What do you do when you start a personal project, but you start to lose interest? Should you quit or keep going, even though it’s no longer fun? What if the project is to improve your health or career? What if your goals change and the project no longer feels relevant? Should you quit or […]
Why is it So Hard to Create Permanent Habits?
Motivation works well in the short-term. If you set a new goal, you can probably summon up the motivation to pursue it earnestly for a week or two. If the goal is tremendously important, that motivation may even carry you uninterrupted for a month. But motivation wanes. If your goal takes more than a month […]
Which Skills Should You Master?
There’s enough time in life to become mediocre at a lot of things. But there isn’t enough time to get really good at more than a couple. Most people don’t even get really good at one. How do you figure out which skills are worth mastering? It’s a difficult question, and one I’ve often struggled […]
Be Bold, Presumptuous and Stop Caring About What Others Think
A reader recently referred me to this project to break into the top 250 table tennis players in the UK in one year. What happened? He failed. In his own words: “The challenge ended a week ago and I am still nowhere near the top 250. I wasn’t even good enough to get an official […]
I'm a Wall Street Journal bestselling author, podcast host, computer programmer and an avid reader. Since 2006, I've published weekly essays on this website to help people like you learn and think better. My work has been featured in The New York Times, BBC, TEDx, Pocket, Business Insider and more. I don't promise I have all the answers, just a place to start.