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Time of India
18 hours ago
- General
- Time of India
Parents lie too: Psychologist reveals how common parenting fibs can affect children's mental well-being
The Myth of Limitless Possibility The Problem with Painting Selfishness as Evil You Might Also Like: Silent damage: How parental screen time is rewiring young minds and fueling mental chaos? Study reveals Toxic Positivity in a Smile Why 'Doing It Alone' Is Overrated Big Boys Don't Cry Is Honesty Always the Best Policy? You Might Also Like: Is tough love wiser than gentle parenting? New study questions the pampering style popular among Gen Z parents From tales of Santa Claus to promises that everything will be fine, parents often wrap their guidance in comforting half-truths. But are these small lies just harmless traditions—or could they be quietly shaping a child's self-worth, worldview, and future ambitions?Dr. Juli Fraga, a licensed psychologist with nearly 20 years of experience working with parents and children, suggests the latter. In a recent column for CNBC Make It, Fraga shared a list of six common lies that parents often tell their children—fibs that, while rooted in love or tradition, may ultimately do more harm than good. 'Some of these messages are well-intended,' she writes, 'but they don't hold up—and can hurt your child's emotional health, relationships, and even career path.''If you put your mind to it, you can accomplish anything'—it's a mantra plastered across classroom walls and bedtime stories. Yet, Fraga warns that this optimistic overreach can backfire. When kids are told success is guaranteed through effort alone, failure becomes a personal flaw rather than a part of the of promising the moon, parents might try helping children define success more realistically: not in terms of grand achievements, but through courage, growth, and of the most surprising truths Fraga shares is about the lie: 'You can't be selfish.' For generations, children have been taught that selfishness is inherently negative—synonymous with rudeness or arrogance. But the reality, she says, is more such a thing as 'healthy selfishness'—the ability to prioritize one's needs without guilt. Whether it's choosing rest over a playdate or saying no when overwhelmed, teaching kids this distinction can lead to higher self-worth and emotional strength.'You just have to look on the bright side,' is another favorite parental catchphrase meant to soothe emotional distress. But it may unintentionally invalidate a child's real feelings.'Kids should know it's okay not to be okay,' Fraga emphasizes. Teaching emotional literacy means acknowledging sadness, anxiety, and anger—not brushing them aside with forced cheer. Children who are allowed to sit with their feelings, she notes, grow into emotionally resilient the race to raise independent kids, parents sometimes push too far. Telling a child, 'You can do it all by yourself,' may discourage them from seeking help—even when they desperately need than promoting total self-reliance, Fraga encourages parents to strike a balance: foster autonomy, yes, but also let children know that asking for help is a strength, not a weakness.'Big kids don't cry' is a phrase that quietly teaches children to suppress their emotions. But, as Fraga highlights, emotions aren't obstacles—they're 'brilliant messengers.' Denying children the right to express sadness or fear teaches them to bottle up feelings, often leading to issues like perfectionism or emotional detachment in urges parents to welcome those tears. 'Even if your parents didn't welcome your emotions,' she advises, 'you can give your child a different experience.'Another surprising insight? The classic moral lesson—'Honesty is always the best policy'—might need some Fraga maintains that truth-telling is vital, she makes space for the occasional white lie—especially if it spares someone's feelings in harmless situations. Teaching children the difference between hurtful deception and tactful compassion builds stronger, more empathetic the heart of Fraga's message is a gentle call to rethink how we protect children: not through sugar-coated fabrications, but through emotional truth. 'It's never too late to share a new message,' she says. And that message might just be the honest key to helping children thrive—in school, in relationships, and in all, perhaps the most dangerous lies aren't the ones kids tell—but the ones they grow up believing.
