The School of Life

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  Why You Will Marry the Wrong Person 27.09.2026 29min

  This video sees Alain de Botton, Creator of The School of Life and narrator on the majority of our videos, talking at a Google event in London in 2017. Enjoying our Youtube videos? Get full access to all our audio content, videos, and thousands of thought-provoking articles, conversation cards and more with The School of Life Subscription: https://t.ly/K3Syr Be more mindful, present and inspired. Get the best of The School of Life delivered straight to your inbox: https://t.ly/ykyVX SOCIAL MEDIA Feel free to follow us at the links below: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theschooloflifelondon X: https://twitter.com/TheSchoolOfLife Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theschooloflifelondon/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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  Who Am I? 27.09.2026 10min

  What is it that makes us most distinctively ourselves? Our bodies, our memories, our values...? Take a tour through the philosophy of personal identity. Enjoying our Youtube videos? Get full access to all our audio content, videos, and thousands of thought-provoking articles, conversation cards and more with The School of Life Subscription: https://t.ly/qoEu2 Be more mindful, present and inspired. Get the best of The School of Life delivered straight to your inbox: https://t.ly/51b49 FURTHER READING You can read more on this and many other topics here : https://goo.gl/FGMqVi MORE SCHOOL OF LIFE More films on SELF in our playlist below: http://bit.ly/TSOLself SOCIAL MEDIA Feel free to follow us at the links below: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theschooloflifelondon/ X: https://twitter.com/TheSchoolOfLife Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theschooloflifelondon/ CREDITS Produced in collaboration with: Vale Productions http://www.valeproductions.co.uk/ Music Woods by Hawkin #TheSchoolOfLife ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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  Is There an Alternative to Political Correctness? 27.09.2026 9min

  Political correctness aims for some very nice results, but its means have a habit of upsetting a lot of people. Might there be an alternative to it? We think there is, and it’s called Politeness. Enjoying our Youtube videos? Get full access to all our audio content, videos, and thousands of thought-provoking articles, conversation cards and more with The School of Life Subscription: https://t.ly/KUTZM Be more mindful, present and inspired. Get the best of The School of Life delivered straight to your inbox: https://t.ly/c2obn FURTHER READING “Political Correctness is, in many ways, an extraordinary and admirable achievement of our age. It involves an acute sensitivity to the suffering of minority groups traditionally overlooked by the dominant forces in society – and a commitment to teasing out examples of adversity in the large but also the small moments of daily life. Its aim is to spread empathy, justice and fairness...” You can read more on this here: https://goo.gl/WQst5l MORE SCHOOL OF LIFE Watch more films on CAPITALISM in our playlist: http://bit.ly/TSOLcapitalism You can submit translations and transcripts on all of our videos here: https://www.youtube.com/timedtext_cs_panel?c=UC7IcJI8PUf5Z3zKxnZvTBog&tab=2 Find out how more here: https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/6054623?hl=en-GB SOCIAL MEDIA Feel free to follow us at the links below: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theschooloflifelondon/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheSchoolOfLife Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theschooloflifelondon/ CREDITS Produced in collaboration with: Nick Hilditch http://nickhilditch.com/ #TheSchoolOfLife Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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  The one question you must comprehend to understand who you are #shorts #selfcare #importantquestions 27.09.2026 2min

