Pushing myself, I knew, would cause me serious discomfort. It's a Secret of Adulthood: Happiness doesn't always make you feel happy. When I thought about why I was sometimes reluctant to push myself,...
Perhaps—like writing, leadership, and a sense of humor—good habits are something that must be learned, but can’t be taught.
People’s biggest worries include financial anxiety, health concerns, job insecurity, and having to do tiring and boring chores.
One of the best ways to make myself happy is to make other people happy. One of the best ways to make other people happy is to be happy myself.
Once I’ve spelled out the problem in words, the greater clarity usually helps me to spot a solution.
Now that I know I’m an Upholder, an Abstainer, a Marathoner, a Finisher, and a Lark, and have spent a lot of time thinking about what is, and isn’t, important to me, I’m much better able to shape my h...
My home should calm me and energize me. It should be a comforting, quiet refuge and a place of excitement and possibility. It should call to my mind the past, the present, and the future. It should be...
My ambition, however, was also a factor in leaving the law. I'd become convinced that passion was a critical factor in professional success... I could see that in my co-clerks at the Supreme Court: th...
Moral Licensing Loophole: In moral licensing, we give ourselves permission to do something bad (eat potato chips, bust the budget) because we’ve been good. We reason that we’ve earned it or deserve it...
Money. It’s a good servant but a bad master.
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 very unsettling and interesting exercise to think about the people in my life and to imagine myself in a minor, supporting role. How do I fit into their fates? Am I helping?
It’s a Secret of Adulthood: If I give more to myself, I can ask more from myself. Self-regard isn’t selfish.
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 realized that for my own part, I was much more likely to take risks, reach out to others, and expose myself to rejection and failure when I felt happy. When I felt unhappy, I felt defensive, touchy,...
I often learn more from one person's highly idiosyncratic experiences than I do from sources that detail universal practices or cite up-to-date studies.
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...
Happiness is a critical factor for work, and work is a critical factor for happiness. In one of those life-isn’t-fair results, it turns out that the happy outperform the less happy. Happy people work...