Category: The Knowing (Self Awareness)

A woman standing in front of a large, well-lit mirror, likely in a dressing room or backstage area. The mirror is framed with bright round vanity lights. She is holding a plain white mask up to her face, covering her nose and mouth, while looking at her reflection.

Read time: 2 mins

The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life

The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life is the title of a 1956 seminal work by sociologist Erving Goffman. His thesis was

Silhouette of bird flying and broken chains at beautiful mountain and sky autumn sunset background

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Mind-forg’d Manacles

The phrase ‘mind-forg’d manacles’ comes from the poem ‘London’ by romantic author William Blake, written in 1794. Over 200 years ago, Blake

The image is a flat, vector-style illustration with a soft purple background. In the center, a man in a dark purple suit stands in a thoughtful pose, with one hand on his chin and the other on his hip. Above his head are three interlocking gears, symbolizing thinking or problem-solving. Curved white arrows point from a large question mark on the left toward the gears, and from the gears toward a bright yellow light bulb on the right.

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Sensemaking

We live in an ever more complex, chaotic world where the pace of change seems to be accelerating daily. How to make

A yellow background with a woman pointing to the white halo she is wearing on her head

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The Halo Trap: Even Smart People Get Snared

Halo Effect occurs when we equate proficiency in one area with competence in another. Another name for the phenomena is Generalization Bias;

A woman is seated at a desk in front of an open laptop. She has her eyes closed and her hands raised slightly to either side, palms up, as if pausing, centering herself, or tuning out distractions. Two men in business attire stand on either side of her. Both appear to be talking or gesturing toward her—one holding papers and gesturing with his hand, the other leaning in slightly while also holding documents.

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How is Your Pocket Presence?

In football, pocket presence refers to a quarterback’s ability to maintain composure while standing in the pocket created by the offensive front

3 sticky notes (one says "body", one says "spirit" and one says "mind") on a chalkboard with curved arrows drawn between them to make a circle. The word "healthy" is written inside the circle.

Read time: 2 mins

Creating Change That Lasts Throughout the New Year

The life expectancy of most New Year’s Resolutions can be measured at best in days, some even mere hours. So how to

A yellow background with a group of white arrows going in the same direction. A few black arrows turn from the group in a different direction

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Choiceless Choices

We see the world not as it is but as we are. In life we tend not to choose from the entire

Nathan S Collier standing at a podium delivering commencement speech

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NSC Commencement Speech to Fall 2025 UF Law Grads

More than 4 decades ago, I sat where you are today, graduating from one of the finest law schools in the country,

6 post-it notes arranged in a star shape. A blue one says "growth mindset", a yellow one says "goal setting", a white one says "personal development", a pink one says "positive thinking", a green one says "good habits", and an orange one says "self discipline"

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Do You Have Akrasia?

Akrasia (ἀκρασία) is from Ancient Greece and refers to a “lack of self-control” or a tendency to “act against one’s better judgment.”

This image shows an ostrich standing outdoors in a fenced, grassy area under a bright blue sky. The ostrich has its entire head and neck buried inside a blue metal barrel labeled “SAND.”

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Deliberate Ignorance aka The Ostrich Effect: Friend or Foe?

We live in an era of incredible access to… Information? Data? Misinformation? We are ceaselessly bombarded, messaged constantly… often with meaningless content

A pair of male hands surrounding a crystal ball conjuring up a hologram on an isolated dark studio background

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Seeing Around Corners, Knowing the Future

Okay, the future is a story yet to be told, however, the better you are at ‘pattern recognition’, the stronger your anticipatory