We’ve already covered the strategic value of predicting how you could fail when you’re trying to establish a new habit or quit an old one: Imagining the situations that could lead you to slip up gives you a chance to mitigate them in advance. One thing we haven’t discussed that I’ve come to see as equally important is the emotional value of imagining failure. Here’s what that looks like: Think… Read More »Visualizing Failure
You are what you repeatedly do.1 Any behavior that you repeat over years naturally solidifies into part of your identity. This makes the behavior feel impossible to change – like it’s just who you are. But this is wrong. You can still change; it’ll just be harder. I was a marijuana addict for 11 years. For much of that time, it felt like I couldn’t possibly be anything else. The… Read More »You Are What You Repeat
“A 100-foot long boat that’s 99% complete is going to sink before it leaves the dock. That gaping hole is more than enough to do it in. On the other hand, a baked ziti that’s 99% as good as the best baked ziti ever made is exactly good enough to serve in any setting. … We should be clear about which category we’re working in.” –Seth Godin1 If you’re the… Read More »Will it Sink the Boat?
This is Sammy. He belongs to my dad’s friend Dan. Sammy is simultaneously the friendliest and most well-behaved dog I’ve ever known. I came to love Sammy despite spending my whole life as, frankly, not a dog person. I’ve always been a cat person. Cats make sense to me, and we have a natural affinity for one another. I’m the kind of person who befriends random cats that I see… Read More »Can You Choose to Like Something?