Self-Improvement, page 5
Habits, discipline, confidence, personal growth, life advice. 226 links, newest first. Page 5 of 5.
Links 201 to 226
A balanced week needs time for everyone
Short · tiktok.com · Issue #42
Spend one to two days alone, plus two nights just for yourself
Summary
A healthy week balances alone time, couple time, your own friends and shared friends, and neglecting one weakens the relationship.
The speaker describes an ideal week for a couple: one to two days alone, two date nights together, one night with your own friends, one with your partner's friends, and two with shared friends. The ratio can be adjusted, the speaker says, but a balanced week includes time alone, as a couple, with separate friends, and with shared ones.
Key points- Spend one to two days alone, plus two nights just for yourself
- Keep two nights as a couple, one night with your friends, and two with shared friends
- If you don't water yourself, you have nothing to give
3 Lessons From Reading 300 Self-Improvement Books
Watch · youtube.com · 13 min · Issue #42
Clark Kegley's April 2022 video, 13 minutes long, presents three lessons he distilled from reading about 300 self-improvement books.
Summary
Clark Kegley's April 2022 video, 13 minutes long, presents three lessons he distilled from reading about 300 self-improvement books. His description links a free newsletter and workshop, a free list of 50 books that changed his life, and a paid journal program.
Quitting is worth it when payoff is low
Short · tiktok.com · Issue #41
Ask whether the thing is just hard or actually sucks, and whether the reward is worth it
Summary
Quitting is worth it when the effort is not worth the payoff, so ask whether the hard thing is worth the reward.
The speaker argues that clinging to an earlier decision has little value and that quitting can be worthwhile. Citing Steven Bartlett's quitting framework, they suggest asking whether a hard task's reward is worth the challenge, and whether a task that sucks could be made better. The speaker describes quitting a path to US medical exams, since the payoff was not worth the difficulty compared with working as a YouTuber.
Key points- Ask whether the thing is just hard or actually sucks, and whether the reward is worth it
- The speaker quit American medical exam prep because the payoff was not worth the difficulty
- He says he has more fun and likely more impact as a YouTuber than as a doctor
Why Your Life Feels Boring
Watch · youtube.com · Issue #40
Matt D'Avella's March 2022 video argues that life feels boring mainly because people do not take enough risks.
Summary
Matt D'Avella's March 2022 video argues that life feels boring mainly because people do not take enough risks. It holds that fulfillment, adventure, and purpose require getting comfortable being uncomfortable, with examples such as starting a YouTube channel, approaching someone you like, or moving to a dream city. It also covers choosing the right risks and handling uncertainty.
Habits Garden: Gamified Habit Tracker
Tool · habitsgarden.com · Issue #40
Habits Garden is a habit tracker by Marc Lou that turns habits into daily quests, with completed habits growing flowers in a virtual garden.
Summary
Habits Garden is a habit tracker by Marc Lou that turns habits into daily quests, with completed habits growing flowers in a virtual garden. It tracks streaks on a habit grid, sends daily reminders, and offers public profiles, a leaderboard, and random rewards for finishing quests. It has a 7-day free trial, then costs $5 per month or a one-time lifetime payment.
You Feel Like Shit? A Self-Care Question Game
Tool · youfeellikeshit.com · Issue #38
You Feel Like Shit is a self-care game that walks you through a sequence of simple questions, starting with whether you have eaten in the last four hours.
Summary
You Feel Like Shit is a self-care game that walks you through a sequence of simple questions, starting with whether you have eaten in the last four hours. Each step is meant to need little judgment, and the page suggests setting aside about an hour and not skipping steps. It is aimed at people who struggle with self-care, executive dysfunction, or reading internal signals.
Judge yourself by your own scorecard
Short · tiktok.com · Issue #37
Think about the critic's character, addictions and accomplishments before you accept their view
Summary
Measure yourself on your own internal scorecard, not on the opinions of people you don't respect, since they work against who you want to be.
The speaker recommends an exercise for criticism: think about the critic's character, habits, and accomplishments. Seen this way, a critic whose opinion you were about to accept may be the opposite of who you want to be. The speaker advises measuring yourself against your own internal scorecard rather than other people's opinions.
Key points- Think about the critic's character, addictions and accomplishments before you accept their view
- We love ourselves but care more about others' opinions, which the speaker calls insanity
- Focus on who you want to be and on your own sense of self
How to Ikigai
Watch · youtube.com · Issue #36
Tim Tamashiro's 12-minute TEDxYYC talk, published in 2018, presents ikigai, a Japanese concept from Okinawa, as a guide to finding happiness and purpose.
Summary
Tim Tamashiro's 12-minute TEDxYYC talk, published in 2018, presents ikigai, a Japanese concept from Okinawa, as a guide to finding happiness and purpose. Tamashiro, a former musician who performed for about twenty years, also wrote the book How to Ikigai: Lessons for Finding Happiness and Living Your Life's Purpose.
