Thoughtful living

Creativity is not efficient . What is efficient is enjoying your creative process.

It might be tempting to think of willpower-based goalsetting systems as hardheaded and realistic, while dismissing those that leave space for spontaneity – or for just not feeling like it today – as self-indulgent and second-tier. But I think it’s the other way around. Our changing moods and energy levels, and how inspired we’re feeling on any... See more

The good life, it appeared, was still within reach, even when happiness and meaning weren’t.

To make the conceptual space of the well-lived life more inclusive, Oishi proposed the dimension of psychological richness . Characterized by a variety of novel, complex, and perspective-changing experiences (that weren’t necessarily happy or meaningful),... See more

Burkeman’s question is really the reverse: What if rather than starting from the presumption that it can all be brought under control, you began with the presumption that it can’t be? What if you began with a deeper appreciation of your own limits? How then would you live?

I mentioned the idea of “moving toward or away,” a concept from ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy), and this week I want to explore this concept in more depth and how this framework has been supportive in my own life.

What I like about this framework is that it’s fundamentally de-pathologizing. It doesn’t treat behaviors as universally “good”... See more

The other meaning of happiness is ‘a rich, full and meaningful life’. When we take action on the things that truly matter deep in our hearts, when we move in directions that we consider valuable and worthy, when we clarify what we stand for in life and act accordingly, then our lives become rich and full and meaningful, and we experience a powerful

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I was happy to stumble, a few months back, across the concept of MTO goalsetting, which fits perfectly here. For any goal you’re aiming to accomplish, this approach involves setting three levels of success: the Minimum, which you’re confident you’ll achieve; the Target, which is realistic but a bit of a stretch; and an Outrageous outcome, which... See more

if the emphasis of a happy life is on positive emotions and security, and the emphasis of a meaningful life is on purpose and coherence, then the hallmarks of a psychologically rich life are variety, interest, and perspective (Oishi & Westgate, 2021)