Glossary
Glossary of terms
Clear explanations of the terms we use across our articles - psychology, finance, health, technology and self-development.
Glossary
- Active listening
- A way of listening focused on understanding the other person rather than preparing your reply: you clarify, ask follow-ups and reflect back what you heard.
- Anhedonia
- The loss of the ability to feel pleasure from things you used to enjoy. A core sign of depression, not just a low mood.
- Artificial intelligence
- The ability of computer systems to perform tasks that typically require human intelligence - learning, reasoning, pattern recognition.
- Attention residue
- The portion of your attention that stays stuck on the previous task after you switch. It is why multitasking degrades the quality of every task involved.
- Circadian rhythm
- The body's internal roughly 24-hour clock that governs sleep, body temperature and hormones. It is synchronized primarily by daylight.
- Cognitive bias
- A systematic error in thinking that leads to inaccurate conclusions or suboptimal decisions.
- Compound effect
- The principle that small, consistent actions produce disproportionately large results over time - true for both money and habits.
- Compound interest
- Interest calculated on both the initial amount and the interest accumulated from previous periods.
- Confirmation bias
- The tendency to notice and remember information that confirms your existing beliefs, while ignoring evidence that contradicts them.
- Cortisol
- The stress hormone that helps you mobilize in the moment. The problem is not cortisol itself but chronically elevated levels of it.
- Deep work
- Focused, distraction-free work on a cognitively demanding task. Unlike mere busyness, it produces results that are hard to replicate.
- Digital detox
- A deliberate break from devices and social media. The point is not rejecting technology but regaining control over your attention.
- Dopamine loop
- A closed cycle of cue, action and reward that keeps you scrolling: the brain anticipates the reward more strongly than it enjoys it, so it reaches for the next hit.
- Emergency fund
- Savings that cover several months of living expenses - used in case of income loss or unexpected costs.
- Emotional intelligence
- The ability to recognize, understand and manage your own emotions, and to understand the emotions of others.
- Growth mindset
- The belief that abilities develop through effort and practice rather than being fixed at birth. It shapes how a person responds to failure.
- Imposter syndrome
- A persistent feeling that your success is undeserved and you are about to be exposed, despite objective achievements and proven competence.
- Inflation
- The gradual loss of money's purchasing power: the same amount buys less a year later. This is why cash under the mattress slowly loses value.
- Lifestyle inflation
- Spending rising in step with income: your salary grew, but your savings did not, because your standard of living grew too.
- Mindfulness
- The practice of being fully present in the moment, without judgment or excessive reaction to thoughts and feelings.
- Personal boundaries
- The limits you set in relationships: what you are willing to accept and what you are not. The absence of them is a major driver of emotional exhaustion.
- Placebo effect
- A genuine improvement produced by a treatment with no active ingredient, driven by expectation. This is exactly why studies need a control group.
- Procrastination
- Delaying important tasks, often in favor of less important but more enjoyable activities.
- Savings rate
- The share of your income that you set aside. It is this figure, not the size of your salary, that determines how fast your capital grows.