The First Thing to Do If You Want to Get Anywhere in Life
Watch · youtube.com · Issue #27
Improvement Pill's 2017 video, 3 minutes 37 seconds long, is framed as the first step for anyone who wants to get anywhere in life.
Summary
Improvement Pill's 2017 video, 3 minutes 37 seconds long, is framed as the first step for anyone who wants to get anywhere in life. The description points to it as a starting point for self-improvement and links a related video on stopping procrastination.
One-touch rule and weekly small fixes
Short · tiktok.com · Issue #27
Put each thing back in its right place the moment you pick it up
Summary
The one-touch rule and fixing one small thing a week make life smoother, because putting things back now takes less effort than later.
The speaker proposes two resolutions. The one-touch rule means putting things back where they belong right away, and answering requests immediately rather than later, since the mental effort is about the same either way. The second is to fix one small annoying thing a week, such as a stuck drawer or a charger shared with a partner.
Key points- Put each thing back in its right place the moment you pick it up
- Respond or decide right away, since the mental energy costs the same later
- Fix one small annoying thing each week, like a stuck drawer or a second charger
Dopamine Detox: Trick Your Brain to Love Doing Hard Things
Watch · youtube.com · Issue #26
Andrew Kirby's 13-minute video is Episode 1 of his Dopamine Detox course.
Summary
Andrew Kirby's 13-minute video is Episode 1 of his Dopamine Detox course. It introduces the dopamine fast and promises to cover its benefits, rules, how to run one, and the science behind it. Later episodes and a discussion subreddit are linked from the description.
Can Will Smith Lose 20 lbs in 20 Weeks?
Watch · youtube.com · Issue #24
Will Smith tries to lose 20 pounds in 20 weeks while finishing his memoir, with guests Dr.
Summary
Will Smith tries to lose 20 pounds in 20 weeks while finishing his memoir, with guests Dr. Ramani and Aaron Ferguson. The episode covers the pressure of the challenge, the weigh-in, and a writing camp, and Smith reaches a turning point he did not expect. The video is produced by Westbrook Media.
Change friction to change habits
Short · tiktok.com · Issue #22
Lay out gym clothes and sneakers the night before to make the workout easier to start
Summary
Making a good habit easier and a bad habit harder by changing friction is the simplest way to change behavior.
The speaker, who says they read Atomic Habits so the viewer does not have to, explains that friction shapes habits. To do more of something, make it easier by reducing friction, such as laying out gym clothes and sneakers the night before. To do less, add friction, such as throwing out junk food so it is harder to reach.
Key points- Lay out gym clothes and sneakers the night before to make the workout easier to start
- Throw out junk food so unhealthy snacks become harder to reach
Watch This Before You Make Another Decision
Watch · youtube.com · Issue #20
Gary Vaynerchuk argues that many people struggle to choose between two options because they fear never knowing how the other would have turned out.
Summary
Gary Vaynerchuk argues that many people struggle to choose between two options because they fear never knowing how the other would have turned out. He tells viewers to stop letting that fear control them. The video runs under six minutes and was posted in 2019.
Discontent is the reason to jump
Short · tiktok.com · Issue #20
On the edge, rationality dissolves and the unknown future feels scary
Summary
If you are not content where you are, that discontent is the reason to jump, because logic cannot carry you through fear.
The speaker says the rule is simple: if you are not content where you are, that is your reason to jump. At the edge of an unknown future, rationality breaks down, so you cannot logically talk yourself into the leap, which is why many people turn back. The speaker describes jumping into public speaking, making videos, and taking a first client, and says the first leap changed their life.
Key points- On the edge, rationality dissolves and the unknown future feels scary
- The speaker says public speaking, making videos and a first client each changed his life
- Many people turn back and settle for what they have
PrinciplesYou: A Personality Assessment from Ray Dalio
Tool · principlesyou.com · Issue #18
PrinciplesYou is a personality assessment that helps users find out what they are like and how they relate to others.
Summary
PrinciplesYou is a personality assessment that helps users find out what they are like and how they relate to others. The page is linked to Ray Dalio, and the author says they have taken several personality tests and recommends this one alongside Clifton's Strengths.
The First 20 Hours: How to Learn Anything
Watch · youtube.com · Issue #13
Josh Kaufman, author of The Personal MBA, gives a 19-minute TEDxCSU talk on learning new skills quickly, with the early hours of learning as the focus.
Summary
Josh Kaufman, author of The Personal MBA, gives a 19-minute TEDxCSU talk on learning new skills quickly, with the early hours of learning as the focus. The description says that becoming a father led him to approach learning in a new way. The talk has about 43 million views.
Valued goals create meaning and emotion
Short · tiktok.com · Issue #13
Choosing a goal means sacrificing other options, which creates a hierarchy of values
Summary
Pursuing a valued goal creates positive emotion and meaning, and the higher the goal, the richer the experience.
