In Lewis Carol’s novella Through the Looking Glass, there’s a quirky little dialog between Alice and the Red Queen: “’Well, in our country,’ said Alice, still panting a little, ‘you’d generally get to somewhere else — if you run very fast for a long time, as we’ve been doing.’ “’A slow sort of country!’ said […]
Further Notes on “Rethinking Discipline”
Last week I published an article arguing for a different hypothesis about how self-discipline works. The standard idea, which even had decent scientific backing, was that willpower was a resource that could be depleted like a fuel. Now the evidence behind this view is a bit shakier, so I wanted to suggest an alternative: self-discipline […]
Rethinking Discipline
What is self-discipline? I think everyone has at least a hazy picture of what it means to be self-disciplined. From the outside, self-discipline looks like suppressing impulses to do things you shouldn’t do. Self-discipline means not eating too much, not succumbing to the temptation to check your phone every two minutes, ignoring what you want […]
Set Goals in the Middle
Classic goal-setting theory says that you first set a goal, then you make a plan to achieve it and finally you start taking action. Recently, I’ve begun to question the wisdom of this approach. Now, I’m inclined to believe that, for certain types of efforts, you’re better of setting goals in the middle. At first […]
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.