When you run in Central Park a lot, you see a lot of fun runs, races for cures, and light sporting events — typically five kilometer runs raising money for charity. Typically also many of the people involved don’t run; they walk most of the distance. They still wear workout clothes — often higher quality gear than I wear. I don’t think walking exercises you as much as running, but[…] Keep reading →

Have you forgotten you’re alive? Do you want to escape the world — the heat of everyday life? New York City is supposed to hit 103 F (39 C) today. Yesterday was that hot. People say it’s horrible. If you think the world is that horrible, go for a run in Central Park. You’ll feel alive. the heat won’t bother you so much afterward. You’ll remember we were born to[…] Keep reading →

People misunderstand culture shock. They talk about it happening when they go to a new place, but that’s not when you really get culture shock. When you go to a new place you expect things to be different so differences don’t shock you that much. You get culture shock when you return after having been away and having adoped foreign standards without realizing it. Then what used to be normal[…] Keep reading →

[This post is part of a series on willpower and how to understand and use it. If you don’t see a Table of Contents to the left, click here to view the series, where you’ll get more value than reading just this post.] An example of an ineffective way to use willpower to get in shape is to will yourself to go to the gym two days a week for[…] Keep reading →

[This post is part of a series on willpower and how to understand and use it. If you don’t see a Table of Contents to the left, click here to view the series, where you’ll get more value than reading just this post.] How to use willpower summarizes the previous posts. Use willpower either for brief, self-contained projects that you’ll finish before running out of mental energy to sustain it[…] Keep reading →

[This post is part of a series on willpower and how to understand and use it. If you don’t see a Table of Contents to the left, click here to view the series, where you’ll get more value than reading just this post.] Yesterday’s discussion of when not to use willpower — when you aren’t aware of where you are emotionally or where you want to or when you risk[…] Keep reading →

[This post is part of a series on willpower and how to understand and use it. If you don’t see a Table of Contents to the left, click here to view the series, where you’ll get more value than reading just this post.] If all you could do was act on whatever emotion was most dominant at any time, you would be purely reactive. You would not be able to[…] Keep reading →

[This post is part of a series on willpower and how to understand and use it. If you don’t see a Table of Contents to the left, click here to view the series, where you’ll get more value than reading just this post.] Understanding willpower requires understanding emotions functionally, so let’s start there. A functional perspective isn’t the only way to view emotions — exploring and communicating how they feel[…] Keep reading →

[This post is part of a series on willpower and how to understand and use it. If you don’t see a Table of Contents to the left, click here to view the series, where you’ll get more value than reading just this post.] I’ll be starting what I expect to be a four or five part series on willpower. The series should give an understanding of what willpower is and[…] Keep reading →