In the last blog post, I pointed out that when you struggle there is a fact that needs to be accepted. In a post a month ago I explained that the way you accept facts is that you factor that fact into your thinking, your expectations, and your planning. This leaves...
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)...
Tactic: Transforming the Pain of Unmet Needs
Tactic: Transforming the Pain of Unmet Needs I’m writing this during the coronavirus crisis. A lot of people are suffering. A lot of people are in emotional pain. So I thought I would share a powerful technique for reducing one’s suffering, called “Transforming the...
A Value-Based Approach to Interrupting Others
A friend once told me about a man he knew who never interrupted. Call him the super listener. You could go to this super listener for business advice, and he would sit and listen to you as you talked and talked, never interrupting. Then when you were finished...
Curiosity
Curiosity is not just a penchant for asking a lot of questions. It is a specific kind of interest in a topic, which is critical to thinking and problem-solving. What is curiosity? Curiosity is the emotion you get when you have a sense that there is a phenomenon to...
Articles
Here is a guide to the many articles on this site, including: Book Recommendations, Thinking Tools, Focusing on Values, Understanding Emotions, Acting on Priorities, and other categories.[…]
Book Recommendation: TJ Walker’s Secret to Foolproof Presentations
by TJ Walker
Many books offer great advice. Some are so powerful they change your mind on issues you consider settled. Very few are so clear you can learn something about thinking just by reading them. TJ Walker's Secret to Foolproof Presentations is all three. At first glance,...
Freewriting
Every tactic is useful only in a context. That includes my favorite general-purpose workhorse, "thinking on paper." Sometimes it is more efficient to think in your head. Sometimes it is more efficient to discuss an issue with someone else. And sometimes it is more...
Five Ways to Make Your Goal Juicier
Often when you set goals, you wind up with a dry statement of something you think you should do. Goals should be juicy! They should be as appealing as a ripe peach. After all, they are your goals. They are to contribute to your life. Just as you choose food that is...
How to Deal with a Defense Value of Approval
When the desire for approval is driving many decisions, it is a "defense value." It distorts your choices and actions and undercuts your successes and sense of self. Fortunately, this is a problem that can be remedied by taking an active approach to reprogramming your...