Should your priority for living be happiness or virtue? Is it better to be a happy person of mediocre character, or noble and melancholic? I believe this is one of the biggest questions you can ask yourself. Not only because it guides so many life decisions, but because it changes your approach to life. The […]
Mental Aikido: The Necessity of Unhappiness in the Ideal Life
I believe happiness is important, and all else being equal, the happy life is better than the unhappy one. But this doesn’t mean I believe the ideal life is free from unhappy moments. I have plenty of unhappy moments, and I think that’s okay, perhaps even necessary, to live well. Some Unhappiness is a Necessary […]
Are You Living Life or Just Planning Your Biography?
One of the most startling findings of modern psychology is how bad we are at guessing what will make us happy. Not only are we lousy at predicting what will satisfy us, we often misremember our happiness in the past. In perhaps one of the best online talks I’ve ever watched, Nobel laureate Daniel Kahneman […]
Will Reaching the Ideal Life Make You any Happier?
Much of what I write here is centered around the pursuit of the ideal life. There are plenty of problems with that pursuit: perfection is impossible, we have limitations, and how do you define “ideal.” But, for the most part, I believe thinking about what the ideal way to live, and making small steps forward, […]
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.