It is what it is

[Boze Herrington, Library Owl 😴🧙‍♀️ @SketchesbyBoze]

Not only were kids reading 700 and 800-page Harry Potter books in a single day, they were writing, without AI, fan-fiction that frequently surpassed the length of those books. The fact that people can no longer believe this happened only shows how steep our decline has been.

[Iran Army Media @IranArmyMedia]

Hitler killed Jews. Jews were the victims.

Now Jews are killing Palestinians. Jews are still the victims?

🇵🇸FREE PALESTINE

[Mario Lopez @mariolopezviva]

She’s a hero! A blessing to the community…

#FreeHer

[Force_mentale @strength_km]

J’ai vu une femme raconter que son mari payait toutes les factures pendant qu’elle faisait ses études et élevait leurs enfants. Aujourd’hui, elle est infirmière diplômée d’État, et c’est elle qui assure les dépenses pendant qu’il poursuit des études d’ingénierie.

Voilà à quoi ressemble un véritable partenariat.

[Lisakhanya @lee_Duruwe_]

There is something so silly about success. Not because it is difficult to achieve, but because when it finally arrives, it looks so ordinary. No one announces that you’ve crossed the finish line.

One day, you simply wake up living the life you once begged God for.

[G.T @gingerrtom]

calling 42 charges, which include rape, assault, sex trafficking, and child porn, a 'hurdle' is fucking crazy.

[Dudes Posting Their W’s @DudespostingWs]

The kids today have no idea

[Lilyallly❤️🇬🇧 @lilyally98]

I say this every time.

I need women to realise you aren’t special in the patriarchy.

The fact that you haven’t been assaulted yet, doesn’t mean other women did something wrong.

You are just LUCKY

[victoria ♀️ @fatfabfeminist]

new york under mamdani

[Adam Mockler @adammocklerr]

This is what happens when you elect people with a backbone.

[kira 👾 @kirawontmiss]

using a picture of kim kardashian for this is the funniest shit ever😭😭

[goma @soigomaa]

If you're ever lost/stranded change your voicemail immediately to say where you are, who you were with, what time you arrived etc. When people notice you're missing and start calling you, the voicemail may just save your life especially if your phone goes dead or you have no service.

[GeniusThinking @GeniusGTX]

School spent 18 years teaching you a reflex that destroys real conversations.

Conor Neill puts it plainly:

"You finish your pitch and the customer says, 'Your product is too expensive!' You arrive home a few minutes late, your partner says, 'You are always late.' There's a dirty plate left on the table 'You never wash the dishes.' What do you say in this moment?"

Here's the trap Neill identifies:

"Most of you, me included, went through 14 years of school where we were taught one way to respond to questions. Teacher asks, 'How do you spell cats?' Student: 'C-A-T.' Teacher asks, 'What is osmosis?' Student explains in detail. For 14 years, you've been taught to give answers to questions. If you went to university, you probably had another 3 or 4 years of giving answers to questions."

And that conditioning costs you:

"In real life in persuasion, in getting to what the other person is really about, what their needs really are, the worst thing you can do is give an answer to a question."

Watch what happens when you answer:

"If someone says, 'Your product is too expensive,' and you say, 'No it's not! It's only €1,000'; you've lost every chance to understand what else is behind their reasoning. If you get home and your partner says, 'You're always late!' and you say, 'No, no, no, Tuesday I was definitely here on time', you're gonna have a crap weekend."

Why does the brain default to this?

"When your partner says, 'You're always late,' emotion goes up. And what happens? The thinking part disconnects. The way to make someone stupider is to insult them, object to them, tell them they are wrong. When you're asked a question, there's an emotional reaction, and the higher emotion goes, the lower thinking goes."

And it won't fix itself without work:

"If you don't practice this response, you're not going to be able to do it in the moment. If you don't practice repeatedly how you'll respond to 'You're always late,' 'You never wash the dishes,' 'Your product is too expensive,' 'Your competitor is better,' 'You failed us 3 years ago,' 'I don't trust your company', you're not going to be able to do it in the heat of the moment."

The alternative Neill teaches:

"When you are asked a question or given an objection, I want you to say: 'I understand.' And repeat in your words what they're saying. Then give an open question back."

In practice:

"'Your product is too expensive!' → 'I understand that money is an important factor for you. What other criteria will be used in making this decision?'"

He calls this Conversation Aikido:

"Martial arts are about using the energy and force of the opponent against them. In Judo, if someone punches you, you pull their arm and allow the energy to keep flowing. In Aikido, the concept is you go toward the punch. You go toward the energy. If someone punches you, if someone asks you a question, if someone objects, the Aikido method is to go toward them and see the world from their view."

For the harder personal moments:

"'You're always late!' → 'I understand you feel frustrated.' 'I understand you feel let down.' You'll have to work on this quite a few times over the next 10 years to find the set of words that captures what the other person feels, what's behind it. Then ask: 'What can we do now?' 'What happened during the day?' 'What would you like to talk about?'"

By defending, you go blind:

"When a client says 'You're too expensive' and you say 'No, we're not!' you learn nothing about who else they're considering, what other criteria are important, what process they've gone through, who else is involved in the decision."

Neill's guarantee:

"By giving the answer, we shut down the possibility of hearing what's really going on in the other person's mind. But if you say 'I understand,' accept the energy coming from the other person, and give back an open question, I guarantee that if you do it 4 times, the answer to your 4th open question begins to be the real underlying need, issue, or interest of the person you're listening to."

[Da Sciencetist @SciencetistT]

Malawi 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[Fifty Shades of Whey @davenewworld_2]

A young man in NYC shared a video on TikTok at the start of his day tagging Mamdani about a pothole and by the end of the day, it was fixed

[susan abulhawa | سوزان ابو الهوى @susanabulhawa]

the largest mass funeral in recorded history, and not a peep from mainstream western media.

[TheShadeRoom @TheShadeRoom]

Y’all heard her! 🗣️ Ms. Rachel with a post on Threads.

(📸: @gettyimages) ✍🏾: #TSRStaffLG

[John Michael Reed @J_Reed_For_Pres]

Never forget: correlation does not imply causation.

[The Lucky Heron @LuckyHeronSay]

This dude was awesome in Game of Thrones but he's even better in real life

[Black @BlackLilith_25]

Real. You can't pour into others if you're constantly draining yourself. Help from abundance, not obligation