Life : The Art of Non-Conformity

Life

Hope, Assumptions, and Expectations (Hint: Only One Is Good for You)

“You have got to have hope. But maybe you must learn, and it is hard learning, not to hope out loud … You must not let your hope turn into expectation.” -Wendell Berry

Lesson: You can let go of expectations without letting go of hope.

Life

A Reader’s Experience of Taking Adderall To Help With Focus

When I decided to undertake a trial run of Adderall, a prescription drug that has both helpful and harmful uses, I also decided to share the story with our community. I figured if I’m struggling with something, I’m probably not the only one:

A Reader's Experience

Hey Chris! We haven’t talked in a while, but I read this post and wanted to provide an experience from someone who’s been doing this for a while. Here’s the short version:

I've been prescribed Adderall for the past 3 years or so. I started taking it around age 27

I'd experimented with it (as well as Concerta & Vyvanse) before during college, getting some from friends

Looking back at my formal schooling years I could see it might have been very helpful then...

Life

An Honest Conversation About Debt in America

"Debt is publicly enforced and highly stigmatized, but is almost always privately experienced."

After filing for bankruptcy herself, photographer Brittany M. Powell is traveling across America to interview other people struggling with unexpected debt. I love this multifaceted, non-judgmental project (originally on Kickstarter -- now closed after a successful end).

Debt Portrait #28, Detroit, MI 2014

Through the camera, Powell is starting a conversation about debt—something many people experience alone but never talk about because of the shame and stigma that can be attached to it. How does debt effect us and our daily lives? Are people as alone in this struggle as much as they feel?

85 Comments

Life

What Does It Mean to Be Rich?

When you’re a kid, you don’t have much concept of what true wealth is—so you tend to relate it to experiences, or at least I did. In my case, I understood wealth in the context of fast-food restaurants. I used to eat at my favorite restaurants, McDonald’s and Burger King, as often as I could.

I’m writing from the W Hong Kong, where I just arrived after beginning my latest Round-the-World trip. The W here has one of the best hotel breakfast buffets in all of Asia, which for all practical purposes means all of the world.

My breakfast is comped, thanks to my elite status with Starwood. As best I can tell, it costs approximately 10x what a meal at McDonald’s would. But if it wasn’t comped, I’d gladly pay. It’s so good! And I’m having so much fun waking up early, drinking unlimited macchiatos, and thinking about the world.

The lesson? Well, I’m jet-lagged, so you might have to wade through the muddle. But aside from not eating fast food, I think the lesson is to figure out what makes you feel rich—and it’s best if such a thing is somewhat obtainable.

40 Comments

Life

Annual Review 2014: A Big Batch of Reader Reports Is In!

Hey everyone! Thanks as always to all who read the blog and all who participate in some fashion. The December 2014 Annual Review was a long one. I spent 6,000+ words compiling a ton of lessons from the year, as well as plans for 2015. You can catch up on some of the posts here:

Reader Reviews: What Did You Have to Say?

We've gathered together a collection of awesome annual reviews from our community. First up, check out this email I received from a high school student, Evan Twarog:

Hi Chris, At the start of 2014, I did a review, and because of it, it was by far the most successful year of my life. Writing it as a junior in high school, I knew that 2014 was the year for me to create a foundation for my future success. Some of the highlights of the year include:

*Traveling to El Salvador for a service project through Interact

*Winning the Rotary Global Essay Competition and traveling to India for a week

*Interning as a high school student at CHA Consulting, a civil engineering firm

*Racing on the Elm City Velo Cycling Racing team as its only junior racer

*Receiving an appointment to the United States Coast Guard Academy

I love this report. Well done, Evan!

92 Comments

Life

Writing With Adderall: A Personal Case Study

Here’s the whole story of my experience taking the prescription drug Adderall (the brand name for amphetamine and dextroamphetamine) to help with an increasing inability to focus. If you’re in a similar situation, this might help you, but don’t skip the details and disclaimers.

Life

A Man Saw a Ball of Gold In the Sky

A man saw a ball of gold in the sky; He climbed for it, And eventually he achieved it — It was clay. Now this is the strange part: When the man went to the earth And looked again, Lo, there was the ball of gold. Now this is the strange part: It was a…

Life

Arbitrary Numbers, Part II

After publishing yesterday’s post, I realized I also wrote about arbitrary goals in The Happiness of Pursuit. Here’s the story: I use an app on my phone to track my running, especially the longer runs that I do most Sunday mornings. On a recent eight-mile run, I noticed that my pace was consistently around 8:34…

Life

Why Arbitrary Numbers Can Be Very Motivating

There’s nothing fundamentally different about a marathon that takes four hours and one that takes four hours and two minutes. But as the data show, runners will do everything they can to hit 4:00 instead of 4:02.

Life

Blogging for an Audience of One

This summer we encountered some delays in building the blog’s redesigned pages. Basically, we got behind. It was stressful but then it was okay, as it usually is. The most important thing is having a great product in the end. During the delay, I spent some time working away on stuff that no one would…

68 Comments

Life

2014 Annual Review: Looking Forward to 2015 (Dun, dun, dun…)

And… the Annual Review continues! Today’s post is all about the future. You’re welcome to share your lessons too, and—new bonus!—we’ll award a $100 Powell’s gift card to the person who leaves the best comment by the end of the week, as determined by our cats and biased judges. Right after Christmas, I’ll also share…

Life

Nostalgia for the Opposite

Jez Butterworth on writing a play about navigating the zero-sum world of opposing choices: He described it as a kind of psychological holding place as ‘nostalgia for the opposite.’ Holding two options in one’s mind simultaneously enables an emotional state—of freedom or evasiveness, depending on one’s view—in which Butterworth’s characters tend to reside. ‘The idea…

Life

Barriers and Pre-Commitments: How to Modify an Environment to Support Your Values

From time to time, most of us suffer from a gap between what we say we do and what we actually do. This is especially true in everything associated with well-being: fitness, health, personal finance, and general self-improvement. We know we should exercise, but we don’t always want to. We know we should save, but…

1,074 Comments

Life

2014 Annual Review: A Few (Embarrassingly Personal, Per Usual) Lessons Learned

Hey everyone, the Annual Review is here! Note: This is a long post (2,500+ words) and also fairly personal. You have been warned.

Life

2014 Annual Review Is Here! This Updated Free Tool Will Help You Plan Your Whole Life (Seriously)

Over the past eight years, nothing has helped me to accomplish big goals and stay on track more than a single exercise I complete each December: the Annual Review.

« Previous 1 … 11 12 13 14 15 … 35 Next »