. Below, we look back at what they thought about some of the year’s best shows.