Literature is a term used to describe written as well as spoken material. Generally speaking, it is often used to describe anything from creative imagination, including works of poetry, drama and fiction.

   Then why read literature, since it is often imaginary and seems unconnected with real life?

   A lot of us read literature for pleasure and relaxation. It’s always pleasant to read some interesting books, such as comedies and novels, in our spare time. In a modern life full of pressure, it is our common desire to read some imaginary works and seek relaxation from the stress in life.

   Reading literature is more than fun; it also enables us to acquire knowledge. As a general rule, literature represents a language or a people, and it often gives us an insight(洞察)into the traditions, customs, beliefs, attitudes and values of the age in which it was written.

   Sometimes literature can even offer us new, creative ways to understand the world better. It helps us make sense of the world around us. It introduces us to new worlds of experiences. We enjoy the comedy and the tragedy of poems, stories and plays; and we may even grow through our literary journey with books. Eventually, we may discover meaning in literature by looking at what the author says and how he/she says it. In a sense, we explore the human condition and analyse how and why people think the way they think and feel the way they feel. Literature enables us to think analytically and open our minds. We see the world through the eyes of different cultures and in turn learn the ways to deal with things that happen around.

   So we can definitely say literature is of great importance to us. Why not get going with one poem, drama or fiction at once?

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The key to the relationship between creativity and dishonesty

A new study by Lynne Vincent and Maryam Kouchaki demonstrates that believing that you are a creative person can create feelings of entitlement when you think that creativity is rare and valuable. That feeling of entitlement can be costly for you and your organization as it can cause you to be dishonest.

Many organizations now are recognizing the importance of creativity and are attempting to encourage their employees to be creative. However, there is a cost to that creativity when creativity is seen as a rare and unique attribute (属性). The findings in this study are based on several laboratory experiments, in addition to a study of employees and supervisor pairs.

While creativity is in most cases valued, such as other positive attributes, including practicality or intelligence, it may be over-valued compared to those other positive attributes because creativity is by definition (本质上) rare. That sense of rarity then creates a sense of entitlement. People see their creative efforts as special and valuable and feel that they are worthy of extra rewards for their creative efforts. That entitlement can cause them to steal in order to get the rewards.

However, it is naive (天真的) to assume that employees in companies that have developed a strong identity as creative, such as Apple, Google, and IDEO, would be necessarily more dishonest due to their creativity.

“The key to the relationship between creativity and dishonesty is the sense of rarity,” said Vincent. “When individuals identified themselves as creative and believed that creativity was rare, entitlement appeared. However, if individuals believed that creativity was common, that sense of entitlement was reduced.”

When people in the laboratory experiments believed that their creativity was rare compared to common, they were more likely to lie for money. However, when people believed that being practical was rare compared to common, the increased sense of psychological entitlement and dishonesty did not occur. The effect was seen in organizations too. 

Although creativity is important in the business world, the dark side of creativity has only partly studied. However, as creativity is becoming more important for organizations, it is important for organizations to understand how to encourage creativity. Encouraging creativity in organizations is not as simple as telling employees to be creative. Defining what it means to be creative and what creativity means in that context is important. When people define creativity in terms of being rare and valuable, seeing yourself as a creative person can cause entitlement and dishonesty. However, if organizations define creativity as a common and everyday behavior or an attribute that many people can have, organizations may be able to encourage employee creativity without encouraging employee dishonesty.

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Are you feeling more of your true self when no one else is around than when someone else is around? Young children seem to get it right better than adults when it comes to being their true authentic self. They sing, laugh, dance and live with an abundance of energy and no worries of whether anyone else is watching them or what anyone else is thinking of them. However, adults are more on guard than children in social situations because conversations with others can lead them to feel mixed emotions with many shades of gray in between.

In social situations, since you have a desire to be accepted by other people, you care too much about what you say and wonder whether it is agreeable. In addition, you study the other person’s body language to assess the authenticity of the person and focus on how the conversation is making you feel at that particular moment.

There are certain types of people with a stronger personality, who tend to make others feel inferior by delivering more of an intense negative vibe. They simply can’t make others feel welcomed. Besides, some people who aren’t pleased with themselves sometimes have a way of characterizing other people in a negative light they themselves are hiding behind. Anyway, if someone that you’re talking to is miserable, then that can be contagious to you, making you miserable as well.

There are some key factors that affect the way other people can make you feel. These factors include whether they are positive or negative about things, whether they’re delivering a sense of fear or love to you, whether their personality is intensive or not, whether they want to make you feel inferior or accepted and whether you can protect your emotions from another person’s negative vibe.

You may not have the total control of how another person’s energy can make you feel at any given moment, but you can shield yourself by protecting your authenticity. If necessary, when you’re around certain people that you know can drain your energy, either physically or emotionally, put up an invisible protective shield around yourself to guard against other people’s negative input or vibe. Moreover, you have a choice of whether or not to accept the belief of what others think of you. Actually, what others think of you are simply their thoughts or feelings, but not facts. So it’s up to you to make the decision to dismiss it and don’t let it have any impact on you. More importantly, you’re perfect just the way you are!

