It’s no secret that many adults feel younger than their actual age. This mental age discrepancy is often romanticized through various cliches, but there’s something more sinister to how young we “feel” than simply being “young at heart.”

If you feel younger than you are, you’re likely overestimating the competency of your peers.

This article explores why this phenomenon may happen, how we can dispel the myth, and why we’d be happier once we do.

Feeling Younger Than Your Physical Age Is a Real Phenomenon

If you’re like 70% of adults, you likely feel younger than your actual age. But what does this really mean? …

For NaNoWriMo 2020, I sat down to write a full 50,000-word novel. I did not hit that goal.

15,000 words into the challenge, the idea for the 30k word book in the title came to me. After plotting it out from start to finish, I ditched the NaNoWriMo project and committed to the novella, which I did finish and publish.

Here’s how I wrote a 30,000-word book in 5 days, and what I learned in the process.

Plot it out.

The reason I switched from my original NaNoWriMo book to the novella was because of the plotting.

My NaNoWriMo novel was loosely plotted with flimsy characters. We’re talking cardboard, people. My novella had flawed beautiful characters with a rich storyline from start to finish. …

Forget about the cliched New Year’s Resolutions like weight loss and “be nicer.”

If you want to lose a few pounds, go for it, but here are some actionable New Year’s Resolutions that focus on creating a happier and more fulfilling life, along with the science behind each one.

Handwrite Letters to Loved Ones

In December of 2010, Kristy Bamu and his two sisters were tortured by their older sister and her boyfriend, Eric Bikubi. On Christmas Day, Kristy was murdered during a home exorcism.

A Scotland Yard deputy commented on the case, saying that ritualistic abuse and crimes were sadly “under-reported” despite their increased frequency in recent years.

Here is Kristy Bamu’s heartbreaking story.

A Past of Paranoia

Eric Bikubi was a 28-year old football coach with paranoid superstitions about kindoki, meaning witchcraft.

In the past, he accused others of witchcraft too, including a 19-year-old woman, Naomi Ilonga, who had stayed with him and Magalie Bamu years before Kristy’s murder. …

There’s a fine line between sales tactics and flirting.

I’ve crossed that line many times to close the sale. And no, that doesn’t make me a feminist failure.

Money, Money, Money

When I started my job at a spa, it was half front-desk, half sales. Upon checking new clients out, we pitched the membership to them and earned a commission for sign-ups.

At first, men were nearly impossible to sell the memberships to.

However, as time went on, and through trial and error, the way I sold to men and women started to differ until my sales approach was dramatically different between men and women. …

When I was a kid, I was annoyingly curious. I questioned everything, and I do mean everything:

If the tooth fairy isn’t real, does that mean Santa’s not real? What about Jesus? Why do kids have to sit at the kid's table during family events? Why does grandma smell weird? I know she’s old, but why does that make her smell?

When my mom didn’t know the answer (or just wanted me to behave), she made shit up. The problem is that a lot of the “explanation” I got as a kid stuck with me through adulthood.

Here’s what I learned about lying from experience and the experts. …

As an enthusiastic coffee drinker, I was happy to find out that coffee has some surprising health benefits that can fight many common diseases and disorders.

According to MedicalNewsToday, heart disease, stroke, diabetes, Alzheimer's, cancer, and suicide are within the top ten leading causes of death for Americans. Coffee can help lower these risks, as well as a couple of others.

Let’s break down exactly how your morning cup of joe can do more than get you through the day.

Alzheimer's Disease (and Dementia)

Alzheimer’s disease is an increasingly common neurodegenerative disease across the world and often leads to dementia. …

It’s no secret that we’ve come a long way with modern medicine, but did you know that chainsaws were originally invented for assisting with childbirth? If you’re clenching your legs together, just know that so am I. The history of the chainsaw has developed rapidly starting in the 1700s. Let’s take a closer look at what sparked this invention.

The Childbirth Problem

Before C-sections women had a tough time pushing out large babies. C-sections, or Cesarean sections, is the surgical removal of the baby from the uterus.

According to Mayo Clinic, this is generally required if problems with the baby passing through the birth canal are predicted or if issues arise in the late stages of pregnancy, such as delayed labor or a distressed baby. …