Thomas Curran

Embracing the Power of Good Enough

Perfection Trap

In the bestselling tradition of Brené Brown’s The Gifts of Imperfection, this illuminating book by an acclaimed professor at the London School of Economics explores how the pursuit of perfection can become a dangerous obsession that leads to burnout and depression—keeping us from achieving our goals. Today, burnout and depression are at record levels, driven by a combination of intense workplace competition, oppressively ubiquitous social media encouraging comparisons with others, the quest for elite credentials, and helicopter parenting. Society continually broadcasts the need to want more, and to be perfect. Gathering a wide range of contemporary evidence, Curran calls for both introspection and broader, societal change. He shows what we can do as individuals to resist the modern-day pressure to be perfect, and in so doing, win for ourselves a more purposeful and contented life. The Perfection Trap is for anyone who has ever felt overwhelmed by the soul-crushing need to not just compete but compete to a level beyond reason. In place of an ever-moving treadmill, it offers the relief of letting go to focus on what matters most.

The Perfection Trap

I didn't plan on killing people when I walked across America. I made a list of things I wanted to do, and murder was not on it. Yes, I killed people. A lot of people. Now I'm going to tell you a story, a (somewhat) true story, about two killers and a hunting adventure like no other. A story of a man whose entire life was turned upside-down by a frozen, floating head and balls and a woman he'd never slept with. A story of a man so broken he rescued a dog and set out across America on foot to mend his soul and hunt that bitch down. A story of death, discovery, and carne asada. A story that should never, ever, encourage you to walk across America. However, if it does, for some sick reason, inspire you to lace up some sneakers and attempt to do what only a dozen or so people accomplish each year, I'll throw in some pointers to help you out. I am a murderer, but I am also a giver.

Death, Discovery and Carne Asada

Yves Christen

Homeostasis involves a delicate interplay between generative and degenerative processes to maintain a stable internal environment. In biological systems, equilibrium is established and controlled through a series of negative feedback mechanisms driven by a range of signal transduction processes. Failures in these complex communication pathways result in instability leading to disease. Cancer represents a state of imbalance caused by an excess of cell proliferation. In contrast, neurodegeneration is a consequence of excessive cell loss in the nervous system. Both of these disorders exhort profound tolls on humanity and they have been subject to a great deal of research designed to ameliorate this suffering. For the most part, the topics have been viewed as distinct and rarely do opportunities arise for transdisciplinary discussions among experts in both fields. However, cancer and neurodegeneration represent yin-yang counterpoints in the regulation of cell growth, and it is reasonable to hypothesize that key regulatory events mediated by oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes in cancer may also affect neurodegenerative processes

Thomas Curran

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