Keep a sense of humor. Over and over, I see that levity helps diffuse practically any difficult situation—which
I’ve noticed that some people are serial goal setters, rather than habit formers.
It’s easier to complain than to laugh, easier to yell than to joke around, easier to be demanding than to be satisfied.
It’s a Secret of Adulthood: The biggest waste of time is to do well something that we need not do at all.
In a nutshell, Rebels respond best to a sequence of information, consequences, and choice. We must give Rebels the information they need to make an informed decision; alert them to the consequences of...
I started to apply the one-minute rule; I didn’t postpone any task that could be done in less than one minute.
I have an idea of who I wish I were, and that obscures my understanding of who I actually am. Sometimes I pretend even to myself to enjoy activities that I don't really enjoy, such as shopping, or to...
How can I deprive myself of something without feeling deprived? When it comes to habits, feeling deprived is a pernicious state. When we feel deprived, we feel entitled to compensate ourselves—often,...
How about this, I suggested. Instead of feeling that you’ve blown the day and thinking, ‘I’ll get back on track tomorrow,’ try thinking of each day as a set of four quarters: morning, midday, afternoo...
Gertrude Stein remarked, Anything one does every day is important and imposing and anywhere one lives is interesting and beautiful.
For most of us, the real aim isn’t to enjoy a few pleasures right now, but to build habits that will make us happy over the long term. Sometimes, that means giving up something in the present, or dema...
For instance, if it’s 9 a.m. and I have an appointment at 11 a.m., I’ll think ‘Oh, I have to go somewhere in two hours, so I can’t really start anything serious’ and then end up wasting my whole morni...
Feeling right is about living the life that’s right for you—in occupation, location, marital status, and so on. It’s also about virtue: doing your duty,
Drawing on intrinsic motivation makes us far more likely to stick to a behavior, and to find it satisfying.
DON’T PUT THINGS DOWN; PUT THINGS AWAY.
Comedian Jerry Seinfeld advised aspiring comedian Brad Isaac that, because daily writing was the key to writing better jokes, Isaac should buy a calendar with a box for every day of the year, and ever...
Clarity of values also makes it possible to identify red-herring habits. A red-herring habit is a habit that we loudly claim to want to adopt, when we don’t actually intend to do so.
By helping us to feel energetic and happy, healthy treats can play a key role in fostering good habits, but we must guard against the temptations of unhealthy treats. The pleasure lasts a minute, but...
By finding my reward within the habit itself, with a reward that takes me deeper into the habit. If I look outside a habit for a reward, I undermine the habit. If I look within the habit for the rewar...
Associate with people who are likely to improve you.