Besides having complete control over our goals and values, Marcus Aurelius points out that we have complete control over our character. We are, he says, the only ones who can stop ourselves from attaining goodness and integrity. We have it entirely within our power, for example, to prevent viciousness and[…]
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237/365 Internal dialogue
Dweck recognizes that the internal dialogue you have with yourself greatly impacts how you think about the world around you. If you constantly tell yourself that you should protect yourself in case you fail, or that something would be dead simple if only you had the talent, you know that’s[…]
236/365 Responding to cognitive dissonance
Whenever you realize that you should be doing something but that you aren’t (psychologists call this separation between your actions and beliefs cognitive dissonance), you can respond in one of several ways to feel better about yourself. In his book, Pychyl identifies a number of unproductive responses people have when[…]
235/365 Do a bad job
Whenever I feel stuck with an article, idea, or project, I simply give myself permission to do the worst job imaginable. Since I’m the only person who will ever see the original version of whatever I’m working on, after I give myself permission to create crap, I always come up[…]
234/365 Living under time debt
Even though we have a lot of control over what we intend to do with our time, there’s strangely never enough of it. How do we always mess up this simple equation so badly? Do any of you feel like you have enough time? We often argue that we don’t[…]
233/365 From our skills and knowledge
Let us hope none of us will be forced to call upon symbolic skills to survive concentration camps or arctic ordeals. But having a portable set of rules that the mind can work with is of great benefit even in normal life. People without an internalized symbolic system can all[…]
232/365 Through small wins each day
In order for change to last, we must work with the fundamental forces in our lives, not against them. Nearly everything that makes up your daily life has an equilibrium—a natural set point, a normal pace, a typical rhythm. If we reach too far beyond this equilibrium, we will find[…]
231/365 The faster you try to change
The faster you try to change, the more likely you are to backslide. The very pursuit of rapid change dials up a wide range of counteracting forces which are fighting to pull you back into your previous lifestyle. You might be able to beat equilibrium for a little while, but[…]
230/365 Desires don’t last
Normally it’s hard to see: desires don’t last very long. They are very-short-term spasms of the mind, and this is a vital point to recognize if you want to be financially stable, healthy, principled, and able to keep a manageable schedule. [..] We might think our desires for big, costly[…]
229/365 Give time to some small thing
Rather than spend another twelve seconds uselessly ruminating about the past and future, consider giving that time instead to what is actually happening: the simple task of wrapping up the cord and putting the thing away. “Giving time” in this way—being fully, willingly aware of the buttoning of a shirt,[…]
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