Hidden Potential

underdog effect.

When we treat barriers as challenges to conquer, we rise to the occasion.

You’re not aiming for perfect—you’re shooting for better. The only way to win is to grow.

Being a sponge is not only a proactive skill—it’s a prosocial skill. Done right, it’s not just about soaking up nutrients that help us grow. It’s also about releasing nutrients to help others grow.

My first request isn’t for feedback or advice. It’s for a score. I ask the judges to independently rate my work on a scale from 0 to 10. No one ever says 10. Then I ask how I can get closer to 10.

overblown implications effect.

Languishing is a sense of stagnation and emptiness. The term was coined by a sociologist (Corey Keyes) and immortalized by a philosopher (Mariah Carey).

The bad news is that a perfect map won’t exist. The exact route hasn’t been plotted for us—there may not even be a road. We might have to pave our own way, figuring out the route as we go, one turn at a time.

deliberate play.