“Are you closer right now to where you want to be than you were a half-hour ago?” –Robert K. Cooper The more often the answer to this question is yes, the further you’ll make it along the path of becoming better. And the answer to this question probably depends on your answer to another: Did you spend the last half-hour with your eyes on the process? In other words, were… Read More »My New Favorite Question
Another one of the cornerstones of my approach to becoming better is cultivating helpful mindsets: Many people approach self-improvement and behavioral change with profoundly unhelpful mindsets that either sabotage their efforts or prevent them from making any effort at all. So it is essential to work on shifting from these unhelpful mindsets toward beliefs and attitudes that facilitate growth and change, success and happiness. Here are some examples: When… Read More »Helpful Mindsets
One of the cornerstones of my approach to becoming better is the use of effective strategies. You might recall last week’s post on an epic piece of wisdom from Steven Pressfield. Today, we’re focusing on the “mechanical solutions” part of that quote: “The problem is not you. The problem is the problem. It’s hard because it’s hard. The solution is mechanical. Work the problem.” –Steven Pressfield Difficult problems call for… Read More »Effective Strategies
A few years ago, I was reading Do the Work! by Stephen Pressfield. It’s a wonderful little book about dealing with the feeling of resistance that naturally arises when we are struggling to complete creative projects. In it, I came across the most profound piece of wisdom I have ever read: “The problem is not you. The problem is the problem. It’s hard because it’s hard. The solution is mechanical.… Read More »The Problem Is Not You