Behavioral change is hard. Luckily, there are strategies that make it easier. One of the best is keeping track of your effort.1 This means finding some way to record how frequently you work toward your goals. Indeed, research has shown that tracking how often you work toward your goals leads to greater progress. Effort-tracking is effective for four reasons: 1. Process Focus Effort-tracking helps you keep your eyes on the… Read More »Effort-Tracking
Cut From the Tennis Team When I was a freshman in high school, I tried out for the tennis team. I loved tennis, played regularly, and was a pretty decent player for my age. Unfortunately, the coach was a man who would probably have been more at home coaching the cross country team than the tennis team. Tryouts mostly consisted of distance running, which was not my strong suit. It’s… Read More »Is it for the Best?
This is a post about how to beat depression (and/or anxiety, addiction, and ADHD). But first, story time. [The following is drawn from the first chapter of Malcolm Gladwell’s excellent book, David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants.] Vivek Ranadivé was perhaps the least likely person to lead a junior basketball team to the national championships. When he agreed to coach his 12-year-old daughter’s team, Redwood… Read More »Why I Run a Full-Court Press on Myself
Self-Hatred is Hard to Overcome About five years ago I was in a bad place emotionally. I didn’t love myself. In fact, a lot of the time, I hated myself. I was an addict. I was injured. I was depressed. And it was all my fault. Despite how much I was suffering, I didn’t feel compassion for myself. Instead, I judged and berated myself. I regretted the choices I had… Read More »How Do You Cultivate Self-Love?