site administrator | June 15, 2013
As a society we have agreed on general beliefs about what is right and what is wrong. What it means to be successful and what it means to not make the grade. But it is a limited perspective on life. We are all individuals, not molds. As a result, often times we carry on an internal struggle. We impose an image on ourselves of what we think we should be or what others expect us to be rather than what we really are. Instead of befriending and trusting the individual we truly are inside, we sometimes try to deny it or even annihilate it. For instance, if your heart tells you to pursue a career in acting or painting instead of a 9 to 5 office job, what is really keeping you from doing it? The only thing that moves us to be something we are not is fear. Fear of criticism, fear of lack of approval, fear of failure. It is here where you should ask yourself: Should I trust a made-up version of myself or the real version? Which one would better guide me through life? Which one can I rely on?
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Tags: Gabriela Pinto, helping others, human values, Humanity Project, philosophy, positive psychology, psychology, The Humanity Project, www.heal-anxiety-and-depression.com
Bob Knotts | December 28, 2012
Many of us have a strong desire to help other people. But for lots of good-hearted people, the question is how to do this. “How can I make a real, meaningful difference?” Of course, there are countless needs in our society and countless ways to assist the effort to meet those needs. Here at the Humanity Project, we rely on dozens of adult and student volunteers to carry out our work. But there is something very simple any of us can do to make a real difference — right now. We can focus on helping other people feel good about themselves, showing them through our words and behavior that they have value as individual members of the human race. That’s not as difficult or lofty as it may sound.
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Tags: helping kids, helping others, human values, Humanity Project, philosophy, positive psychology, psychology, The Humanity Project
Bob Knotts | May 24, 2012
This week we celebrate the birthday of Ralph Waldo Emerson. With each passing year, I gain a deeper respect for the work of this remarkable American writer. On Friday, May 25, the Humanity Project will commemorate Emerson’s 209th birthday. He lived from 1803 – 1882, a good long life in those days. Emerson wrote poetry and essays, was an accomplished speaker and a forceful abolitionist. But more than anything, I see Emerson as a philosopher, a man whose experience resulted in profound insights about how to live our lives in the most effective, healthy ways.
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Tags: Emerson, human values, Humanity Project, philosophy, positive psychology, psychology, Ralph Waldo Emerson, teaching human values, The Humanity Project
Bob Knotts | July 23, 2011
As we move through our lives, we create ripples in the world around us. Good ripples or bad ripples, ripples that make us and others into something more or ripples that make us less somehow. In a real way, that’s what the Humanity Project’s philosophy of shared value is based upon — the notion that we’re inextricably connected to one another in countless ways throughout every day. When this group talks about using cooperation and social connection to solve problems, our idea reflects a deeper reality of human life. Our actions, as well as our thoughts and feelings that result in later actions, do affect other people in the real world. By creating an awareness within us about this connection with others, and caring that it is constructive rather than destructive, we improve our own lives — and improve society.
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Tags: human values, Humanity Project, philosophy, positive psychology, psychology, shared value, teaching human values, The Humanity Project
Bob Knotts | July 9, 2011
I believe that every human being benefits by living a spiritual life, incorporating daily thought and effort focused on helping people. So I guess that I’m simply suggesting here that, as we celebrate the Dalai Lama’s birthday, we try to learn from his lifestyle as well as from his words
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Tags: Dalai Lama, helping others, human values, Humanity Project, philosophy, positive psychology, psychology, shared value, teaching human values, The Humanity Project
Bob Knotts | June 17, 2011
“We ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean. But the ocean would be less because of that missing drop.” Mother Teresa … I like that quote by Mother Teresa. Very much. It suggests to me the importance of our daily efforts to make this world a better place, no matter how insignificant those efforts may seem to us. Because in the end, none of us has the power to change things alone … but we do have the power to help change things. We can add our drop. Call it a drop in the ocean or a drop in the bucket. Whatever. It’s an important drop.
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Tags: "drop in the bucket", helping others, human values, Humanity Project, Mother Teresa, philosophy, positive psychology, psychology, teaching human values, The Humanity Project
Bob Knotts | June 10, 2011
Listening deeply to someone, no matter what our own beliefs, experiences, distractions or feelings may be, is an act of compassion. While the listener is giving this gift to the speaker, the listener is also receiving. Listening is a process of shared — and infinite — value. We all know first-hand how much it means for someone to listen when we need to be heard.
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Tags: helping others, human values, Humanity Project, Linda Eve Diamond, listening skills, positive psychology, psychology, teaching human values, The Humanity Project, www.ListenersUnite.com
Bob Knotts | March 22, 2011
Sometimes it’s a good thing to pause long enough to just appreciate what you have. And to say thanks. So this brief blog is for you, our wonderful Humanity Project supporters and members, all our friends who read these blogs or listen to our podcasts or subscribe to our free email newsletters.
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Tags: helping others, human values, Humanity Project, philosophy, positive psychology, psychology, shared value, teaching human values, The Humanity Project
Bob Knotts | December 31, 2010
I try to no longer think in terms of happiness. I believe that the pursuit of happiness in the modern sense tends to diminish us as individuals. When we chase only one of the myriad feelings that are part of being human, we try to avoid the others. … Instead, I view life in terms of purpose, of meaning. I think this involves finding our greatest strengths and passions, then developing these and sharing them with the world.
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Tags: helping others, human values, Humanity Project, positive psychology, psychology, shared value, teaching human values, The Humanity Project
Bob Knotts | December 12, 2010
With every passing year of my life, I feel more sure that each individual possesses a genuine capacity for greatness of some kind. I don’t intend that as some idealistic, rose-colored glasses type of comment. I think it’s literally true. Not necessarily the greatness that brings huge fame and big money, but rather the greatness that comes from knowing who we are as individuals and developing our best qualities for the benefit of humanity.
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Tags: human values, Humanity Project, philosophy, positive psychology, psychology, shared value, teaching human values, The Humanity Project
