How I quit being a puppet (and how you can too). — When you look into a mirror and don’t like something about your reflection, what do you do? Easy. You change your shirt or brush your hair. But when it comes to life, most people reflexively manipulate the reflection they see in the mirror rather than changing the image they cast…

Why your life’s dramas are more illusory than you think. — If you’re struggling right now, I promise you this: your circumstances aren’t nearly as punishing as your habitual modes of perception. How often do you worry, brood over the past, or otherwise feel frustrated with your life? If you’re like most people, it’s probably often. When we get into sour…

Classic slogans that degenerate into limiting beliefs if you’re not discerning — I’m a massive personal development enthusiast. Personal development authors helped me build a career around activities I do for fun. Their ideas have also helped me stay optimistic in circumstances most people would find crushing. Yet because I take these insights to heart, they sometimes transform into limiting beliefs. When…

Letting go of time anxiety (the fun way) — Do you ever feel haunted by dear old Father Time? When I begin working at 10 in the morning, I feel the productivity gods frowning upon me. The clock, a mere object on the wall, infuses anxiety into my work process, often no matter how accessible my tasks feel. …

The implications of self-shrinking (from your nervous system’s perspective) — Have you ever used self-deprecation to relieve social pressure? A stranger says, “I like your stripped sweater!” And you say, “This old thing? I dug it out of my uncle’s closet.” Or your best friend says, “What a mind you have!” Your cheeks flush, the moment feels charged and weird…

Following the dimly lit passage into a more congruent version of your life. — Manifestation isn’t only about creative visualization or deploying the right series of tactics: It’s about something more kaleidoscopic. Something easy to overlook with our roaming, talkative minds. To get what you want in the smoothest, most effortless way, you must become the person who magnetizes ideal circumstances purely through the…

Free yourself from the lingering effects of normalized trauma. — Compulsory school is a clever diversion from everything that actually matters in life. Anything useful I’ve gathered in my 27 years has come through my own investigations. Yet compulsory schooling wasn’t just useless: the authoritarian attitudes normalized in school encouraged self-abandonment at best (and self-abuse at worst). When you recognize…

and how to re-claim authorial control. — If I asked, “Where do your limiting beliefs come from?” you might mention: Mass media programming The corruption of Western culture Your lack of focus or discipline But what if your deepest constraints are the limits your caregivers instilled into you? Transactional analysis (TA) is a wry, playful psychoanalytic theory…

Be Lazy and Productive Simultaneously: On the Specific Brilliance You Only Access When You Bridge the Two — You’ve got (at least) two inner parts. The first part wants to do extraordinary things with that brilliant mind of yours. It wants to build an empire out of your ideas, find work that feels natural, automatic, and inspiring, and more. But then there’s another part. This one loves getting…