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.
In my original willpower article, I described how certain willpower-using behaviors provide a return on investment greater than the initial input. In other words, there are things you can do that cost willpower but which give you back more willpower than you put in. Today, I want to dig deeper into that topic and explain how you can choose to spend willpower in ways that maximize your return on investment.… Read More »Willpower Virtuous Cycles
This week, I’ll be celebrating four years of sobriety, so I’ve been doing some reflection about how much I’ve changed and what lessons that story might have for you. Let’s flash back in time a little more than four years ago. For a long time, I had wished I could change. I was depressed, in part because my way of life had been taken away from me by injuries, and… Read More »You Don’t Really Know What You’re Capable Of
There’s a story from Jim Afremow’s The Champion’s Mind that I’d like to share, as related by Anson Dorrance, who is the women’s soccer coach at the University of North Carolina: “He was driving to work early one morning, and as he passed a deserted field, he noticed one of his players off in the distance doing extra training by herself. He kept driving, but he later left a note… Read More »The Power of Unconventional Priorities
Exploring Twyla Tharp’s book, The Creative Habit, I came across this gem: “Confidence is a trait that has to be earned honestly and refreshed constantly; you have to work as hard to protect your skills as you did to develop them. This means vigilant practice and excellent practice habits.” –Twyla Tharp1 While you can pretend to be confident, false-confidence won’t get you very far. What really works – what we… Read More »Two Quick Reminders About Confidence