Most people vastly overestimate their willpower. After four years of detailed feedback from readers on habit changes, I can come to no other conclusion. If willpower were cash, most people empty their wallets on the first day. Keeping this in mind, when I set the first 30 Day Trials for the group of students enrolled […]
Is the Ideal Lifestyle Designed or Earned?
Since Tim Ferriss coined the term, “lifestyle design” has become a phenomenon. A Google search for the term brings up nearly 83 million web pages. And the term has helped keep Ferriss’s book on the best seller list for over two years. The most important impact of the ideavirus has been to start the conversation […]
Why Self-Educated Learners Often Come Up Short
I have a pet peeve about certain people who attack formal education systems and claim to pursue self-education. Not because universities are spectacular learning environments (they usually aren’t). Or even because self-education isn’t a worthwhile goal (it’s probably one of the best). It’s because I’ve noticed many of the university-hating self-taught are the kind of […]
Welcome ZenHabits Readers!
If you just came in from reading my article on learning at ZenHabits, welcome to the website! First, check out my free ebook on holistic learning. It is a deeper look at the ideas I explored in the article. I’m a university student and this blog is my journey to answer the question: what is […]
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.