  There is one question that, perhaps more than any other, gets to the root of who we are and what motivates us: “What did I need to do in childhood to win the support and approval of my parents?” We might - to sharpen the picture - need to lean on a few subsidiary enquiries… Enjoying our Youtube videos? Get full access to all our audio content, videos, and thousands of thought-provoking articles, conversation cards and more with The School of Life Subscription: https://t.ly/_D9cB Learn, heal and grow. Get the best of The School of Life delivered straight to your inbox: https://t.ly/cUQdU FURTHER READING You can read more on this and other subjects in our articles, here: https://t.ly/JYcLU “There is one question that, perhaps more than any other, gets to the root of who we are and what motivates us: What did I need to do in childhood to win the support and approval of my parents? We might - to sharpen the picture - need to lean on a few subsidiary enquiries: To please my father, I needed to… To please my mother, I needed to… Not to upset my mother, I needed to… Not to upset my father, I needed to… Whatever might be claimed, no family ever gives its offspring unconditional love; there is always, more or less subtly, something that one has to do and to be - and other things that must at all costs be skirted…” MORE SCHOOL OF LIFE Watch more films on SELF in our playlist: http://bit.ly/TSOLself SOCIAL MEDIA Feel free to follow us at the links below: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theschooloflifelondon/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheSchoolOfLife Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theschooloflifelondon/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-school-of-life-for-business/ CREDITS Produced in collaboration with: Deanca Rensyta https://www.deancarensyta.com Title animation produced in collaboration with Graeme Probert www.gpmotion.co.uk Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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  The True Reason We Toil So Much 27.09.2026 3min

  We work as we do because – of course – we need to; because nothing is cheap, because the bills are incessant; because of all the good and wise and sensible reasons that we’ve been highly aware of since mid adolescence at least. But that is too neat and we know it deep down; we know that there is also – alongside this – something more complicated that we use the idea of necessity to avoid. Enjoying our Youtube videos? Get full access to all our audio content, videos, and thousands of thought-provoking articles, conversation cards and more with The School of Life Subscription: https://www.theschooloflife.com/the-school-of-life-youtube/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=description&utm_campaign=Why%20we%20work%20as%20hard%20as%20we%20do Learn, heal and grow. Get the best of The School of Life delivered straight to your inbox: https://www.theschooloflife.com/signup/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=description&utm_campaign=Why%20we%20work%20as%20hard%20as%20we%20do FURTHER READING You can read more on this and other subjects in our articles, here: https://www.theschooloflife.com/article/why-do-we-work-so-hard/#:~:text=We%20work%20as%20we%20do,since%20mid%20adolescence%20at%20least.?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=description&utm_campaign=Why%20we%20work%20as%20hard%20as%20we%20do “We work as we do because – of course – we need to; because nothing is cheap, because the bills are incessant; because of all the good and wise and sensible reasons that we’ve been highly aware of since mid adolescence at least. But that is too neat and we know it deep down; we know that there is also – alongside this – something more complicated that we use the idea of necessity to avoid…” MORE SCHOOL OF LIFE Watch more films on SELF in our playlist: http://bit.ly/TSOLself SOCIAL MEDIA Feel free to follow us at the links below: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theschooloflifelondon/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheSchoolOfLife Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theschooloflifelondon/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-school-of-life-for-business/ CREDITS Produced in collaboration with: Mike Booth https://www.youtube.com/somegreybloke Title animation produced in collaboration with Graeme Probert www.gpmotion.co.uk https://drive.google.com/file/d/1idvq4Wi8osIMgab1JjX66gNROyp5t2g5/view?usp=sharing work-life balance, motivation, career advice, productivity, purpose in life, happiness at work, financial independence, time management, success mindset, hidden reasons we work hard, why do we work so much, rethinking work ethic, finding meaning in work, beyond the paycheck, is hard work worth it, is there more to life than work, chasing your dreams, work-life balance tips, how to find purpose in your work Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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  Why Likeable People Push Us Away 27.09.2026 5min