The speaker says a valuable goal creates meaning and positive emotion, and the better the goal, the richer the experience of pursuing it. Pursuing it means facing frightening challenges, like becoming a better speaker, writer, or thinker, which stretch you. The speaker links this pattern to the myth of rescuing a father from the belly of a whale, as in Pinocchio.
Key points- Choosing a goal means sacrificing other options, which creates a hierarchy of values
- Moving toward the goal brings positive emotion and meaning along the way
- Stretching goals bring frightening challenges, like learning to speak or write better
Our best skills fade from our attention
Short · tiktok.com · Issue #12
Once a skill becomes habit, we stop thinking about it and move to new problems
Summary
We stop noticing our best skill once it becomes habit, and others value the very quality we take for granted.
The speaker argues that people are wired to stop noticing what they are best at, because skills that become habits fade from attention. People also form their sense of value by comparing themselves with others, so others tend to value the very strengths we overlook. The speaker concludes that the best part of you lies in the skills you are built for, not the ones you struggle with.
Key points- Once a skill becomes habit, we stop thinking about it and move to new problems
- We build our value systems by comparing what we lack with what others have
- The quality people value in you is often the one you already have
A profile of Tony Robbins
Short · en.wikipedia.org · Issue #11
A Wikipedia article about Tony Robbins.
Summary
A Wikipedia article about Tony Robbins.
How to Get Your Resume Noticed and Out of the Trash Bin
Read · hbr.org · Issue #10
Kristi DePaul writes that recruiters skim resumes quickly and companies use automated screening, so a generic resume rarely earns an interview.
Summary
Kristi DePaul writes that recruiters skim resumes quickly and companies use automated screening, so a generic resume rarely earns an interview. Eye-tracking research finds hiring managers spend about seven seconds on a resume. Her five recommendations are to get past automated screening, show skills, count unpaid experience, use numbers to show results, and keep the cover letter personal.
3-2-1: Authenticity, Feeling Unqualified, and Win-Win Relationships
Read · jamesclear.com · Issue #9
James Clear's August 2021 3-2-1 newsletter offers three ideas: balance between absorbing setbacks and achieving wins, being yourself as an ongoing daily effort, and the fact that people rarely feel fully qualified before trying something new.
Summary
James Clear's August 2021 3-2-1 newsletter offers three ideas: balance between absorbing setbacks and achieving wins, being yourself as an ongoing daily effort, and the fact that people rarely feel fully qualified before trying something new. It adds two quotes, a Hindu proverb about many paths up a mountain and Don Herold's I'd Pick More Daisies, and asks which relationships are win-win.
Life rarely follows the plan you made
Short · tiktok.com · Issue #8
At 24, with no degree and four part-time jobs, he planned his path to 35
Summary
Life rarely goes as planned, and the speaker, who once planned to be a creative executive by 35, says no one could have predicted it.
The speaker, who says they are 24 with no college degree and four part-time jobs, once planned to be a creative executive at a Fortune 100 company by 35. At 43, they say that plan did not come true and that life was impossible to predict. They offer their view on finding a balance of success and happiness.
Key points- At 24, with no degree and four part-time jobs, he planned his path to 35
- At 43, he says none of what happened could have been predicted
- His series aims to help people feel less afraid of where they might be headed
I Never Wash My Pants (Why You Shouldn't Either)
Watch · youtube.com · Issue #5
In this 10-minute vlog, minimalism creator Matt D'Avella argues that jeans are not worth washing as often as people usually do.
Summary
In this 10-minute vlog, minimalism creator Matt D'Avella argues that jeans are not worth washing as often as people usually do. The video has over 950,000 views.
Things happen for you, not to you
Short · tiktok.com · Issue #3
Repeat each morning that you are the main character of your own movie
Summary
Things are not happening to you, they are happening for you, so treat each day as the next part of your own story.
A short motivational text tells the listener that they are the main character of their own movie. It says setbacks are part of the plot, that tomorrow is a new day, and that things happen for you rather than to you.
Key points- Repeat each morning that you are the main character of your own movie
- Setbacks will come, but tomorrow is a new day to make it a good one
How Professionals Think and How They Differ From Amateurs
Read · fs.blog · Issue #1
Shane Parrish of Farnam Street argues that results depend mainly on mindset and approach.
Summary
Shane Parrish of Farnam Street argues that results depend mainly on mindset and approach. Amateurs set goals and focus on outcomes, while professionals build systems and focus on process. The article contrasts the two on consistency, growing rather than dividing the pie, seeking criticism, taking responsibility, and thinking long term.
Related reading paths
- Set goals that stick10
- Change careers well9
- Find your purpose8
- Focus and stop procrastinating10
- Start journaling7
- Make friends as an adult10