When I wrote the founding post of this blog, I concluded with this quote from The Curious Case of Benjamin Button: “For what it’s worth: it’s never too late …. to be whoever you want to be. There’s no time limit, stop whenever you want. You can change or stay the same, there are no rules to this thing. We can make the best or the worst of it. I… Read More »It’s Not Too Late to Change
I’ve written before about the surprising power of 20 seconds, also known as “The 20-Second Rule.”1 This is probably my favorite life-hack. The 20-Second Rule is simple: If you make something just 20 seconds easier to do, you’ll be much more likely to do it. And if you make something just 20 seconds harder to do, you’ll be much less likely to do it. There’s nothing special about 20 seconds… Read More »The 20-Second Rule Revisited
I used to see myself as someone with very weak willpower. I had poor self-discipline and limited self-control. I was prone to addictions. I was lazy. Or so I thought. I was, unconsciously, cherry-picking evidence of my lack of willpower, perhaps in order to justify taking the easy road, skipping workouts, eating sugar, and remaining an addict. An honest, unbiased assessment would have revealed that I did, in fact, have… Read More »Improving Your Willpower Identity
Everyone knows willpower is important, and the clever among us work to simultaneously develop stronger willpower and strategically use less of it. But we should also consider the timing, location, and frequency of willpower battles. We should also choose our willpower battles wisely. Here are three strategies you can use to do just that. #1 Choose easier battles. Some willpower-using activities are relatively easy, while others are quite hard. Let’s… Read More »Choose Your Willpower Battles Wisely