  Why might kindness be so hard to bear? Why should warmth prove - on occasion - comprehensively repulsive? Why might nausea descend in the face of emotional maturity? Enjoying our YouTube videos? Get full access to all our audio content, videos, and thousands of thought-provoking articles, conversation cards and more with The School of Life Subscription: https://9qq0.short.gy/zqGz6G Learn, heal and grow: get the best of The School of Life delivered straight to your inbox: https://9qq0.short.gy/RaAZCl FURTHER READING You can read more on this and other subjects in our articles, here: https://9qq0.short.gy/5EJiCJ “There are many things that might disrupt the mood of a promising early date: a sudden discovery of a maddening political opinion, a grating laugh, poor dental hygiene, an unfortunate choice of top. But there is a far more perplexing and, superficially at least, paradoxical kind of distaste that might abruptly arise. One might want to take leave of a companion - and even rush outdoors to vomit - not because they are crude, dim or nasty but because they have revealed themselves to be undeniably and conspicuously nice…” MORE SCHOOL OF LIFE Watch more films on SELF in our playlist: http://bit.ly/TSOLself SOCIAL MEDIA Feel free to follow us at the links below: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theschooloflifelondon/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheSchoolOfLife Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theschooloflifelondon/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-school-of-life-for-business/ CREDITS Produced in collaboration with: Natalia Biegaj https://www.nb-animation.com/ Title animation produced in collaboration with Graeme Probert www.gpmotion.co.uk Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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  HISTORY OF IDEAS - Customs 27.09.2026 17min

  Our societies have dropped ever more rituals from our calendars. The long history of rituals seems to be winding down. That’s a great pity. Enjoying our Youtube videos? Get full access to all our audio content, videos, and thousands of thought-provoking articles, conversation cards and more with The School of Life Subscription: https://t.ly/lh5Jq Be more mindful, present and inspired. Get the best of The School of Life delivered straight to your inbox: https://t.ly/uhFAm MORE SCHOOL OF LIFE Watch more films on HISTORY: http://bit.ly/TSOLhistory SOCIAL MEDIA Feel free to follow us at the links below: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theschooloflifelondon/ X: https://twitter.com/TheSchoolOfLife Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theschooloflifelondon/ CREDITS Produced in collaboration with Mike Booth http://www.youtube.com/somegreybloke #TheSchoolOfLife ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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  The Pleasures of Fundamental Disagreement 27.09.2026 6min

  It’s extremely nice when other people agree with us. But it’s also not unpleasant when we find people whose views revolt us completely. Enjoying our Youtube videos? Get full access to all our audio content, videos, and thousands of thought-provoking articles, conversation cards and more with The School of Life Subscription: https://t.ly/UpuRQ Be more mindful, present and inspired. Get the best of The School of Life delivered straight to your inbox: https://t.ly/6oSAT MORE SCHOOL OF LIFE Watch more films on SELF: http://bit.ly/TSOLself SOCIAL MEDIA Feel free to follow us at the links below: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theschooloflifelondon/ X: https://twitter.com/TheSchoolOfLife Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theschooloflifelondon/ CREDITS Produced in collaboration with Reflective Films http://www.reflectivefilms.co.uk #TheSchoolOfLife ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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  LITERATURE - Voltaire 27.09.2026 15min

  Voltaire was one of the wisest, funniest and cleverest people of the 18th century. He continues to have lots to teach us about toleration, modesty and kindness. Enjoying our Youtube videos? Get full access to all our audio content, videos, and thousands of thought-provoking articles, conversation cards and more with The School of Life Subscription: https://t.ly/2pSja Be more mindful, present and inspired. Get the best of The School of Life delivered straight to your inbox: https://t.ly/a9KBT MORE SCHOOL OF LIFE Watch more films on LITERATURE: http://bit.ly/TSOLliterature SOCIAL MEDIA Feel free to follow us at the links below: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theschooloflifelondon/ X: https://twitter.com/TheSchoolOfLife Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theschooloflifelondon/ CREDITS Produced in collaboration with Reflective Films http://www.reflectivefilms.co.uk Script written for The School of Life by Professor Nicholas Cronk, Director of the Voltaire Foundation: http://www.mod-langs.ox.ac.uk/people/nicholas-cronk #TheSchoolOfLife ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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  How We Assist Exes Create a Wonderful Future #animation #relationships #theschooloflife 27.09.2026 3min

