Want to know what I love about writing, both as a writer and a reader? Writing gives you the unique opportunity to take a dispassionate look at your own life. If I’m reading a book about a subject, I can interpret the things I both agree with and disagree with in the book without having […]

Here we are again. Here you are again. Reading yet another article about overcoming obstacles, reaching your goals, doing all the things you’re afraid to do, all the derivatives of the same basic concept. Here’s the good news. I’ve been you. I’ve been the person who’s read constant self-improvement articles, read books, watched videos, listened […]

I have seen every episode of Law and Order SVU. From Stabler and Captain Cragen to Assistant District Attorney Dominick Carisi, J.R. Now? I watch it for fun, downtime after I’m done working for the day. A few years ago, I watched it to cope with my life, keep myself distracted, and do my best to […]

I put quotes around the word “truths” in the headline because who the hell knows, right? When I say truths, I mean what’s true to me and what seems to be true across time for many many people. I put the word ‘can’ in the headline instead of ‘must.’ Why? Because you can do whatever […]

I get it. I get why many people are jaded by the self-improvement industry. There are a ton of gurus out there who bombard you with this image of what a successful life looks like. According to the laws of hyperbolic self-help, you’re not successful unless: You own a six-figure business (ideally, though, you should […]

You’re dumb. So am I. The difference between me and you? I know that I’m dumb, but you don’t. You spend far too much time trying to make sense of the world and make everything fit neatly into your little box — your narrative of the way things should be. This gets you in trouble […]

Are you happy? How can you even tell whether or not you’re happy? How do you know what mixture of the following makes up your definition of happiness: Cultural influence Pleasure Spirituality Ego-validation Material wealth I could go on. Happiness is an oft-debated subject, but there are only two ways to truly be happy in […]

Two nights ago I watched the new documentary series about Michael Jordan and the 97-98 Chicago bulls team. I saw a tweet that summed up MJ perfectly: “He just made you want to be great.” When you see someone operating at the highest level it gives you a true sense of joy. I felt strangely […]

Do you, yes you reading this, have a good life? I’m all for the idea of contentment, but look at how you are living and ask yourself whether or not you’re content with it. Be brutally honest. There’s a universe between contentment and apathy but they feel centimeters away from each other. I wouldn’t bash […]

“Someone once told me the definition of hell; on your last day on earth, the person you could have become will meet the person you became.” The sad thing? From a purely statistical perspective, you’re probably going to end up becoming this person. It’s not that you’ll a bad life, but you’ll just fall so well short of your […]