The steady increase in women having babies later in life is undeniable. First-time mothers are more likely to be 35 or older than their counterparts (对应者) from two decades ago, according to the Pew Research Center. While the number of first-time moms between ages 20 and 24 falls, the number of births to women in their 30s and 40s keeps growing. In addition, recent wide-ranging studies have found significant long-term benefits in waiting to have babies. These benefits counterbalance (抵消) some worries about being an older mother and the effects it may have on children.

Longevity for women who wait

A study in the journal Menopause examined older mothers’ life expectancy (寿命) and found that women who had their last child after the age of 33 are more likely to live to 95. In fact, researchers reported that these women had twice the chance of living to 95 or older than those who had their last child before their 30th birthday. The news for women having babies after 40 is equally promising.

Boosted brainpower for older mothers

It’s also possible that later pregnancies (怀孕) protect against cognitive decline. Researchers at the University of Southern California found that women have better brainpower if they have their last baby after age 35. The researchers looked at the pregnancy history of a group of 830 women ages 41 to 92. Their research provides strong support of a positive association between later age at last pregnancy and late-life cognition.

Increased income over time

There’s a measurable link between the age you have your first child and income gains and losses. Women who start their families when they are older are likely to increase their earning potential.

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Older parents who are less stressed about income or job security tend to be more patient and can spend more time with their children. Parents who have more secondary education can also offer more specific stimulation to their children, which can be helpful for development. An investigation of 8- to 12-year-olds explored how specific parenting beliefs and behaviors—such as reading, constructive play with children. The research published in the Journal of Family Psychology found that parent education and income positively affect child achievement.

Having babies later in life

Speedy eaters are three times more likely to be too fat, a problem which is made even worse by the popularity of fast food and the decrease of regular dining habits, some Japanese researchers said on Wednesday.

The findings, published in the British Medical Journal, pay special attention to how eating styles, and not just what or how much is eaten, can affect an obesity epidemic(肥胖流行病) that is becoming more and more severe because of the speed of the Western-style diet in many parts of the world.

The World Health Organization considers around 400 million people in the world as too fat, 20 million of whom are under the age of five. The researchers are concerned that the condition raises the risk of diseases like type 2 diabetes(糖尿病) and heart problems.

For their study, Hiroyasu Iso and the team at Osaka University asked more than 3000 Japanese volunteers who are 30 to 69 years old about their eating. About half of the men and a little more than half of the women said they ate until full. About 45 percent of the men and 36 percent of the women said they ate quickly.

Those who said they ate until full and ate quickly were three times more likely to be fat than people in the “not eating until full and not eating quickly” group, the researchers found.

They believe that the main causes are both the popularity of eating cheap fast food and bad habits such as watching television while eating.

To fight against the bad effect of eating quickly and being too full that can lead to obesity, parents should encourage children to eat slowly and in calm environments, the study suggested.

There are many things that we wish to achieve in life．For some, we set goals and objectives, and for some we don’t．Try to remember the last time you set a goal to achieve a certain task．Were you able to complete the task in an effective manner? The tasks which are done by setting and meeting daily goals will definitely be useful and rewarding experiences．A step-by-step approach towards achieving smaller goals is the key to achieving larger ones．

When it comes to the workplace, each and every employee is expected to meet daily responsibilities and expectations．With organizations becoming more and more competitive, the importance of goal-setting for employees is increasing．It helps the employee to perform better and increases his or her efficiency(效率) and time management．It’s also important for every student to set high academic goals so as to be able to build a good career．

Setting goals for completing the daily schedule helps an employee to finish the assigned tasks in a timely manner．If an employee is performing the way he or she is expected to, then this will of course increase the performance, output and productivity of both the employee and the organization. This helps you complete your assignments within the set time, thus putting less pressure on you during exams and increasing your chances of performing well．

How many times you have to be at work on a weekend just to complete your work? How many times you have had to stay up all night to complete your homework or study for your exams? Had you followed your set goals right from the beginning, you would have spent the time relaxing rather than being busy working or studying! Setting up goals and objectives helps you organize your time and efforts in an efficient manner．

In performing your work hard, you are likely to keep a steady pace when it comes to fulfilling(实现) your set goals．Because you are already on track, there will be no unnecessary workload and time limits over your head．Therefore, another benefit of effective goal-setting is lack of stress and a more calm and relaxed mind．Only a stress-free and calm mind can house progressive and productive thoughts．A calm mind causes positivity (积极性), which goes a long way towards increasing your ability to achieve the personal goals you have set for yourself．

Each and every human being aims to achieve two things: to fulfill desires and to enjoy life．This is possible only through proper discipline and time management．Goal-setting leads to not only professional growth but also personal growth and development．You are expected to know that every step counts and that setting up goals is easy, but following them on a consistent（一致的）basis is difficult．Therefore, if you want to be successful and also harvest the fruits of your hard work, you need to stick to your set goals and be focused towards achieving them．Realize the significant role that goal-setting plays in your life, make sure that you do all you can to achieve what you want. Set your goals, work towards achieving them and celebrate your success!