A lot of classic goal-setting advice is about changing the constraints of your life. Don’t like your job? Quit and find something else. Don’t have enough money? Earn more. Unsatisfied with your love life? Go meet new people. I don’t think any of this advice is necessarily bad. But, just as working to change the […]
Staying in the Game
I recently mentioned that I used to have a win/lose approach to my goals in life. I’d decide what I want. If I achieved it I won. If I didn’t achieve it, I lost. I now realize that this is one of the worst attitudes you can have, despite being promoted frequently as a motivation […]
The First Step and the Thousandth
The first step in a run has the same impact as the thousandth, both moving you a meter or two further. But while the distance is the same, the mental activity to take the first step is completely different than the thousandth. The first step is going from sitting on the couch to getting out […]
The Reason People are Unhappy in Relationships
The reason people are unhappy in relationships is that we were never designed to be happy in relationships. Human beings, like all life, evolved for evolutionary fitness, not for romantic satisfaction. Therefore, a lot of dissatisfaction is the result of urges people have that they believe will make them happy, but in fact do the […]
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.