Whilst on the surface the fear of others' judgement sounds like a silly reason to not pursue your dreams in your one and only short life but, to be fair, being judged sucks! I think school did a great job of conditioning us to believe others judging us automatically means a few bullies or bitchy … Continue reading Judged by others →

The trick to ice baths is the same as any difficult task. The more you dance around the edges squealing and dipping your toe in and out the more torturous it is. Better to decide whether or not you're going to do it before you change your clothes and if yes, submerge yourself immediately. It's … Continue reading Ice bath tricks →

It looks like Love Island is based on the premise of risk averse individuals. If all the singletons weren't picky and open to committing quickly there would be no drama. But instead we see Tasha agonise over which boy she thinks she likes more. And we sit up and pay attention when it looks like … Continue reading Risk averse islanders →

A leader open to suggestions invites followers to become more invested. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not saying the leader should implement ANY suggestion. In the matter of overarching goals and direction, the leader should stay steadfast and true but in the tiny tactical minutiae along the way it can only increase follower's dedication … Continue reading Open to suggestions →

Stephen King has published 64 novels since 1974. That's 64 novels in 48 years giving us an average of a year and four months per book. And so you might think if I want to write a great novel like Carrie or The Shining or Cujo I just have to spend a year and 4 … Continue reading How long should I spend on it? →

The creative process is disappointing in the realm of certainty. It seems each individual has their own unique process and just when you think surely a divine setting is a guarantee of creative inspiration you stumble across a quote like the one from Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi: "Unfortunately there is no evidence - and probably there never … Continue reading Creative process guarantees →

Ross cheats on Rachel Saturday night. Ross sees Rachel Sunday morning and doesn't confess to his adultery. Rachel finds out through other friends that Ross cheated on her. Ross says: I was going to tell you myself. Now we'll never know if Ross would have confessed in his own time. The reality is he didn't. … Continue reading The truth delay →

"Stop trying to make 'fetch' happen!" Why do some words catch on and some don't? I think part of it depends on the status level of the suggestor. Shy guy Steve who only gets invited along because he's Paul's younger brother is going to struggle to leave his mark on the group. But leader of … Continue reading Making fetch happen →

As humans we are so fond of the path of least resistance that in sport you sometimes aim to break the opposition's spirit. I'm not condoning bullying but an opponent who believes they can still win is a very different beast than a competitor who has written off this game as a loss. Therefore teams … Continue reading The opponent’s spirit →

It's hard to confess you didn't do X because you fear the judgement of others. Instead we use some tiny manageable obstacle as an excuse. 'I can never find the time' 'The tool just doesn't seem to work for me' Yaddah yaddah yaddah. To paraphrase Seth Godin: behind every irrational action is a fearful thought.