Selective Admiration: Why You Don’t Need Perfect Heroes

In my book Tiny Experiments, I used Amelia Earhart as an example of a life lived through experimentation and adventure. Her willingness to try new things perfectly captured the spirit I wanted to encourage in readers. To my surprise, some people pushed back: “She’s a terrible example,” they effectively said. “She was just a publicity … Read More

The Comedown Effect: Understanding the Emotional Aftermath of Achievement

A month ago, my book Tiny Experiments finally made its way into the world after years of work. Launch day brought a flurry of notifications and messages of support, along with that strange feeling of seeing something that existed only in my mind now in other people’s hands. There’s something surreal about thousands of hours … Read More

Everything is aiming: forget the target and focus on your aim

We live in a world obsessed with outcomes. At school, we’re encouraged to climb an artificial leaderboard that reflects our test scores. At work, performance is based on reaching specific targets, sometimes known as OKRs for “Objectives and Key Results.” In this goal-based society, success is defined by how our peers evaluate our track record. … Read More

The arrival fallacy: why we should decouple our happiness from our goals

“When I achieve this goal, then I will be happy.” If you’ve ever experienced such a when/then thought pattern, you’re not alone. Whether you’re aiming to run a marathon, get a promotion at work or buy your first house, having a goal in mind can increase your motivation. However, we often mistakenly believe that achieving … Read More