  Emotional Intelligence, Daily. Start now: https://www.theschooloflife.com/subscription/ Ever wonder why your ex is so happy? This film explores the bittersweet truth that we often serve as the unwitting teachers for our ex-partners, helping them mature into ideal future companions. Discover how our most painful relationship struggles can become the groundwork for someone else's happiness, and—with a touch of luck—for our own too. #RelationshipLessons #BreakupRecovery #PersonalGrowth #Exes #EmotionalIntelligence Unlock all the content of The School of Life with a subscription to our podcast, articles, videos, and exercises, specially tailored to your needs. Get weekly insights for better relationships, deeper self-knowledge, and inner calm straight to your inbox. Sign up for more ideas, plus 10% off your first shop order: https://www.theschooloflife.com/signup/ You can read more on this and other subjects in our articles, here: https://www.theschooloflife.com/article/how-we-help-our-exes-have-a-lovely-future/ “One of the most galling and drily comedic things about relationships is that many of the struggles we had with our now ex-partners - though they appeared circular and fruitless at the time - are likely to be precisely what will help them to become, in the future, ideal partners… for someone else. It’s the very difficulties we had, the arguments, blindspots and stalemates, that will prepare them for unions filled with insight, harmony and serenity next time around. Unbeknownst to us, we may for a long while have been in the business of helping someone else to be very happy…” OUR COLLECTIONS https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwxNMb28XmpcEwc0qydf2jSszQFSht81E https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwxNMb28XmpckOvZZ_AZjD7WM2p9-6NBv https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwxNMb28XmpeUL1vz9Su7OmeghBDgmj7X https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwxNMb28XmpeypJMHfNbJ4RAFkRtmAN3P https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwxNMb28XmpcpxBm1RoGRx4mVKNRIrKkG https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwxNMb28Xmpcp7jXVszdNruKUtHZ2zuZb https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwxNMb28Xmpfv2COuuJaKzy6E2n8nSMdi https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwxNMb28Xmpc1qCJ6RYYh4rKNOOlKtFIK SOCIAL MEDIA Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theschooloflifelondon/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-school-of-life/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@theschooloflife?lang=en CREDITS Produced in collaboration with: Aaron Sampson https://www.motionmaverick.com/ Title animation produced in collaboration with Graeme Probert www.gpmotion.co.uk ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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  The Risks of Losing a Sense of Self 27.09.2026 2min

  Emotional Intelligence, Daily. Start now: https://www.theschooloflife.com/subscription/ Have you ever encountered someone who seems to shift their identity effortlessly? This film explores the profound challenge of lacking a sense of self, often rooted in childhood experiences where authentic expression was stifled. Understand the complexities of loving someone who struggles to know themselves, and how to navigate these relationships with insight and genuine curiosity. #SelfIdentity #ChildhoodTrauma #Relationships #Psychology #EmotionalIntelligence Unlock all the content of The School of Life with a subscription to our podcast, articles, videos, and exercises, specially tailored to your needs. Get weekly insights for better relationships, deeper self-knowledge, and inner calm straight to your inbox. Sign up for more ideas, plus 10% off your first shop order: https://www.theschooloflife.com/signup/ You can read more on this and other subjects in our articles, here: https://www.theschooloflife.com/article/people-who-are-missing-a-sense-of-self/ “One of the odder features of life is that, without there being too many significant outward signs of the problem, many people are to be found wandering the earth lacking any sense of self. By this we mean that they are radically unsure of who they might be, what they might want and who they should trust. These unfortunates have no settled core. In the background, they are always quietly asking themselves not ‘What do I like?’, but ‘What am I supposed to like?”... OUR COLLECTIONS https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwxNMb28XmpcEwc0qydf2jSszQFSht81E https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwxNMb28XmpckOvZZ_AZjD7WM2p9-6NBv https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwxNMb28XmpeUL1vz9Su7OmeghBDgmj7X https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwxNMb28XmpeypJMHfNbJ4RAFkRtmAN3P https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwxNMb28XmpcpxBm1RoGRx4mVKNRIrKkG https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwxNMb28Xmpcp7jXVszdNruKUtHZ2zuZb https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwxNMb28Xmpfv2COuuJaKzy6E2n8nSMdi https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwxNMb28Xmpc1qCJ6RYYh4rKNOOlKtFIK SOCIAL MEDIA Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theschooloflifelondon/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-school-of-life/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@theschooloflife?lang=en CREDITS Produced in collaboration with: Diego Londeiros https://thebrightagency.com/uk/animation/artists/diego-lodeiros Title animation produced in collaboration with Graeme Probert www.gpmotion.co.uk ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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  How To Overcome Rejection 27.09.2026 5min

