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May is Mental Health Awareness Month. That means campaigns about anxiety, burnout, depression, and trauma will pop up in schools, offices, billboards, and magazines across the country. But few of those campaigns will mention a force that fuels all of those conditionsa force so normalized, it hides in plain sight. That force is Car Brain. Car Brain is an affliction that causes people to justify or ignore antisocial behavior that involves an automobile. It’s when someone who respects others in nearly every context suddenly becomes selfish, reckless, or even hostile just because a car has become part of the interaction. Once you start looking, youll see it everywhere, online and IRL. Car Brain is a dangerous but normalized condition that needs a spotlight during Mental Health Awareness Month. It’s a kind of cultural psychosis. Its why someone who would never shove an elderly person out of the way has no problem speeding past a crosswalk while an elderly person inches across the street. {"blockType":"creator-network-promo","data":{"mediaUrl":"","headline":"Urbanism Speakeasy","description":"Join Andy Boenau as he explores ideas that the infrastructure status quo would rather keep quiet. To learn more, visit urbanismspeakeasy.com.","substackDomain":"https:\/\/www.urbanismspeakeasy.com\/","colorTheme":"blue","redirectUrl":""}} Car Brain is why so many Americans experience a constant state of low-grade anxiety, sensory overload, and chronic stresswithout realizing its rooted in something deeper than work or home life. Its rooted in their daily environment, which has been designed around machine speed instead of human need. Every day, more than 100 Americans are killed in traffic crashes. Far more survive with catastrophic injuriesamputations, traumatic brain injuries, permanent disability. These arent all “accidents.” A high-speed collision on a downtown street that changes a group of peoples lives forever isnt an oopsies. Most severe crashes are the logical result of antisocial choices baked into a car-first culture: Speeding through school zones because you’re late for work. Running red lights because it was barely red. Parking in a bike lane because they can just go around. Failing to yield at crosswalks because didnt I already tell you, Im late for work! These common and seemingly minor decisions have enormous consequences. What starts as personal entitlement often ends in someone elses hospital stayor funeral. The emotional weight of a car-centric world Mental health experts know that your surroundings shape your mood and behavior. Environments that are loud, fast, and disconnected from human interaction put us into a constant state of alert. Whats the dominant environment in most American communities? Roads that prioritize automobile travel and an ever-present sense that one wrong move could be deadly. Children cant safely bike to school, so they get chauffeured insteadlosing both independence and physical activity. Seniors become prisoners in their own homes if they can no longer drive. People in poverty are forced to spend thousands of dollars they dont have just to participate in society. And all of us find ourselves stuck inside vehicles that make us more anxious, more aggressive, and more isolated. The dependence on personal vehicles leads to thinking of them as an extension of ourselves, or at least a vital part of our lives. So any perceived inconvenience ignites Car Brain, causing us to commit or justify behavior wed otherwise condemn. In any other context, these antisocial behaviors would be signs of a serious problem: Yelling at someone who walked slower than you in the grocery store. Swinging nunchucks at a crowded playground. Storing your spare fridge on a public sidewalk. But do all of that with a car? And suddenly its just the price of modern life. Thats the power of Car Brain: its so culturally embedded that it looks rational. Speeding, running red lights, tailgating, parking in bike lanes, parking in bus lanes, parking on sidewalks, blaming dead pedestrians for not being dressed like Christmas treesthese are all harmful cultural norms that need to be shamed and met with severe consequences. Theres an unspoken belief that driving is natural, necessary, and morally superior. Its why cities spend millions expanding roads while underfunding buses. Its why congestion is treated as a crisis, but 40,000 annual road deaths are met with a shrug. The most dangerous part of Car Brain is that we dont see it for what it isa mass delusion that enables harm, excludes millions, and degrades mental and physical well-being. The path to wellness Mental Health Awareness Month shouldn’t just be about personal coping strategies and mindfulness reminders. It should include a reckoning with the systems that make us sick in the first place. The alternative is to design neighborhoods where walking, cycling, and taking transit arent signs of poverty or punishment, but signs of liberation. That requires us to stop treating streets as high-speed pipelines for cars and start treating them as places of connectionplaces for living, meeting, playing, and being human. Be ready to confront your own Car Brain, which whispers that anything slowing down a driver must be wrongeven if that wrong thing is a child trying to cross the street. Admitting what were capable of will make it easier to stop excusing antisocial, dangerous behavior just because it happens to involve a motor vehicle. The first step in healing is recognizing were all breathing the same polluted cultural air. {"blockType":"creator-network-promo","data":{"mediaUrl":"","headline":"Urbanism Speakeasy","description":"Join Andy Boenau as he explores ideas that the infrastructure status quo would rather keep quiet. To learn more, visit urbanismspeakeasy.com.","substackDomain":"https:\/\/www.urbanismspeakeasy.com\/","colorTheme":"blue","redirectUrl":""}}
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E-Commerce
Growing up, dinner table conversations at our house weren’t just about what we learned at school that day. My mom, Jill, was a CEO for my entire life, leading a nonprofit that made meaningful community impact while she simultaneously raised a family. Our dinner conversations included recaps of board meetings, talk of juggling multiple personal and professional roles, and advice for her kid (me!) on how to do right by others. My mother’s daily examples of leadership showed me that career success and personal fulfillment dont compete with each othertheyre complementary. Now, as I help lead Guild’s efforts, partnering with companies to invest in employee career development and talent pipelines, those early lessons continue to guide me. It is possible to find balance My mom taught me important lessons about balance that I use today. First, she taught me that having a meaningful career and making a positive impact aren’t mutually exclusive. People talk about “doing well by doing good” as an abstract concept, but I saw it firsthand every day. There was never a doubt in my mind that I would pursue the same. I was also lucky enough to have a role model who showed it was possible to have both a thriving professional and personal life. Being a wife, mother, a (literal) boss, and an engaged community member were identities she wove together. It wasn’t always easy, but watching her showed me that these identities were equally important for fulfillment. Often peopleespecially womenare presented with binary choices: Career or children? Devoted partner or independent social life? Many grapple with these decisions, but we dont have to. There isnt any shame in prioritizing one thing over another one day, and changing the next. My mom taught me not to feel guilty about this balancing act. This ripple effect of positive modeling extends beyond the family. I’ve seen it through stories of Guild learners, like Sherry from Oklahoma, who works at Tyson Foods. Sherry finished high school, got promoted to plant manager, and became an advocate for our program among her colleagues. Shes an example of how leaders can effectively balance everything important to them: career, family, community outreach, and learning. It’s never too late (or early!) to start a second act My mom grew up in the 1950s and 60s with three brothers and limited resources. She was a natural athlete, but didnt have the privilege of formal training in her earlier years. Decades into adulthood, as her career entered its final chapters and she had more free time, she embraced the transition to her next chapter in life. At 50, she started playing senior women’s basketball. Fast forward 25 years, and she’s now a multi-titled senior Olympian at 75. Some of her best friends came through basketball, and she serves as a board member and advocate for senior women’s sports. My mom taught me that building skills later in life is more than fulfillingit keeps you young! It increases cognitive function, improves memory, and enhances emotional well-being. There’s urgency here on a global scale, as the half-life of professional skills is less than 5 years (less than 2.5 years in technology fields). The workforce needs people willing to be nimble and adapt to the skills their field requires, just as our personal lives benefit from constant learning. We can take lessons from people who grew to be the best in their field, too.Vera Wang designed her first dress at 40, and Toni Morrison wrote her first novel after a long career in publishing. I’ve been inspired by people who pivot, learn, and succeed, and my admiration for people with this skill absolutely bleeds into the workplace. I like to bet on potential and give people opportunities beyond what their experience suggests, with faith that lifelong learners can figure things out with the right mindset and support. I believe that most career paths arent linear, and I have benefited from this myself, like in a previous role. A cofounder was the first person to really take a chance on me. He truly let me run by giving me a role that, on paper, wasn’t congruent with my experience but leveraged my skills in a meaningful way. You’re a role modelwhether you know it or not Another lesson I learned from my mom is something I observed from her actions,not something she intended to share. She was, and is, a role model to me and many others without asking for the title. She modeled behavior, like taking initiative on difficult problems, championing innovation, or methodically pursuing ambitious goals, that those around her naturally emulated. Im again reminded of Sherry from Tyson, who not only completed her own education and rose through the ranks, but then supported her husband as he continued his education. Her son now works at Tyson too, and is pursuing his degree simultaneously. Her drive to better herself was contagious and positively impacted her familys trajectory. Other high-achievers come to mind as natural role models, too. Take four-time Paralympian Matt Stutzman, who competed in the recent Paralympics for archery. He’s using the same drive that took him to Paris to pursue a career transition that will support him and his family post-games. The examples are endless. It takes courage to take on new challenges or champion change, especially when countering established norms. Whether pitching a fresh approach to customer research or volunteering to test a new platform, lifelong learners blaze trails for others to follow, and we have the power to be those leaders for others. Your continuous growth will have a ripple effect on others The most powerful lesson from my mother’s journeyfrom CEO to senior Olympianis that our growth journeys create ripples far beyond our own lives. When we commit to continuous learning and development, we become living examples of what’s possible. For business leaders, this means investing in growth while creating cultures where employee development is prioritized. For professionals at any career stage, it means embracing opportunities that stretch you beyond your comfort zone. For parents, it means focusing your energy where its needed mostat the boardroom or dinner table. The result? More resilient organizations are populated by adaptable individuals who find deeper fulfillment in both personal and professional realms. More importantly, you’ll inspire others along the wayperhaps even your own children, who might someday write about the dinner table lessons that shaped their leadership journey. Rebecca Biestman is chief marketing officer of Guild.
Category:
E-Commerce
A new TikTok trend, set to a snippet of Charli XCXs I Think About It All the Time” featuring Bon Iver, sees users, particularly Gen Z women, sharing lists of propaganda theyre not falling for in 2025. One list, shared by TikTok creator Lxyzfbxx, includes the “clean girl look,” “the normalization of OF [OnlyFans],” and “preventative Botox,” among other things. Another user listed organic deodorant, Teslas, and mouth tape among the modern-day propaganda. A third user included push-up bras, being anti-sunscreen, and branded sweatshirts. A fourth took aim at working,” a 9-5,” and employment.” From social media trends to beauty standards, internet users are drawing attention to the capitalist, political, and aesthetic pressures that theyre subjected to daily, and they are de-normalizing those they see as unhealthy, undesirable, or just cringe. “Propaganda I won’t be falling for”: How did the trend start? While it’s hard to pinpoint exactly where the trend began, it’s clear that it’s caught on: If theres one thing social media loves, its a hot takeand it can be on anything from working a full-time job to singer-songwriter Benson Boone. For instance, 2024 was the year of the in and out lists. Now, with the hashtag “propaganda” currently at over 240,000 posts on TikTok, we have the 2025 version of a similar trend. However, what is and what isnt propaganda varies wildly, depending on whom you ask. The comments section below many of these videos is a hotbed for debate. “Sorry but i WILL be falling for the Labubu propaganda everytime,” one person commented under a list that included the viral dolls. “I hate to admit it but Dubai chocolate is soooo bomb,” another commented under a propaganda list that included the pistachio-flavored chocolate. Take these opinions with a rather large pinch of salt. One frequent name that appears on many of these lists is singer-songwriter Gracie Abrams. Does that mean the poster actually dislikes Abramss music? Not necessarily. As one TikTok user told The New York Times: I think sometimes the internet just likes to have a running gag. (Jumping on the Gracie Abrams hate train, in other words, might just be good for views.) Casey Lewis, of the youth consumer trends newsletter After School, did the legwork and tallied up the most commonly mentioned propaganda across hundreds of TikToks. The top 10 list she compiled included matcha, the tradwife movement, MAHA-adjacent trends like beef tallow and anti-seed oil, author Colleen Hoover, and milk (both of the oat and cow variety). Coming in at the No. 1 spot, to no ones surprise, is ChatGPT.
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E-Commerce
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