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Chris Loper

Chris Loper has been writing about self-improvement and helping busy adults with habit formation since 2017. He also writes an education blog for parents and students for Northwest Educational Services. Along with Greg Smith, Chris is the cocreator of Parenting for Academic Success, a series of transformative classes that create empowered parents, confident students, and harmonious families. His most recent endeavor combines his academic and habit-formation expertise to help students thrive in college. Visit SmartCollegeHabits.com to learn more. In 2021, Chris published a humorous memoir titled Wood Floats and Other Brilliant Observations, a book that blends crazy stories with practical life lessons. He lives in Issaquah, WA where he is the owner of South Cove Tutoring.

Are You Wearing Pain-Colored Glasses?

If someone is overly optimistic, we say they’re wearing rose-colored glasses. That is, they see the world in a distorted way, making things appear better than they really are. This can cause many problems, which is why I prefer realistic optimism. Rose-colored glasses might make things look nice, but they don’t help you succeed. The opposite affliction, however, is much more common. A great many people see the world through… Read More »Are You Wearing Pain-Colored Glasses?

Suffering = Pain x Resistance

“Most of your suffering isn’t pain. Most of your suffering is the demand that the pain shouldn’t be there. We have pain, and then we have the extra layer of outrage that pain exists, as if life has violated its terms of service.” –Eric Barker For the past decade, my injuries have kept me in some kind of physical pain for most of my waking hours. But am I always… Read More »Suffering = Pain x Resistance

Why Sobriety Cured My Depression

“Avoidance feels like relief in the moment, but will only strengthen the feeling you’re trying to escape.”1 –Mark Manson At 30 years old, I was severely depressed. I was also a marijuana addict. You might think that one problem caused the other, but it’s more complicated than that. My depression was not caused by my addiction: I was depressed because I’d suffered a string of injuries that left me in… Read More »Why Sobriety Cured My Depression

What Does it Mean to be a “Successful” Adult?

“The goal of adulthood is to let go of the other possible existences and to make the best of the one. A successful adult is one who understands that it doesn’t matter which life you ultimately pick, only that you live it well.” –Chris Ballas1 We live in a time of abundant choice. There are thousands of careers to choose from. There are millions of people you could theoretically meet,… Read More »What Does it Mean to be a “Successful” Adult?

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For over a decade, I’ve been focused on one question: How do we actually become better, in ways that last?

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