For the last 20+ years, I’ve been studying work, creativity, science, and the human condition. Over the next few months, I’ll be sharing the best of what I’ve learned about living a life that matters. Stay tuned!

You can’t white knuckle your way through the year on willpower alone. You need to like the process enough to come back tomorrow. What’s one way you can make today’s goal more enjoyable right now?.

So if you want staying power, engineer immediate satisfaction. Make the workout fun. Make budgeting game like. Make studying social.

Here’s the twist: most people mis-predict this. Asked what matters more, importance or enjoyment, 90% chose importance. They were wrong.

Example: People who enjoyed walking took ~1,250 more steps per day than average. Those walking “for health” didn’t walk more than anyone else. When researchers amped up enjoyment turning the health app into a simple game. usage jumped 25% in 24 hours. Enjoyment drives.

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Across four studies, enjoyment predicted persistence. Future benefits didn’t.

We set goals for future benefits:. Lose weight for health. Save for retirement. Study for a better job. Useful reasons… but they didn’t predict follow through. What did? Intrinsic motivation. Doing something for the thing itself, not the external reward.

New research (Woolley, Giurge & Fishbach, 2025) tracked thousands of people in the U.S. and China for a year. One factor consistently predicted who stuck with goals and it’s not the one most people bet on.

Most new years resolutions die by February. It’s not because we lack discipline; it’s because we lack design.

Bottom line. Intensity is a dial, not a switch. Turn it up enough to focus the room; never so high you become the problem. What’s one phrase you’ll use this week to be firm, not furious?.

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When it helps most. Tight timelines, clear standards, repeatable execution (sales sprints, ops shifts, product launches, game day). For exploration/learning phases, keep critique specific and the volume low.

Calibrate your edge. Ask before you speak:. -Is my goal redirection, not release?.-Can I state what to change in one sentence?.-Will people leave with a clear first action?. If not, you’re about to over-shoot the curve.

A 60-second script. -Name the gap: “We’re 10% below target on [metric].”.Point to cause: “We’re rushing handoffs and skipping checks.”.-Give the fix: “Slow first pass; verify; then accelerate.”.-Belief + standard: “We’ve done this. Let’s meet our standard.”. (Voice at 5–6/10,.

Practical takeaway. Aim for firm, not furious. Use specific, task-focused dissatisfaction—no sarcasm, no personal digs, no venting.

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Surprise finding. Constant positivity during task feedback had a linear downside: too much cheer can accidentally signal ‘good enough’, which can reduce effort in the short run.

Why too much backfires. Crank the intensity and people stop focusing on the task—they focus on you. They feel attacked, tune out, or shut down. Effort drops.

Why moderate works. At a firm-but-controlled level, negative emotion redirects attention: “We’re off—here’s what to fix.” That clarity → more effort → better outcomes.

The curve, not the line. Results showed an inverted U:. Moderate intensity → teams played better. Very low or very high intensity → teams played worse.

The setup. Researchers analyzed 304 real halftime speeches from 23 high school & college basketball teams—then ran a follow-up experiment. Goal: see how a leader’s unpleasant affect (disappointment/anger/frustration) affects team performance.

Does getting tough ever boost performance?. Yes—but only up to a point. 🧵👇.

Bottom line:. Faster. Safer. Cleaner. Selective left-turn bans are low-tech, high-yield and way overdue. Would you support a rush hour left-turn ban on your city’s busiest corridors? If not, what safeguard would change your mind?.