Every day, we go through a set of actions that’s training our minds in the long term. Sometimes we’re training intentionally: We meditate, practice focus, get ourselves to start a workout, resist temptations, and so forth. Mostly, however, we’re training unintentionally, such as when you press snooze on the alarm clock, look at social media…
Live With an Inner Scorecard and Become the Best Version of Yourself
Would you rather live a life where everyone around you saw you as far more successful and generous than you really were or a life where your many accomplishments and good deeds were credited to others? What if those closest to you knew the real you? If you would choose the path of higher achievement…
The Contending Forces Within
There’s a crazy conflict within our souls. Everything can be going well, and then out of nowhere, we want to do the wrong thing, whatever that might be. You know your weaknesses, and I know mine. That error could be any thought or action that would harm another person or deliver a sinful pleasure that…
7 Success Habits of Wealthy Individuals
Habit is defined as behavior repeated so often it becomes almost automatic. I am in awe of the power of habit. It’s a force to change your life, and it’s available to anyone no matter the situation or the circumstances. For five years, author Tom Corley observed the daily habits of the rich and the…
In the New Year, Imagine Your Best Possible Life
When I was in my late 20s, I was living in Santa Barbara, California, and wondering about the course of my life. I had a job that was interesting enough, but it came with a terrible boss who actively sabotaged my work. I’d been in a few serious relationships, but none of them panned out….
Minimalist Self-Improvement
I think of self-improvement as a subcategory of philosophy. It deals with some of the most practical questions of life, the kinds of questions that any person intent on living well will ask themselves from time to time. Questions such as, “What are some goals that are worth aiming for?” and “How do I change…
A Stoic Approach to Self-Improvement
Ed Latimore, a professional in the self-improvement arena, found his own strategy for success, a practical, stoic approach, which he learned through his struggles, from growing up poor to dealing with alcohol problems. Childhood Latimore, 35, grew up in a housing project in Pittsburg where abject poverty and violence were the norm. When he was…
The Incredible Potential of Daily Practice
I’ve been repeatedly reminded of the power of practicing something regularly. Daily is best, I’ve learned, but several times a week works well, too. You’d be surprised how much progress you can make with even a small amount of practice, applied regularly. Here are some examples from my life. A daily 10-minute yoga practice. I’m very inflexible, and…
Embrace Life’s Limitations to Unlock Life’s Promise
In 1944, a 39-year-old Austrian man named Victor Frankl and his wife Tilly were processed into the Auschwitz concentration camp. He spent approximately 18 months in the shackles of the Nazis being shuttled from one camp to another before being liberated by American soldiers. Frankl survived the Holocaust, but his wife, mother, and brother did…
We’re All Monastics Now
My Zen teacher Susan recently told a group of her students at the end of a Zen meditation retreat, “We’re all monastics now.” In this pandemic, we’re in an era of isolation, retreat. We’re also in an era of heightened uncertainty. This can be a terrible thing and drive us to loneliness and distraction—or it can be…
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