The most creative and brilliant problem solvers that I know have one thing in common: they presume to know the least. 

They possess a kind of insoluble doubt about their understanding of the world. Not the sort of doubt that is debilitating, but rather the kind that offers a...

I’ve done some more thinking on my Personal Philosophy statement — a short phrase or sentence that performance psychologist Michael Gervais suggests we establish to help prevent our fear of other peoples’ thoughts (FOPO) from removing your attention from the beliefs, talents, and values that empower us to thrive in...

When I reviewed my resting heart rate stats from last night (yes, I like to track these things), I noticed a weird gap in the report where my health tracker wasn’t reporting any heart rate data.

Though this was obviously hardware and/or software malfunction, the reporting error did make me...

My brother texted me the other day about an acronym that I hadn’t heard of before: FOPO or Fear of Other Peoples’ Opinions.*

According to Dr. Michael Gervais — a high-performance psychologist who has trained the likes of Olympians, athletes of other sports, and musicians — not only is FOPO...

The most brilliant people that I know of have at least five traits in common: they are quick to break rules that don’t make sense, they never take themselves too seriously, they are excellent at finding humor in life, they treat life as one big experimental sandbox, and — the...

I injured my wrist pretty badly yesterday. The story isn’t particularly remarkable. In fact, it’s rather embarrassing and lame: while I was tossing vegetables in a pan, I heard a snap come from my wrist, and then BAM! my wrist locked up and became inflamed to the size of a...

When we feel good and bad about the implications of our actions, we call the act a “guilty pleasure.” 

The term “guilty pleasure” implies this constant, often-exhausting state of emotional tug-of-war, where we never quite feel completely guilty because part of us enjoys what we’re doing, and we never...

The range of experiences you can have depending on the circumstances that life presents you with on any given day is truly remarkable. 

Some days you might get a lot of work done and feel accomplished; other days you might struggle to lift even a finger. 

Some days...

Here's a thought experiment: 

Begin by spending a few moments thinking about your oldest and most cherished friendships. 

Consider the kindness and warmness that is brought to these friendships and the exceptional sense of happiness and joy that is shared. 

Now try to think of a specific...

In his book Finite & Infinite Games, James Carse describes two kinds of players in life: “finite players (who) play within boundaries (and) infinite players (who) play with boundaries.” 

The concepts and contributions of infinite play in our culture cannot be understated. 

In her book Rebel Talent, Harvard...