In France, a man walks on what can only be described as a human-sized hamster wheel. The wheel moves around and around, as the man keeps walking. What is he doing? He is lifting a heavy object to the top of a tower the same way workers moved such objects 800 years ago.

    In the 13th century, workers did not have the 100-meter tall cranes they now use to build tall buildings. So they had to be creative and come up with simple machines to get their work done.

    The man on the large wheel is walking at a reasonable speed. The wheel turns and pulls a rope connected to a pulley(滑轮)at the top of the tower. Another rope tied to the pulley lifts supplies from the ground.

    This is just one way skilled craftsmen arc building a 13th-century castle without using modern tools. Crew have been working on the castle since 1997. It is being built in the Burgundy area of central France. Organizers expect the work to last another 10 to 15 years. That means it will take close to 30 years to finish the project.

    The crew are making progress at about half the speed of the workers from 800 years ago. That is because many of them are accustomed to using modern tools. When the crew use heavy chisels(凿子）and hammers to break rock, as they did hundreds of years ago, they are learning as they go. The goal of the project is to learn more about old building techniques in case they might be of use today.

    Clement Guerard, 44,is a stonemason; he cuts and builds with stone. He has been working on the tower for 17 years. He said one way he is able to work on something like this for so long is by forgetting “some of the pace of modern life", he is able to adapt to working by hand.

    When we think of leadership, we often think of strength and power. But what are these really, and how do they operate?

    Leadership today is not about forcing others to do things. If this is even possible, it is short-term. If you order someone to do something against their will, they may do it because they feel they must, but the anger they feel will do more harm in the long-term. They will also experience fear.

    Fear causes the thinking brain to shut down, making the person unable to function at his or her best. If they connect you with this emotion of fear, they will become less functional around you, and you will have succeeded in not only shooting yourself in the foot, but possibly making a very good employee or partner unable to perform effectively. Fear has no place in leadership.

    The way we affect people in a lasting way is by our own character, and our understanding and use of emotion. We can order someone to do something, which may be part of the work day, or we can employ them at the emotional level, so they become fully devoted to the projects and provide some of their own motivation (积极性). Today's work place is all about relationships.

    Anyone works harder in a positive environment in which they're recognized and valued as a human being as well as a worker. Everyone produces just a bit more for someone they like Leaders understand the way things work. They know money is not the only most motivating factor in the work life of most people.

    The true strength of leadership is an inner strength that comes from the confidence of Emotional Intelligence—knowing your own emotions, and how to deal with them and those of others. Developing your emotional intelligence is the best thing you can do if you want to develop your relationships with people around you, which is the key to the leadership skills.

    Some young Cambodians are learning a new sport — skateboarding. The country's first skateboard park is located on the grounds of a local charity group at the edge of Phnom Penh, the capital.

    Sports like Khmer boxing and soccer are wildly popular in Cambodia. But Chea, who has been skating for 6 months, says skating has already become his favorite sport.

    The skaters are learning tricks like launching off a jump or half-pipe and flying through the air on their narrow wooden boards.

    A non-governmental organization called Skateistan Cambodia organizes weekly programs at the park. Skateistan started its work in Afghanistan years ago. Rory Burke is working with the group which expanded to Cambodia last year.

    Rory Burke points out, "Yeah, it's definitely not a typical Cambodian pastime (消遣). And I think the idea of 'why skateboarding is that it's not been done before here. We want to use skateboarding as something saying, 'Hey, this is new, this is something different. And that kind of itself becomes a little bit of hook. People see it and they think and they say, "Wow, 'what is that?', and they want to get involved. "

    Skateistan partners with local groups that work with young people. The park is on the grounds of the group known as PSE, where children attend school and learn a trade. There are almost one hundred twenty participants. They all come from troubled lives.

    Seventeen-year-old Sang Rotha is a student at PSE. "Sometimes I don't do well on subjects like math," he says, "I feel bad when I find it hard to keep up with my lessons. So that is why I skateboard—to improve my bad feelings. "

    He says he began skateboarding more than a year ago. Before he started training, it seemed very easy. But it was very difficult to learn tricks, and he got hurt a lot from falling off.

    Rory Burke says learning to deal with the difficulties is part of the lesson for these young skateboarders.

