18 hours agoIt’s the peopleWhat do you think will you be most proud of when you’re 80? When the octogenarian participants of all kinds of different backgrounds in the longest-running study on adult development (The Harvard Study of Adult Development) were asked what they were most proud of looking back, almost all of them…1 min read1 min read
2 days agoWhat do you expect out of today?I used to wear a fitness tracker that would give me a report on my recovery levels every morning. Interestingly, there would be mornings where I felt great but the tracker said my recovery was poor. Over time these two things eventually became in sync, as if I’d become conditioned…1 min read1 min read
2 days agoSpeculationI showed up 20 minutes early to the new Godzilla movie today (Godzilla Minus One) — yes, I am that person. While waiting for the film to start, I couldn’t help but overhear the people next to me speculating ad nauseam about whether or not they were going to like…2 min read2 min read
3 days agoFocus on what you can controlSuccessfully navigating any challenge requires you to figure out how to make peace with what you cannot control and to focus your energy on what you can control. Figure out is the operative term here because it’s not always straightforward or easy to do. When I lost a parent to…1 min read1 min read
4 days agoPerceptionJust about everything we experience is colored in by the facts of the situation and our perception of those facts — particularly the response we believe they warrant. Some perceptions shut the door while others pave a path forward. Say you fail a test according to some metric — fact. …1 min read1 min read
5 days agoWhat is your worth anchored to?“Dwell on the beauty of life. Watch the stars, and see yourself running with them.” — Marcus Aurelius In middle school, I desperately wanted to be perceived as a “cool” kid. Because perception was the ultimate goal, my sense of self-worth frequently rose and fell with the opinions of the…2 min read2 min read
6 days agoAim 1% higherThe most satisfying and worthwhile goals tend to be the ones that feel just out of reach. I used to test the maximum amount of weight I could lift for one repetition — a 1-rep max — every 8–12 weeks. Depending on the lift I was testing, the goal was…1 min read1 min read
Nov 27What are you paying attention to?I noticed a commuter waiting to cross the street so engrossed with the contents of his phone that he missed most of the walk signal to cross. By the time he looked up, it was too late. This incident struck me as a cautionary metaphor for how we can end…1 min read1 min read
Nov 26SetbacksEveryone experiences setbacks. Some helpful things to keep in mind when they happen to you: It’s ok to feel bad after a setback. This is not a sign of weakness, it’s a sign that you’re human. Setbacks rarely disappear by themselves — if you want to overcome them, you will…1 min read1 min read
Nov 24Small actsSmall acts over a long period of time tend to have a more durable impact than grand gestures. Treating a connection to a really nice meal does not make a friendship. Some combination of meaningful conversations, texting the other person happy birthday, and offering to help collectively does. The transition…1 min read1 min read
