When I was a kid, my parents would sometimes admonish me for wasting my life in front of “the boob tube.” (Readers from certain generations know that means television.) I scoffed and continued watching reruns of The Simpsons. But a funny thing happens when you get older: You often realize that your parents were right. It’s usually much more fulfilling, more memorable, and more fun to actually do something. Doing… Read More »Doing is Greater than Watching
You know that big, important thing you’ve been putting off doing? That project? That chore? That behavioral change? Yeah, that thing. It’s time to get started. Oh, you thought I was joking? Get started, right now. Seriously, stop reading this and get started. Wait, you’re still here? Why are you still here? Let me guess… I bet you’re experiencing some kind of resistance. Resistance is a psychological phenomenon that arises… Read More »Resistance is a Compass
In every person, there is a complicated mixture of competing wants. We crave short-term pleasures, but we also want deeper, longer-lasting satisfaction. We like instant gratification, but we also want the rewards of delayed gratification, hard work, and patience. Here are some of the competing wants that I wrestle with: I want to sleep in, but I also want to have time for my daily self-care routine. I want to… Read More »What Do You Want More?
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