Whether you grow or stagnate as you get older depends on how and when you rethink settled issues. An issue is settled when you evaluate it in the full context of your knowledge and conclude it is true or false. Some conclusions get settled for life. Philosophical...
How Naming the Emotion Can Tell You Why You’re Going Nowhere
It happens to all of us. You decide your priority, you sit down to work on the project, and for one reason or another you go nowhere. Maybe you're not doing the work — you're resisting it. Or maybe you're doing it, but slogging along without much to show for your...
Why You Might Want to Talk to Your Dog
A while back, I realized I needed something to help reinforce my intentions when I didn't seem to be following through on them. For example, I intended to work on a big project, but I found myself doing some little tasks, or taking a longer break than I really wanted...
How to Be Decisive to Avoid Churn
One of the problems of having many projects at once is that there's a tendency to churn — to work a little on one, then a little on another, without making good progress on any. The general solution is to prioritize: to choose one project (or one chunk of a project)...
The Importance of a Value Orientation Toward Past Actions
In my previous article, I argued that you need to motivate all action by reference to values rather than threats. I explained how you justify the goal in terms of values before you act and then stay focused on gaining values while acting. In this article you will see...
Scholarship Program
Thinking Lab scholarships are available from time to time from generous donors who want to support the younger generation. For an idea of how the Thinking Lab can […]
How a Central Purpose Fits Into Your Real Life in the Real World
In the last article, I described a central purpose as a long-range productive goal that is stylized and utterly selfish. I gave a few examples of how different people in the same profession could have significantly different passions. And I argued that everyone, from...
Why Relationships, Recreation, and Emotional Well-Being Don’t Function Properly as a Central Purpose
In the previous article, I opined that only a productive purpose can serve as a a central purpose. Before going deeper into the positive point, I'd like to address some common questions. People ask, why not make recreation or relationships or emotional well-being your...
How can a Thinking Lab coach help you? – Free Webinar
You are the person who knows the most about your situation, your relationships, and your goals. You are the person who can find the most creative solutions to your problems, the strength of commitment for pursuing your goals, and the deepest meaning for improving your relationships. You do this by thinking — and thinking is not a spectator sport. So how does coaching help with these eminently personal issues? […]
View Your Critic as the Canary in the Coal Mine
Noticing and learning from negative feedback is crucial to self-improvement. Unfortunately, negative feedback can come in an unpleasant and even an unjust form. People who give unsolicited criticism are not always the most supportive of creatures. There are...