  Rejection is always painful; it need not be a tragedy. Enjoying our Youtube videos? Get full access to all our audio content, videos, and thousands of thought-provoking articles, conversation cards and more with The School of Life Subscription: https://t.ly/GtoOz Be more mindful, present and inspired. Get the best of The School of Life delivered straight to your inbox: https://t.ly/kfjCA MORE SCHOOL OF LIFE Watch more films on RELATIONSHIPS: http://bit.ly/TSOLrelationships SOCIAL MEDIA Feel free to follow us at the links below: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theschooloflifelondon/ X: https://twitter.com/TheSchoolOfLife Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theschooloflifelondon/ CREDITS Produced in collaboration with Avi Ofer http://www.aviofer.com/ #TheSchoolOfLife ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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  What to Do With Your Trauma? 27.09.2026 5min

  The word ‘trauma’ captures an acute paradox in our relationship to our own histories: some of what is most significant in our lives is inaccessible to day to day memory; the more important something is, the less we may be able to recall it. Enjoying our Youtube videos? Get full access to all our audio content, videos, and thousands of thought-provoking articles, conversation cards and more with The School of Life Subscription: https://t.ly/WbHDL Be more mindful, present and inspired. Get the best of The School of Life delivered straight to your inbox: https://t.ly/Zi8DY The School of Life runs a global online psychotherapy service that assists clients from over 40 countries. To find out more and book a session today, please visit our website: https://t.ly/xP3EL FURTHER READING You can read more on this and other subjects here: https://bit.ly/3y9XtcI “The word ‘trauma’ — meaning a terrible event we live through that cannot be remembered but which generates painful related symptoms — captures an acute paradox in our relationship to our own histories: some of what is most significant in our lives is inaccessible to day to day memory; the more important something is, the less we may be able to recall it…” MORE SCHOOL OF LIFE Watch more films on SELF in our playlist: http://bit.ly/TSOLself SOCIAL MEDIA Feel free to follow us at the links below: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theschooloflifelondon/ X: https://twitter.com/TheSchoolOfLife Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theschooloflifelondon/ CREDITS Produced in collaboration with: Nick Hilditch https://nickhilditch.com Title animation produced in collaboration with Vale Productions https://www.valeproductions.co.uk/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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  POLITICAL DOCTRINE - Thomas Hobbes 27.09.2026 9min

  Thomas Hobbes believed that it is always better to have security rather than liberty in a country. He was therefore deeply opposed to the English Civil War – and would have predicted the chaos of the Arab Spring. Enjoying our YouTube videos? Get full access to all our audio content, videos, and thousands of thought-provoking articles, conversation cards and more with The School of Life Subscription: https://t.ly/YvWZH Be more mindful, present and inspired. Get the best of The School of Life delivered straight to your inbox: https://t.ly/uJ__A SOCIAL MEDIA Feel free to follow us at the links below: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theschooloflifelondon/ X: https://twitter.com/TheSchoolOfLife Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theschooloflifelondon/ Produced in collaboration with Mad Adam http://www.madadamfilms.co.uk #TheSchoolOfLife ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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  How to Leave a Marriage 27.09.2026 5min

