A psychologist studying the lives of identical twins once interviewed two brothers who had been raised by a father who was a terrible alcoholic. One of the twins was leading a life just like his father’s: struggling with alcoholism, bad finances, and an unhappy family life. “What else could I have done?” he explained. “You know what my father was like.” This was exactly what the researcher had expected to… Read More »Excuses vs. Explanations
Having a brain is weird. You have a brain, but you also kind of are your brain. I mean, as far as we know you wouldn’t exist without your brain. Sometimes you choose to think about something, but a lot of the time, thoughts just seem to happen on their own. You can direct your behavior, but sometimes you find yourself doing something without thinking about it or choosing to… Read More »5 Rules for Having a Brain
Imagine a world-champion chess player facing off against an amateur chess player. The grand master will surely win. But now imagine that we’ve stacked the board against them. Their king is cornered. All of the powerful pieces have been captured or blocked. The amateur is just a move or two away from checkmate, and there’s nothing the grand master can do. In such a position, all their brilliance and experience… Read More »How to Position Yourself to Thrive
If you had asked me three years ago if I could do 30 push-ups a day, I would have simply said, “No.” I was too weak, and I had a shoulder injury. But the correct answer, it turns out, would have been, “Not yet.”1 This month, I am doing 30 push-ups a day. It all began 30 months ago when I decided to try doing just one push-up per day.… Read More »Realistic Optimism