Economic Times
3 days ago
- Business
- Economic Times
You can still outpace AI: Wharton professor reveals a ‘skill bundling' strategy to safeguard your future from automation
iStock Artificial Intelligence is rapidly changing workplaces. Wharton professor Ethan Mollick suggests professionals focus on roles requiring diverse human skills. These include emotional intelligence and creativity. (Image: iStock) As artificial intelligence reshapes the modern workplace with stunning speed, one Wharton professor has a sobering message for today's professionals: the safest jobs of tomorrow aren't necessarily the most technical—they're the most complex. Ethan Mollick, associate professor at the Wharton School and author of Co-Intelligence: Living and Working with AI, says job security in the AI era will increasingly depend on choosing roles that bundle multiple human skills together. That means emotional intelligence, judgment, creativity, and domain expertise—all woven into one. 'AI may outperform you in one or two things,' Mollick tells CNBC Make It, 'but if your job requires five or six of them, it's a lot harder to replace.' It's the kind of insight that redefines how we think about employability in an increasingly automated world. And with AI usage surging—40% of U.S. workers now use it at least a few times a year, per a Gallup poll—these career choices have never mattered more. Mollick doesn't sugarcoat the AI wave ahead. Tech labs aren't just chasing progress—they're chasing a paradigm shift. 'Labs are aiming for machines smarter than humans within the next three years,' Mollick warns. 'They're betting on mass unemployment. Whether they succeed or not is still unclear, but we have to take it as a real possibility.' Even Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, whose company powers some of the most advanced AI systems, echoes that sentiment—albeit from a different vantage point. In a recent All-In podcast, Huang predicted AI will create more millionaires in five years than the internet did in 20, while also cautioning: 'Anybody who is not using AI will lose their job to someone who is.' What's the solution? According to Mollick, job seekers must rethink their strategy. 'Don't go for roles that do one thing,' he says. 'Pick a job like being a doctor—where you're expected to be good at empathy, diagnosis, hand skills, and research. If AI helps with some of it, you still have the rest.' This idea of "bundled roles"—where a single job draws on varied skills and responsibilities—could be the firewall against replacement. These complex, human-centered positions are harder for AI to replicate wholesale and leave more room for humans to collaborate with AI, not compete against it. AI's evolution could make entry-level roles scarce—or at least, radically different. 'Companies will need to rethink entry-level hiring,' Mollick notes. 'Not just for productivity, but for training future leaders.' Without the chance to learn through repetition—what Mollick calls 'apprenticeship'—younger workers may miss out on foundational skills. The result could be a workforce with knowledge gaps AI can't fill, even as those same gaps are used to justify greater automation. Nvidia's Huang calls AI the 'greatest equalizer of our time' because it gives creative power to anyone who can express an idea. 'Everybody is a programmer now,' he says. But critics caution that this accessibility may also deepen divides between the AI-literate and those left behind. Eric Schmidt, former Google CEO, has a different concern: infrastructure. On the Moonshots podcast, Schmidt warned that AI's growth could be throttled not by chips, but by electricity. The U.S., he says, may need 92 more gigawatts of power to meet AI demands—equivalent to 92 new nuclear plants. As AI spreads into every corner of work, from payroll review (yes, Huang uses machine learning for that too) to high-stakes decision-making, the one thing that's clear is this: the rules are changing faster than most organizations can adapt. 'The tools are evolving fast,' Mollick says, 'but organizations aren't. And we can't ask employees to figure it all out on their own.' He believes the real danger isn't AI itself—but the lack of vision from leadership. Without a clear roadmap, workers are left adrift, trying to 'magic' their way into the future. In the race to stay relevant in the AI era, the best defense isn't to out-code or out-process a machine. It's to out-human it—by doubling down on the kind of nuanced, multi-layered work AI can't yet replicate. And by choosing jobs that ask you to wear many hats, not just one. Or as Mollick puts it: 'Bundled tasks are your best bet for surviving the AI takeover.'
The Sun
4 days ago
- Automotive
- The Sun
I was commuting 3 hours a day to my dead end job & barely saw my kids – now my self-taught side hustle has made me £327k
A WOMAN has revealed how she ditched her dead end job for a side hustle that makes her £327,000. Desiree Hill, 39, was sick of travelling three hours a day to her medical assistant job, where she earned £28,000. 2 2 She worked long hours, and never got to see her kids, which she says "took a toll", on her mental health. After getting divorced in 2018, Desiree, from Atlanta, Georgia, decided that she needed to earn some extra cash to provide for her two children. After deliberating about how to do this, she decided that it would be a great idea to buy, repair and resell rundown cars. "Everybody needs transportation, that's never going to stop, no matter what", she told CNBC Make It. "I knew that it was something that I could spend a small amount on, and potentially make a lot of profit." Desiree's first project was an old truck that she bought for £893 and did up herself, despite having no prior experience. Using Google and YouTube, she was able to teach herself how to fix the vehicle, which she realised just needed a replacement throttle which set her back just £44. "I just fixed this vehicle with a $60 part, and I didn't have to pay anybody to do it", she said. Desiree went on to sell that first truck for £2977, meaning she made £2040 profit. "It was almost like a high. I wanted to keep doing it", she said. I earn cash by selling 'actual rubbish' on eBay - I flogged a freebie I found on the floor by a bin for £10, it's crazy She kept flipping and selling cars whilst working full time in healthcare. After work, she would make dinner and then put the kids to bed before working on the cars until three in the morning, even though she had to be up at six