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Opening a stubborn jar is a universal human struggle.  Even if we do use brute force, then wrap the jar in a rubber glove, smack the lid with a spoon, run it under boiling water and whip out one of those handy silicon kitchen openers for old people with arthritis, sometimes, that stupid lid still won’t budge.  It’s infuriating. You almost have to convince yourself that you’re not ever…

I have a therapist friend who uses an interesting technique to keep clients focused during phone sessions.  Within the first few minutes, before digging into the heart of the matter, he asks the following question: Is there anything on the top of your mind that might distract you during this call?  It’s a simple, respectful and practical tool for setting context.  Not just for the client, but for the…

What if pooping was gamified? What if giraffes didn’t doubt? What if fish fat became spreadable? What if resting bitch face had its own symposium? What if you could publicly shame people to make the world more efficient? In this episode of Steal Scott’s Ideas, Brittany, Sara and Zohar gather in Brooklyn for some execution in public.  # # # Execution Lesson 103: Almost everything is noise Every beautiful thing…

When my grandmother turned eighty, we decided to move her into a senior living facility.  It was a tough transition.  Edie naturally had a lot of sadness and apprehension about the move, as any elderly person would.  Can you imagine assimilating into a new community at that stage of life? You’re out of practice making friends, feeling shy about being the new kid, and coming into a strange environment…

Getting sick can be painful.  But getting angry and frustrated at ourselves for being sick, that can be suffering.  Because it’s an extra layer of resistance and confusion and despair that we create in reaction to our pain, which actually compounds the hurt and makes us feel worse than we really are.  My own needs insult me. I’m not crying because the stomach bug hurts, I’m crying because I’m the kind…

For many centuries, much of human behavior has been driven by the fear of becoming an outcast from the herd.  Our primitive instincts remind us to keep the spirits happy, keep the tribe’s nest warm and safe, and show allegiance to the chief and the clan.  Lest we’re banished into the wilderness to go die a horrible death.  But in the past few decades, there’s been a shift. Now…

People want to be strong.  They want to figure things out on their own and decide for themselves what a good course of action is.  And so, we have to prepare ourselves for their stubbornness. Because in order for them to come to their own conclusions, they’re going to conduct exhaustive research. They’re going to question and reject all expert opinions. And they’re going to do whatever else it takes to…

It pains me to say it, but our friendship is running on fumes.  Our conversations are loaded with quips, but short on heart. Few new memories are being made anymore. And whenever we get together, we spend most of the time looking in the rear view mirror.  Because despite our history together, we no longer have anything in common.  Our paths have parted in different directions.  The good news…

Carlin used to do a brilliant comedy routine about hair.  He would complain about guys who shaved their heads completely bald. They were so ashamed that they lost eleven hairs that they tried to transform their look into some kind of masculine statement.  George said: Shaving your head is ugly and repulsive and disgusting. If you really want to have no hair, do what I did. Wait a while. In the…

Burnt is a movie that performed dimly at the box office and received terrible reviews from critics and audience members alive.  Personally, I thought it was the most inspiring and accurate movie about the creative process that I’ve seen in years.  Chef says it beautifully as he shares his vision for what he thinks food should be.  People eat because they’re hungry. I want to make food that makes people stop eating….