    Positive thinking is a significant element of happiness. In order to become a positive thinker, determination and consistency are important. The first thing to know about positive thinking is that everyone can do it.  With certain cognitive (认知的) and behavioral changes, we can all become positive thinkers. Another important factor is that being a positive thinker does not mean you become numb to anything that is not working properly in your life or is negative - it just means that you approach life and face challenges with a healthier outlook.

    Instead of selectively attending to negative events, focus on the positive ones. Then pay attention to the delayed consequences of your behavior rather than the immediate ones. For example, if a job is not going like you want, focus on the fact that you have a job and how you can take your time to make the situation better.

    Challenge any internal attributions and see if you compare your behavior to standards that are excessively rigid and perfectionistic. If so, change these and be reasonable with your comparisons. For example, if you constantly compare your weaknesses with other people's strengths, then switch this and compare yourself with those who are doing poorer than you as well. Overall, people who focus more on their strengths than their weaknesses but at the same time are aware of their weaknesses have a healthier self-evaluation result.

    When faced with too much fear about a situation, imagine the worst case and visualize a solution for it, then let go of fear. This way, you will be prepared for anything and your fear will not block you from being open and creative to different solutions. For example, if you are constantly worried about losing your job up to a point where it is creating a lot of anxiety and fear and is effecting your performance and your happiness negatively, then think of losing your job, visualize how you will handle it, find solutions in your mind and then let go of the thought and the fear attached to it.

    So positive thinkers are better problem solvers and have better interactions. In addition to that, people who are positive thinkers are happier and more satisfied with their life.

    University of Pennsylvania researchers say that for the first time they have linked social media use to increases in depression and loneliness. The idea that social media is anything but social when it comes to mental health has been talked about for years, but not many studies have managed to actually link the two. To do that, Penn researchers, led by psychologist Melissa Hunt, designed a study that focused on WeChat, Snapchat and Instagram.

    The study was conducted with 143 participants, who before they began, completed a mood survey and sent along photos of their battery screens, showing how often they were using their phones to access social media. "We set out to do a much more complete study which attempts to imitate real life." Hunt said.

    The study divided the participants into two groups： The first group was allowed to maintain their normal social media habits. The other, the control group, was restricted to 10 minutes per day on social media. The restrictions were put in place for three weeks and then the participants returned and were tested for outcomes such as fear of missing out, anxiety, depression and loneliness.

    The results showed a very clear link between social media use and increased levels of depression and loneliness. "Using less social media than you normally do would lead to significant decreases in both depression and loneliness," Hunt said.

    Social media invites what Hunt calls "downward social comparison." "When you're online, it can sometimes seem that everyone else is cooler and having more fun and included in more things and you're left out," Hunt said. And that's just generally discouraging. "Every minute you spend online is a minute you are not doing your work or not meeting a friend for dinner or having a deep conversation with your roommate." And these real life activities are the ones that can encourage self﹣esteem and self﹣worth, Hunt added.

    "People are on their devices, and that's not going to change," she said. But as in life, a bit of control goes a long way.

    Runners never forget crossing the finishing line at their first marathon, and that will be especially true for Mike Kohler. When Kohler crossed the starting line in Fargo last Saturday, he thought he was going to run 13.1 miles, his first half marathon. Six hours later, he had "mistakenly” completed his first full marathon, 26.2 miles.

    Kohler, a 26-year-old plumber (水管工) who now lives in West Fargo, had lined up for the half marathon that he hoped to complete in 150 minutes. He didn't realize he was in a starting fence with the full marathoners. Several miles later, Kohler began to realize he was on the course for the full marathon. "The 8-mile mark was when I figured out that I had made a mistake," he said. "Between then and 13.1, I debated with myself about what I should do."

    At some point — he doesn't remember when — he doubled down on the distance. "After I decided I was going to keep going, the thought of quitting didn't come back. Run, walk, or crawl, I wanted to finish," he said.

    Until Saturday, Kohler's longest race was a 10-kilometer run, just over 6 miles. Even the most casual marathoners do a training run of 18 miles before the race. From his experience, he said he learned one thing: sometimes people can do more than they think they can.

    After his long race, he went right back to work, put in a 10-hour day and then boarded a flight to Scotland for a vacation. "I was pretty sore, but I found the more I kept moving, the less sore I was, so I tried my best to go about life normally — minus running,” Kohler said from Glasgow. "I needed a break from that for a bit."

    Not for too long, though. He's already considering the Bemidji Blue Ox Marathon in October.