for work. In 2020, Desiree flipped and sold 38 cars, and decided that now was the time to leave her job. She documented her journey on social media, which helped to build her client base. Side hustles in numbers Based on new research from Finder, an estimated 22.8 million Brits are using side hustles to top up their income. Among those aged 18-23, 68 percent have a side hustle in 2024. Those aged 24-42 aren't far behind, with 65 per cent having an additional source of income. Side hustles are less popular among older generations, with 40 percent of those aged 43-54 having one. Whereas 23 percent of people aged 55-73 and just 7 per cent of those aged 74 and over are earning extra cash this way. The mum now has 120,000 TikTok followers, and in 2021 launched a mobile repair service, where she would travel to people's houses and fix their vehicles. She found this to be much less stressful, as she didn't have to worry about whether the car was going to sell, and made exactly the same amount of money as the car flipping. Desiree decided to switch from flipping cars to being a mechanic, and her business grew so rapidly that she was able to hire a mechanic and rent a repair space in a shop for £297. A kind client then offered her a whopping £7500 loan, which enabled her to buy a larger space, and she now owns Crowns Corner Mechanics, which raked in £327,000 in 2024. She now gets to spend much more time with her family, and her kids now even help out at the shop.
Time of India
6 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
A 4-day workweek could boost productivity and wellbeing, says economist. But why won't we try it?
In a world still recovering from the psychological whiplash of the pandemic, the dream of a better work-life balance no longer feels like a utopia — it feels necessary. Juliet Schor , a Boston College economist and sociologist, has been advocating this shift for decades. Her latest work as lead researcher with 4 Day Week, a global initiative studying the impact of reduced working hours , suggests the idea may finally be catching on. Speaking to CNBC Make It, Schor recounted how her 1992 bestseller The Overworked American first sparked debate about overemployment. But it wasn't until COVID-19 forced a radical reevaluation of daily life that serious momentum began building. 'People realized it was more important to be living the life they wanted… not one of overworking, stress, and burnout,' she said. Explore courses from Top Institutes in Please select course: Select a Course Category Data Science Digital Marketing Design Thinking Data Analytics Public Policy PGDM Technology MBA Data Science Healthcare others Product Management Leadership Cybersecurity healthcare Project Management Finance Operations Management CXO MCA Artificial Intelligence Others Management Skills you'll gain: Data Analysis & Interpretation Programming Proficiency Problem-Solving Skills Machine Learning & Artificial Intelligence Duration: 24 Months Vellore Institute of Technology VIT MSc in Data Science Starts on Aug 14, 2024 Get Details Skills you'll gain: Strategic Data-Analysis, including Data Mining & Preparation Predictive Modeling & Advanced Clustering Techniques Machine Learning Concepts & Regression Analysis Cutting-edge applications of AI, like NLP & Generative AI Duration: 8 Months IIM Kozhikode Professional Certificate in Data Science and Artificial Intelligence Starts on Jun 26, 2024 Get Details The 4-Day Formula: Less Stress, More Success So what happens when companies trim the workweek to four days — without slashing pay? According to Schor's latest book Four Days a Week, which compiles insights from pilots across 245 organizations and 8,700+ employees globally, the results are not just promising — they're transformational. Participants in the pilot reported better work-life balance, less stress, and improved mental and physical health. 'The big jump in self-reported productivity is striking,' Schor told CNBC Make It. 'People feel more on top of their work and their lives. They're not coming into Mondays drained — they're eager, focused, and satisfied.' Even employers had reasons to cheer: productivity stayed stable or even rose, profits ticked upward, and employee turnover practically vanished. You Might Also Like: Bill Gates predicts 2-day work week as AI set to replace humans for most jobs within a decade — TEDTalks (@TEDTalks) So Why Isn't Everyone Doing It? Despite the evidence, the five-day workweek remains stubbornly intact in most companies. Schor attributes this resistance to one key issue: control. 'Giving people more time back feels like a loss of control to some managements,' she explains. 'It's not about performance — it's about power.' Add to that the fear of being seen as radical or deviating from the norm, and many businesses choose to stick with the status quo. However, Fridays, once sacrosanct, are already evolving. As Schor notes, most companies informally allow for 'Summer Fridays' or shorter hours at week's end. The four-day shift may simply be formalizing what's already happening. Will AI Do What Policy Can't? Enter Bill Gates — tech visionary and co-founder of Microsoft — who recently made waves on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon by predicting a two-day workweek within a decade, driven by the explosive rise of artificial intelligence. You Might Also Like: It is not just Narayana Murthy: UK venture capitalist says a 7-day workweek is the price to 'win' amid China's '996' culture Gates believes AI will soon be able to perform the bulk of tasks currently handled by humans. 'It's kind of profound,' he said. 'It brings so much change.' That change, he imagines, could free up time for creativity, caregiving, and rest — if managed ethically. Schor echoes this possibility, suggesting that AI-induced productivity gains could justify shorter hours without sacrificing pay. 'We can either lay off people en masse or reduce hours per job,' she says. 'Giving people more free time, while preserving income, is the smarter path.' Between burnout metrics that remain stubbornly high and rapid technological shifts, the traditional workweek may be on its last legs. But what replaces it — and who benefits — remains the central debate. The vision is tantalizing: a world where AI supports rather than supplants, where a four-day week is the norm, not the exception, and where people work to live, not live to work. As Juliet Schor reminds us, 'We're already on this path. The question now is, how fast can we walk it?'
