Life Weavings

09/03/2026

Basically, the internet is a tool for the sole purpose of supporting confirmation bias. Lest you think you’re the rarest of people who uses it to be better informed, please understand that such cognitive tendencies, better understood as heuristics or ways of collating information into manageable forms, is an indelible part of your humanity. The cognitive habits that can be put in place to challenge the effects of bias never get rid of it, they merely exist as a counter-balance to the effects. This is why I shake my head in a fair amount of amusement at the truly obscene lack of self-reflection that occurs in those who declare they “only think logically” or are “guided by the evidence.”

How we seek to fulfill our assumptions and what to do about it

09/03/2026

Have you ever caught yourself acting like a slightly different person at work than you do with old friends, or with your own kids? That's not hypocrisy — it's how the self actually works. Psychologists describe our self-concept as a collection of contexts, each one holding its own version of us, all interconnected by the values underneath. The healthiest path isn't forcing every version of yourself into one flat performance of "sameness." It's noticing the thread that runs through all of them.

We wrote more about this idea of the self as a living, evolving story over at Humanity's Values: https://www.humanitysvalues.com/p/a-context-for-every-self

Which "self" of yours do the people closest to you never get to see? Share this with someone who's been feeling pulled in a dozen directions lately.

09/01/2026

There's a quiet kind of hubris in believing we already know ourselves completely. Modern therapy culture often treats our inner feelings as beyond question — if it feels true, it must be true. But feeling certain isn't the same as being right.

In this week's piece from Humanity's Values, David explores why the ancient challenge to "know thyself" was never meant to be something we finish — it's a daily discipline of staying curious about our own blind spots, rather than defending them.

Self-knowledge isn't a possession. It's a practice of humility, built one honest question at a time.

Read the full reflection here: https://www.humanitysvalues.com/p/our-thoughts-are-largely-bullsh*t

Who in your life has taught you the most about staying open to being wrong? Tag them below, or share this with someone who values honest self-reflection. 💛

08/30/2026

There's a particular kind of shame that comes from goal-setting out of lack — when we measure ourselves by the gap between where we are and where we think we should be. It's exhausting, and it rarely tells the truth about us.

Here's a gentler truth: your values haven't gone anywhere. When you chose rest over the gym, or peace over an argument, or financial security over blunt honesty, you weren't failing a value — you were living a different one, shaped by the moment you were in. Values don't vanish. They just take turns.

Instead of chasing what's missing, what if we noticed what we're already doing well? Read more on this idea of value-based living over goal-setting: https://www.humanitysvalues.com/p/stop-setting-goals-live-from-values

Tag someone who needs to hear this today, or share it with your community.

08/28/2026

Here's a question worth sitting with: what if you stopped trying to "find yourself" and started paying attention to how you actually show up?

In this week's piece from Humanity's Values, David explores why treating identity as a fixed truth to be uncovered can actually trap us — especially when life gets hard. The alternative? Understanding the self as a living response to what we value, remade every time we're called to act with integrity.

This isn't just philosophy — it's a practical shift. When you stop chasing a static "true self" and start acting from your values, adversity becomes something you can move through rather than something that shatters your identity.

Read the full piece here: https://www.humanitysvalues.com/p/who-you-are-is-not-what-you-think

Who in your life needs to hear this today? Tag them, or share this with someone navigating a hard season.

08/28/2026

There's a strange comfort in certainty — even when it costs us our freedom to think for ourselves. In a recent piece on Humanity's Values, we explore how the discomfort of not-knowing can quietly push us toward fundamentalist thinking, political or otherwise, and how that same discomfort, if we let it, can become fertile ground instead of a threat.

Erich Fromm called this the "escape from freedom" — trading the anxiety of uncertainty for the false safety of an authority who claims to have it all figured out. But uncertainty isn't just where anxiety lives. It's also where hope gets to grow.

We'd love to hear from you: has there been a moment when you chose to sit with not-knowing instead of reaching for easy answers? Share your experience below, and pass this along to someone who might need the reminder today.

Read the full reflection: https://www.humanitysvalues.com/p/how-the-authoritarian-desire-is-fueled

08/27/2026

Here's something worth sitting with: "We are wrong all the time. The only variation in how wrong we are is in degree."

That's not a cause for shame — it's actually a form of freedom. Our minds don't chase truth so much as justify decisions we've already made, and that's uncomfortable to admit. So we look for relief in groups, causes, and strong leaders who promise certainty. It feels safer than facing our own fallibility alone.

But real character grows from intellectual humility, not from borrowed conviction. The healthiest communities are the ones that can hold uncertainty together, rather than outsourcing it to an authority.

Read the full reflection here: https://www.humanitysvalues.com/p/fleeing-to-authority-to-escape-being

If this resonates, share it with someone who values honest reflection over easy answers.

08/27/2026

There's a quiet relief in letting a group think for you. If everyone around you agrees, you never have to sit alone with the discomfort of being wrong — and most of us will do almost anything to avoid that feeling.

But here's the thing: being wrong isn't a moral failure. It's how we grow. Every belief you've outgrown, every assumption you've revised, came from a willingness to admit you didn't have it all figured out.

In this week's piece, "The Comfort of Authority," we look at why group allegiance so often feels safer than standing on our own judgment — and what it costs us when we let it.

Read the full piece here: https://www.humanitysvalues.com/p/fleeing-to-authority-to-escape-being

Have you ever caught yourself hiding behind a group instead of trusting your own conscience? Share this with someone who needs the reminder that being wrong is where growth begins.

08/23/2026

Stop wrestling with your thoughts and start living in alignment with your values! At www.lifeweavings.com, personalized coaching and counseling services are designed to help you reclaim your story, build resilience, and move forward without waiting to feel ready.

Take the next step toward a meaningful life today. Visit us to learn more!

https://lifeweavingsllc.setmore.com/david-teachout

08/22/2026

"You didn't just stop believing something. You lost the system that gave you structure — who you are, who you belong to, what to do next."

If you've ever walked away from a belief system that once organized your whole life, you know this isn't a simple change of mind. It's a collapse — the floor going out from under you. But here's the thing: that disorientation is not a permanent state. It's a natural, necessary part of recalibrating how you relate to yourself, your relationships, and your sense of purpose. You are capable of investigating, experimenting, and building new tools for the ongoing work of making meaning in your life.

Read the full piece here: https://www.humanitysvalues.com/p/moving-on-from-deconversion

Know someone rebuilding their life after leaving a belief system behind? Share this with them — they don't have to do it alone.