As a university student from an affluent neighborhood, I was always exposed to the same social narrative of the “successful” person. During high school, I remember how much importance was placed on getting good grades, going to a good university, and finding good internships in order to find a good job. I was just as guilty as anyone else in beefing up my résumé so I could follow the same path.
There was no “Aha!” moment when I realized that this social narrative of success was misleading and often detrimental to my own creativity, career, and happiness. It was a gradual process that I had to learn. Like many other independent thinkers, I refer to following this social narrative as “group think”. As Owen Cook says, the “group think” mentality can have a comforting place in everyone’s lives. It provides a framework for a beginning, middle, and an end. The trick is to maintain the comfort for your brain, while understanding how to break free from “group think” when it is not applicable to you. [Click here to continue...]
While most of my posts involve ideas, knowledge or some (rudimentary) form of wisdom, this one is going to focus on a tool. Don’t worry, I’m not trying to sell you some software (unless you don’t have Microsoft Office, in which case I can’t help you). I just want to provide you guys with a tool I use that has given me the motivation to achieve my short and long-term goals.
Whether you are an athlete, a writer, an artist or any other profession that requires a specific skill, achieving your goals is an accumulation of daily tasks. These are practices that you do every single day no matter what happens so that you can be at your best. Sometimes you need a little extra motivation to get these tasks done – this will provide it. [Click here to continue...]
Walking back from class through the narrow Krakow streets, I pondered what I would do for the weekend. With nothing immediately planned and travel on my mind, I decided to visit the main train station near my home and buy the cheapest non-Polish bus ticket that was available. Lviv, Ukraine for $13? Done.
After a couple hours and packing, I returned to the bus station. Surrounded by half-drunken Poles and Ukrainians, I boarded the bus and prepared for what most surely would be the most bizarre and gratifying validation that spontaneity will give you the best memories of your life. [Click here to continue...]
I’m preparing to have hip surgery. Half a year ago, the hip specialist told me that the M.R.I. showed I had an impingement, which means the ball of my femur that goes into the socket of my hip is too big. Now, only a few days after Christmas, I must have surgeons shave part of my bone off and hopefully rid this problem for good. As with any major surgery or life-changing event, there are fears and concerns. From past experience, if there is no way to alter the outcome, there is no reason to dwell on these events. It is better to focus instead on the things that you can control.
Dwelling Gets You Nowhere
There are always going to be things that don’t go your way. Your clients don’t pay you, your landlord kicks you out, your girlfriend cheats on you. They all suck. The future can be even worse. If you are going to get kicked out, your boss is going to fire you, or mortgage payments start to pile up. [Click here to continue...]
On a daily basis, I witness my roommates consistently making wrong decisions even when they know what is “right” and make excuses about their actions. These are not weak or incapable individuals, but their lack of willpower has always somewhat interested me. Indeed, the vast majority of the population knows what activities are healthy or enriching for their mind or body and yet they ignore them anyway. Until fairly recently I was not a whole lot better, either. Last summer I spent nights drinking with friends and wasted countless hours in the hangover that followed. I tried to eat right, but I had no motivation to cook or the willpower to consume the foods I needed.
Willpower is More Tangible Than You Think
The term “willpower” is often used in an abstract way to define an ability to resist certain urges. I never considered a scientific approach to willpower until I learned about research performed by Kelly McGonical at Stanford [Click here to continue...]