  The rules for how to doom a relationship are relatively easy to follow. Here are a selection that are guaranteed to blow up love. Please subscribe here: http://tinyurl.com/o28mut7 Enjoying our Youtube videos? Get full access to all our audio content, videos, and thousands of thought-provoking articles, conversation cards and more with The School of Life Subscription: https://t.ly/BpI74 Be more mindful, present and inspired. Get the best of The School of Life delivered straight to your inbox: https://t.ly/0UF8k SOCIAL MEDIA Feel free to follow us at the links below: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theschooloflifelondon/ X: https://twitter.com/TheSchoolOfLife Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theschooloflifelondon/ CREDITS Brought to you by http://www.theschooloflife.com Animated by Brett Underhill http:// www.porkchopbob.com #TheSchoolOfLife ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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  When and Why do we Grab our Phones? 27.09.2026 5min

  We may check our phones to see if any messages might have come in, if someone posted an interesting film, if something dreadful has happened overseas. But this is in danger of sounding far too normal and too kind to us. The truth is a lot darker and rather more humbling. Enjoying our Youtube videos? Get full access to all our audio content, videos, and thousands of thought-provoking articles, conversation cards and more with The School of Life Subscription: https://www.theschooloflife.com/the-school-of-life-youtube/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=description&utm_campaign=When%20and%20Why%20Do%20We%20Pick%20Up%20our%20Phones Learn, heal and grow. Get the best of The School of Life delivered straight to your inbox: https://www.theschooloflife.com/signup/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=description&utm_campaign=When%20and%20Why%20Do%20We%20Pick%20Up%20our%20Phones FURTHER READING You can read more on this and other subjects in our articles, here: https://www.theschooloflife.com/article/when-and-why-do-we-pick-up-our-phones/#:~:text=There%20are%20the%20standard%2C%20conventional,and%20too%20kind%20to%20us.?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=description&utm_campaign=When%20and%20Why%20Do%20We%20Pick%20Up%20our%20Phones “There are the standard, conventional-sounding answers: we check our phones to see if any messages might have come in, if someone posted an interesting film, if something dreadful has happened overseas. But this is in danger of sounding far too normal and too kind to us. The truth is a lot darker and rather more humbling. We don’t pick up our phones to find out what’s going on, we pick them up to ensure – with considerable ruthlessness – that we are in no danger of finding out anything more about ourselves. If we forensically study the moments when we are drawn to pick up our devices, these are almost always when some kind of anxiety is pressing in on us – an anxiety on whose analysis and interpretation the correct navigation of our lives may depend. We are using our devices as an alternative to thinking about our futures, we employ our machines to block insight, to halt the business of processing, to alienate our minds from their most promising and complex substrata…” MORE SCHOOL OF LIFE Watch more films on SELF in our playlist: http://bit.ly/TSOLself SOCIAL MEDIA Feel free to follow us at the links below: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theschooloflifelondon/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheSchoolOfLife Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theschooloflifelondon/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-school-of-life-for-business/ CREDITS Produced in collaboration with: Léon Moh-Cah https://leonmohcah.com/animation Title animation produced in collaboration with Graeme Probert www.gpmotion.co.uk phone addiction, psychology of phone use, digital detox, self-awareness, communication technology, screen time, mental health, personal growth, anxiety and phone use, avoiding self-reflection, phone use and relationships, phone use and productivity, overcoming phone addiction, introspection exercises, questions to ask yourself, mindful phone use, Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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  Stop Being Nice All the Time 27.09.2026 5min

  Nearly all of us wish to be known as 'nice' people. Yet our happiness may depend on a willingness to be — at points — strategically selfish. Enjoying our Youtube videos? Get full access to all our audio content, videos, and thousands of thought-provoking articles, conversation cards and more with The School of Life Subscription: https://t.ly/u0B7- Be more mindful, present and inspired. Get the best of The School of Life delivered straight to your inbox: https://t.ly/D5bAv FURTHER READING You can read more on this and other subjects here: https://bit.ly/3JWJR9m “It’s natural and beautiful to strive to be a nice person. In a world full of cruelty and thoughtlessness, nice people are committed to being generous, sympathetic and gentle. They never want to cause anyone to feel defeated or to lose sleep. They will go to great lengths to spare others tears. It sounds especially lovely. Nevertheless, it seems impossible to go through the whole of life being nothing but kind. Sooner or later, we are all called upon to take decisions that, even as they protect things we very much care about, will ruffle feathers, generate upset and may lead us to be (at least for a time) violently hated in some quarters.” MORE SCHOOL OF LIFE Watch more films on SELF in our playlist: http://bit.ly/TSOLself SOCIAL MEDIA Feel free to follow us at the links below: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theschooloflifelondon/ X: https://twitter.com/TheSchoolOfLife Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theschooloflifelondon/ CREDITS Produced in collaboration with: Gemma Green-Hope http://gemmagreenhope.com Title animation produced in collaboration with Vale Productions https://www.valeproductions.co.uk/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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  Rising Above Childhood 27.09.2026 5min