CNBC
7 days ago
- Health
- CNBC
Italian longevity expert's 4 daily habits for a long, healthy life: 'I'd like to make it to 120'
Since 1989, Valter Longo has dedicated his research to understanding the factors that contribute to overall health and longevity. About 20 years ago, Longo returned to Italy where he grew up, seeking to better study the practices that have helped regions like Sardinia become home to some of the world's longest-living people. Longo is the director of the Longevity and Cancer Laboratory at the IFOM Institute of Molecular Oncology in Milan, Italy. He is also the director of the Longevity Institute of the Leonard Davis School of Gerontology at the University of Southern California-Los Angeles. "I do everything that I preach. I don't know if I [hit the target] all the way, but I certainly think it's good to try," Longo told CNBC Make It in 2024. "I'd like to make it to 120. But whatever I get, it's okay. At least I'll have no regrets saying, 'Well, I didn't do all the right things.'" Here are the key habits Longo recommends to his patients for staying healthy and living long, and that he also practices in his own life. "I recommend what I call the longevity diet, which takes from lots of different things," Longo says. "Both the Okinawa diet and the Mediterranean diet." To follow Longo's longevity diet, you should aim to eat in a way that aligns with these guidelines: If you're between the ages of 20 and 70, he suggests eating "no red meat, no white meat, maybe two, three eggs a week, at most, very little cheese [and] very little animal-based products." Studies show that eating in accordance with the Mediterranean diet (or as close to it as possible) may lower your likelihood of developing health conditions like Type 2 diabetes and heart disease. "I recommended 12 hours of fasting daily. Let's say you eat between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. or 7 a.m. and 7 p.m.," Longo says. He also adheres to the fasting-mimicking diet, which was created by researchers, including Longo, at UCLA. The diet entails eating foods "high in unsaturated fats and low in overall calories, protein, and carbohydrates, and is designed to mimic the effects of a water-only fast while still providing necessary nutrients," according to the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology. After fasting for five days, you should return to your normal diet for the rest of the month. The researchers tested the effects of the diet on participants who followed the fasting-mimicking diet every three to four months. A 2024 study found an association between the fasting mimicking diet and a lower risk of cancer, heart conditions and diabetes in mice. Longo was the leading author of the paper. Exercising for at least 150 minutes a week (2 hours and 30 minutes) can have a positive impact on your overall health, Longo says. This aligns with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' 2018 physical activity guidelines. Having at least 50 minutes of that physical activity be strenuous exercise that challenges you, can lead to even more health benefits, he adds. Vigorous physical exercise includes running, jogging or going to a fitness class, according to HHS. "On top of that, I add an hour a day of walking. Going up and down stairs. Be active in addition to the 150 minutes," Longo says. "If you're going to the store, and the store is not too far away, walk. Some of these things have been abandoned, but they were very normal for the people that made it to 100 years of age." "It's very important to sleep well," Longo says. Though he notes sleep medicine is not his area of expertise, he highlighted the importance of getting adequate sleep for overall wellness. Some practices sleep experts recommend for a good night's rest include: Maintaining positive mental health is vital for longevity, too, Longo says. To stay positive, happiness expert Arthur C. Brooks suggests treating your happiness like an investment portfolio by prioritizing four areas: faith, family, friends and meaningful work. "None of these things can make up happiness all on their own," Brooks said during his Harvard happiness course online. "They complement each other and exist in harmony."
