When people think about quitting, it’s hard because they’re comparing the rich web of attachments they have now to some mostly blank slate, or, worse, the possibility of disaster. However, what’s more realistic to imagine, if you’re leaving something you’re no longer aligned with, is a future with more to love than you have now. Those things you... See more

By default, we tend to think of “choices” as the kinds of things that take us off the path we’re already on. From this stance, it doesn’t feel like we are “choosing” to go to our job every day, or choosing to remain where we live. The scary thing is that this means we can actually be making the biggest mistake of our lives on a daily basis, despite... See more

realized I was a ways down the road toward a destination I no longer wanted to get to, and rather than keep driving, I took an exit. This was indispensable in getting me to a place where I actually wanted to be.

Try it. Go around your day, narrating all of your choices to yourself. With everything you do, consciously say, in your head: “I am choosing to do this, because it’s the best course of action according to all the information I have available.” See if it feels true. It might — perhaps this exercise will reinforce your conviction. But you might also... See more

But the truth is that everything is in constant flux. Beneath the labels, life continues evolving all the time. Your interests change, companies change, and industries change. Given that your “steady job” is constantly evolving, even if you picked the highest-leverage option initially, there is a low chance that it will remain your highest-leverage... See more

The far, far greater danger is in devoting our days to something that fundamentally doesn’t matter to us, because we’re too afraid to cut our losses.

Another powerful exercise, of a similar kind: Imagine that you were instantly unsubscribed from everything in your life. All of your choices undone — where you live, who you’re with, what you do with your time. All of a sudden, you’re a completely empty canvas. And then, imagine that you have the power to bring back each element just by hitting a... See more

Tournament poker is basically about finding the highest-value uses of a scarce resource, your chips. The fact that losing those chips means getting completely locked out of a shot to win major money means that their opportunity cost is high. This means it can be a big mistake to commit yourself to hands that are somewhat positive-value in... See more

Try it. Go around your day, narrating all of your choices to yourself. With everything you do, consciously say, in your head: “I am choosing to do this, because it’s the best course of action according to all the information I have available.” See if it feels true. It might — perhaps this exercise will reinforce your conviction. But you might also... See more