How long does it take to break a glass? How long does it take to clean it up? How long does it take to damage one’s reputation? How long does it take to rebuild it? How long does it take to get in a car accident? How long does it take to heal the injured, repair the cars, and process the insurance claims? Your answers to these questions reveal a… Read More »Avoiding High-Cost Errors in Self-Improvement
This is an article about personal growth and change, but before we can get to that, we need to look at a really cool insight about biology and creativity. As discussed in my article about where new ideas come from, there is a parallel between biological innovation and human innovation. Species evolve either by genetic mutation or genetic combination, and our ideas evolve when they get modified or when they… Read More »The Adjacent Possible: Expanding Your Creativity, Career, and Life
How to Not Be Jealous When Your Friends Get to Walk on the Moon and You Don’t On July 16, 1969, a gigantic Saturn V rocket launched three men into space. Two of them – Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin – you’ve certainly heard of because they were about to become the first men to walk on the moon. The third astronaut is less well-known, though his role in the… Read More »How to Stop Being Jealous and Be Grateful for What You Have
Predicting Unhappiness Pretty soon, I’m going to be less happy. I realize that’s an odd thing to say, so let me explain. My partner is a middle school teacher, and after a year of teaching remotely, she’s going back to working with students in person. (For those of you reading this in the future, it’s currently the beginning of April 2021.) Meanwhile, I’ll still be working from home, so I’ll… Read More »How to Prevent Depression