The stress caused by disruptions varies based on how much they force you to adapt. In other words, the degree to which you are forced to change defines the magnitude of a disruption. For this reason, even joyful occasions such as weddings and holidays can be experienced as disruptive—because of how drastically they alter the ordinary.

By staying nimble and making adjustments when required, you can keep your experiment on track through changing tides. Be iterative, not dogmatic: approach this process with the humility of a scientist, not the rigidity of an officer following orders. Few aspects of life are like a military exercise in which speed defines success. As long as you’re

As soon as I completed the last day, my mind started racing. I wanted to try longer meditations, maybe one or two hours a day. I started looking up formal meditation training. I researched some intensive online courses, which required spending an entire weekend without outside contact. I also found a ten-day silent retreat not far from where I

Plus Minus Next is a powerful way to inject metacognition into your daily life and work. It isn’t about making big changes, crafting five-year plans, or finding your purpose. Instead, it focuses on incremental adjustments that compound over time. You can identify what you want more of and proactively focus your attention on these sources of growth.

Our ancestors’ daily routines included organic opportunities to shape their inner world—on long walks, in meditative moments while completing repetitive tasks such as sewing and tending to crops, or in nightly reflection when praying before bed. But we in the present day have largely lost those quiet natural pauses. Instead, we grind on a

Trial and error are inseparable. Without the willingness to try, we wouldn’t have the opportunity to learn from our mistakes and refine our trajectory. And without reflection, we would repeat the same error in an infinite number of trials.

Consider the ancient Japanese art of kintsugi. When pottery breaks, the typical response is to repair it in a manner that masks the damage or discard it altogether. Kintsugi, on the other hand, embraces these imperfections by lacquering over the cracks with gold or silver. This doesn’t just mend the broken pottery; it visually accentuates the

Rather than being an indication of laziness or lack of discipline, procrastination points to nuanced psychological roadblocks that need addressing.

One of the simplest strategies to regulate your emotions is to stimulate your body’s parasympathetic nervous system, which acts like a brake on the stress response. All you need to do is move your body.