To overcome blind spots and improve judgment, treat all opinions as hypotheses to be tested and all decisions as experiments, prioritizing learning over being right.
When receiving criticism, aim to get a ‘10’ for how well you process and learn from it, shifting your focus from defensiveness to a growth-oriented mindset for future improvement.
Practice authenticity by ensuring your words and actions align with your core principles and values, rather than expressing every immediate thought or feeling, balancing self-expression with empathy and boundaries.
To unlock hidden potential, actively embrace discomfort, continuously learn and filter information, and practice imperfectionism by aiming for excellence rather than an unachievable perfection.
Combine a growth mindset about your personal skills with a growth mindset about your job, actively redesigning your role by accentuating, subtracting, or swapping tasks to align with your strengths and boost happiness.
To boost someone’s confidence and motivation, especially a child, ask them for advice on a similar challenge you are facing, empowering them to feel they have something valuable to contribute.
Dedicate specific blocks of uninterrupted time (e.g., ‘quiet time’ with no meetings or digital distractions) to primary tasks to enhance concentration and productivity, avoiding ’time confetti’.
Calibrate your effort by aiming for ’excellence’ (a 9) on highly important tasks and accepting ‘good enough’ (a 6) on less critical ones, to avoid burnout and focus energy effectively.
Set a goal to start at least one project each year that doesn’t succeed, creating an ‘acceptable zone of failure’ to motivate risk-taking, experimentation, and personal growth.
Instead of asking for general ‘feedback,’ specifically request ‘advice for next time’ to receive more actionable, future-focused suggestions for improvement rather than past critiques.
To objectively filter creative ideas, solicit feedback from 5-8 diverse individuals, including experts and outsiders, asking for specific scores or critiques to identify common issues and avoid idiosyncratic biases.
Allow for moderate procrastination on intrinsically motivating tasks by starting a project but delaying commitment to an idea for a few weeks to foster incubation and more novel thinking.
Begin your day with a moderately interesting task, then address boring-but-important tasks, and save the most exciting tasks for later to avoid the contrast effect that diminishes performance on less engaging work.
To move past negative experiences, either distract yourself with an unrelated activity or reframe the event by focusing on progress or contributions to others, rather than dwelling on the outcome.
Create and adhere to a ’to-don’t list’ for digital habits, such as avoiding social media scrolling or phone use after a certain time, to prevent unproductive digital ‘rabbit holes’ and wasted time.
Actively seek out and engage with individuals or ideas you disagree with, provided you respect their thought process, to challenge your own assumptions and avoid echo chambers.
To uncover your hidden strengths, ask 10-20 people who know you well to share specific stories of when you were at your best, then analyze common themes to understand your ‘invisible strengths.’
If a task lacks intrinsic motivation, connect it to a meaningful outcome or a higher purpose, as this ‘why’ can drive persistence and engagement.
To increase intrinsic motivation for a dreaded task or topic, identify a mystery or puzzle within it that you genuinely want to resolve, leveraging curiosity as a driving force.
To increase your own intrinsic motivation for a task, identify an interesting aspect and explain it to someone else, as this act of self-persuasion can make you genuinely like the task more.
When using extrinsic rewards, ensure they are presented in a way that preserves autonomy and choice, framing them as symbols of appreciation rather than controlling incentives, to avoid undermining intrinsic motivation.
Protect the first and last few hours of your day for deep analytical and creative work, aligning with your chronotype, and schedule core meetings and less critical interactions in the middle of the day.
To foster creativity, try either making your body very still while forcing your mind to think in complete sentences, or engaging in physical activity while allowing your mind to free-associate.
Take notes by hand using a pen and paper instead of a keyboard, as this method has been shown to improve memory retention for information.
Before posting on social media, ask yourself if you would be proud of it if it were the only post someone saw of you, ensuring it reflects your true self and aspirations.
Consciously name and describe your emotions (affect labeling) to better regulate them, allowing you to reason with and process feelings rather than being controlled by them.
Gain a deeper understanding of the neurological mechanisms underlying thoughts, feelings, and actions, as this knowledge can increase belief in and effective application of science-based tools.
Dissolve one packet of Element in 16-32 ounces of water first thing in the morning and during physical exercise to ensure adequate hydration and electrolytes for optimal brain and body function.
Use the Waking Up app for various meditation types and durations, including Yoga Nidra/NSDR, to restore cognitive and physical energy and explore different brain-body states.