Anxiety and avoidance coexist in a self-reinforcing feedback loop. You feel anxious about a task, so you avoid it. But now it feels even harder to get started. And have even less time to finish. So you get more anxious, making you even more inclined to avoid the task. How do you get out of this downward spiral? It would be nice if you could snap your fingers and stop… Read More »You Won’t Feel Better Until You Start
You make what feels like a reasonable to-do list for the day, but then you only get half of it done. You carefully calculate how early you need to wake up to make it out the door on time, but then you wind up running late anyway. You tell your guests dinner will be at 6:00, but the food isn’t ready until 7:30. In each of these cases, you’ve fallen… Read More »How to Overcome the Planning Fallacy
You’re driving toward an intersection and the light changes from green to yellow. You’re too far away to make it through before it turns red. What do you do? You slow to a stop, of course. Through your actions, you accept your fate. But do you mentally accept it? Or do you get upset that you missed the light? I hope you accept it because getting upset doesn’t help. It… Read More »Life’s Traffic Lights
Extrinsic vs. Intrinsic Motivation: Does it Really Matter? A lot is made of extrinsic vs. intrinsic motivation. Here’s a quick breakdown: Extrinsic motivation is when you’re driven by external rewards, like praise, money, and looking good. Intrinsic motivation is when you’re driven by internal rewards, like living up to your own values, doing what you love, and feeling better. And there’s plenty of research showing that intrinsic motivation is more… Read More »The Most Effective Form of Motivation