We are all works in progress. What we aren’t are problems to be solved. The trouble is, for every facet of self that exists, there is a company or person seeking to exploit our humanity in the name of improvement. Buy this product.Take this course. Only the purchase of this thing can save you from your average-human-status and elevate you to the shiniest version of you. It’s groundbreaking! It’s the latest trend for Spring! ...

Beginning today, consider the components of your daily life not merely as routines, but rituals. Routines are obligatory. They can be laborious. And they don’t necessarily require our active attention or inspire positive emotions. Rituals are ceremonies we perform for ourselves. They invite us to focus on the present moment, to enjoy the Simple acts that constitute them, and to experience a sense of groundedness and peace. Daily rituals contain a clear beginning, middle, and ...

Towards the end of last year, I was scanning podcast episodes when one caught my eye: Your 2026 WILL be a waste if you don’t listen to this. I didn’t want to waste my life and have my new year be an utter failure, so I briefly considered playing it. The effect of the title passed, as I remembered what would more likely set me up for success. Namely, less chatter of two random guys ...

  I have long held the belief that success is largely dependent upon our ability to suck it up in the present in service of our future selves. Our actions today dictate our circumstances later. When we bear that truth in mind (and have clarity about what we ultimately desire and value), we’re better able to prioritize behaviors that don’t just feel good in a fleeting, sugar-high, dopamine-rush sort of way, but a long-term, mature ...

  We tend to hold ourselves to the rules that others have laid out for us. We think the end of the race can only be where the organizers drew the finish line. That the product is finished only when its contents are completely consumed. That the book is finished when we’ve read the whole thing. That’s true in principle, but not always in practice. Being a true completionist means giving ourselves the freedom to ...