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.
People That coworker you don’t like? Think of something good about them – a strength, an admirable trait, a positive behavior. Surely there’s something. Do this to remind yourself that absolutist thinking is flawed. Also do it to reduce your dislike of that person. Absolutely disliking them makes you unhappy and makes your relationship with them unproductive. Every interaction you have with them will be better if you can remember… Read More »Don’t Think in Absolutes
For many years, I have followed what’s known as a “slow-carb” diet. My meals contain a mix of protein, fiber, healthy fats, and complex carbohydrates. (A fancier name for this strategy is following a “low glycemic” diet.) What’s the point of a slow-carb diet? Eating this way prevents the carbohydrates I eat from digesting too quickly. As a result, the fuel they provide enters my bloodstream at a slow, steady… Read More »Preventing Sugar Crashes with a Slow Carb Diet
Are you thinking about starting a new morning routine? Or adding something to your current routine? Or quitting an unhealthy habit that you do first thing every morning (like checking email on your phone in bed)? Well, I’ve got bad news for you: It’s going to be difficult. When you wake up in the morning, you’re pretty much on autopilot. From the moment your alarm goes off, your brain engages… Read More »A Simple Hack to Start a New Morning Routine
Francis Barlow’s illustration of “The Boy Who Cried Wolf.” Public Domain. “The Boy Who Cried Wolf” is traditionally told as a story where the moral is: “Don’t lie because people won’t believe you when it matters.”1 And while that’s not a bad lesson, it’s not very profound. A more useful moral to learn from the story is: “All signals should be meaningful.” The boy cries wolf when there isn’t a… Read More »The True Meaning of “The Boy Who Cried Wolf”