  Our childhoods have a deep and often seriously troubling impact on our adulthoods; what happened at 5 will still be colouring how things are for us at 55. It's something we need to learn to adjust to. Enjoying our Youtube videos? Get full access to all our audio content, videos, and thousands of thought-provoking articles, conversation cards and more with The School of Life Subscription: https://t.ly/LlhHc Be more mindful, present and inspired. Get the best of The School of Life delivered straight to your inbox: https://t.ly/CKrct SOCIAL MEDIA Feel free to follow us at the links below: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theschooloflifelondon/ X: https://twitter.com/TheSchoolOfLife Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theschooloflifelondon/ MORE SCHOOL OF LIFE Watch more films on SELF: http://bit.ly/TSOLself CREDITS Produced in collaboration with Marc Moynihan. http://mmoynihan.tumblr.com/ #TheSchoolOfLife ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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  Historical Hangovers Making Us Unhappy Today 27.09.2026 9min

  When trying to understand why we might be feeling unhappy, we tend to be drawn to reasons relatively close to home: it might have to do with friends, relationships, health, jobs, families or schedules. What we tend not to do, however, is to start talking about our place in history; it would sound overblown or plain bizarre to begin to pin a sizeable share of our difficulties to broad historical and sociological forces. FURTHER READING You can read more on this and other subjects here: https://9qq0.short.gy/1jUScD “When trying to understand why we might be feeling unhappy, we tend to be drawn to reasons relatively close to home: it might have to do with friends, relationships, health, jobs, families or schedules. What we tend not to do, however, is to start talking about our place in history; it would sound overblown or plain bizarre to begin to pin a sizeable share of our difficulties to broad historical and sociological forces. Yet whatever role our psyches and our families and colleagues might be playing in our moods, a proper understanding of our situation cannot be complete without consideration of the highly peculiar and novel era in which we exist. We are troubled in part because we dwell in highly unbalanced times…” MORE SCHOOL OF LIFE Watch more films on SELF in our playlist: http://bit.ly/TSOLself SOCIAL MEDIA Feel free to follow us at the links below: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theschooloflifelondon/ X: https://twitter.com/TheSchoolOfLife Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theschooloflifelondon/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-school-of-life-for-business/ CREDITS Produced in collaboration with: Gemma Green Hope https://www.gemmagreenhope.com/ Title animation produced in collaboration with Graeme Probert www.gpmotion.co.uk Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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  Open Up 27.09.2026 6min

  There is still so much we are never quite able to tell those close to us about who we are and what we want. We should dare to have the important conversations. Enjoying our Youtube videos? Get full access to all our audio content, videos, and thousands of thought-provoking articles, conversation cards and more with The School of Life Subscription: https://t.ly/RoP2f Be more mindful, present and inspired. Get the best of The School of Life delivered straight to your inbox: https://t.ly/Jy-MI MORE SCHOOL OF LIFE Watch more films on RELATIONSHIPS: http://bit.ly/TSOLrelationships SOCIAL MEDIA Feel free to follow us at the links below: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theschooloflifelondon/ X: https://twitter.com/TheSchoolOfLife Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theschooloflifelondon/ CREDITS Produced in collaboration with Action Films http://www.actionproductions.co.uk #TheSchoolOfLife ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices