The 5 Best Life Philosophy Articles
Here are my best five essays on how to live better:
- Most Books Won’t Change Your Life (But You Should Read Them Anyways) You should read more books, even if you can’t apply them all.
- Can Life Have Too Much Meaning? We tend to think of meaning as something we want more from life, not less. However, many symptoms of modern life may actually be from having too much meaning, not too little.
- Is Reading Blogs Like This One Keeping You From Improving Your Life? Is reading a complement or substitute for doing the work of self-improvement?
- Should You Target the Minimum? I discuss minimum, average and maximum targeting and how these three different approaches differ for pursuing all sorts of goals.
- Are You Living Your Life or Just Planning Your Biography? The difference between how life is experienced and how it is remembered can result in choices that make you worse off.
On Achievement and Failure
Here are some of my thoughts on achieving success and overcoming the failures that come with it:
- Fear Fizzle More than Failure
- Are Successful People Just Putting in More Effort?
- You Should Have More Spectacular Failures
- Is Obsession a Prerequisite for Success?
- Don’t Swim in the Shallow Waters
- The Three Different Types of Luck
- What’s Next?
- Know Your Competition
- What Should Your Goals Be?
- How I Choose Projects
- How to Lead an Interesting Life and Still Get Stuff Done
- If You’re Young, Do Harder, Riskier Things
- Routine is the Enemy of Good
- Should You Plan to Retire
- Is the Ideal Lifestyle Designed or Earned?
- Ruthless Focus and the Art of Saying No
- What are You Going to Be Exceptional at in 10 Years?
On Ideas, Books and Reading
- What are the Core Ideas of Self-Improvement?
- The Problem with Advice
- Being Honest with Yourself is Hard
- Should You Maintain an (Almost) Empty Reading Queue?
- Ten Ideas That Have Shaped My Life
- Should You Follow Less News?
- Is Old Advice Better?
- The Power of Being Weak
- Does it Matter Whether Advice is Authentic?
- How to Pick Which Books to Read
- Book Club: Tao Te Ching
- Book Club: Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
- Should You Know Your IQ?
- Are There Books You Should Re-Read Every Year?
- Never Be Too Pleased With Your Past Work
- Living Closer to Reality
- Cynicism is Easy, Optimism Takes Guts
- Here’s What’s Wrong with Self-Help
- Should an Atheist Be Reading the Great Books of Religion?
- Does Thinking About the Ideal Life Actually Lead to Living One?
- Criticism and Praise are the Same
On Choosing What to Do
- Should You Fix Weaknesses or Focus on Your Strengths? Here’s How to Decide.
- How to Make Hard Life Decisions
- The Simple Algorithm for Making Big Life Decisions
- On Keeping Your Word
- Should You Wander the World or Build a Home?
- Should You Desire More or Less?
- Can You Change What You Like?
- Games Worth Playing
- Watch Out for “Good” Ideas
- Blank Slate Moments
- Philosophical Tourism
- What if Luck Matters More than Effort?
- Day Jobs vs Side Projects
- Staying in School Forever
- The Obvious Choice is Often the Worst One: Why People Fail Choosing Jobs, Classes and Dates
- Silencing the Background Noise of Life
- If You’re So Smart, Why is Your Life Still a Mess?
- Does the Ideal Life Depend on Your City?
- The Pleasure of Living Within Constraints
- Should Your Twenties Be for Work or Play?
On Finding Your Purpose in Life
On Values and Deciding What Matters
- (A Little) Conformity is a Good Thing
- Who Has Time for Hobbies?
- Why You Should Be More Extreme
- Are You Trying to Be Too Original? What I Learned About the Value of Imitation From China
- The Serious Pursuit of Fun
- What’s Your Life Strategy?
- Do You Need Self-Discipline to Have Fun?
- If You Had Ten Years to Learn Anything, What Would You Do?
- First, See the Circle
- Be Bold, Presumptuous and Stop Caring What Others Think
- The Fear of Going Soft
- Things Worth Knowing, Even Poorly
- Wanting the Right Things
- Does Enjoyment Trump Efficiency?
- Asking the Right Questions
- Inconvenient Conveniences — Is Easier Always Better?
- How to Chip Away at Your List of Necessities
- You’re Going to Lose Everything Eventually
- Doubt
- Humility is More Important than Confidence
- Average Doesn’t Mean Secure
- Need Little, Want Lots
- What’s Your Poverty Threshold?
I'm a Wall Street Journal bestselling author, podcast host, computer programmer and an avid reader. Since 2006, I've published weekly essays on this website to help people like you learn and think better. My work has been featured in The New York Times, BBC, TEDx, Pocket, Business Insider and more. I don't promise I have all the answers, just a place to start.