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“All severity that does not tend to increase good, or prevent evil, is idle.“

– Samuel Johnson, as quoted in James Boswell, The Life of Samuel Johnson

I often think about this remark by Samuel Johnson.

Because I’ve been so focused on habits over the past few years, during the writing of Better Than Before, people often talk to me about the habits they want to change.

And although I have so many strategies and ideas that I’ve identified to help people master their habits, to my surprise, I frequently find myself making the case against changing a habit.

I’ve noticed that people often say they want to change a habit because “I really should ___” or “this person in my life tells me I have to ___.”

And I always say, “Well, maybe you would be better off if you changed the habit — but maybe not. Do you care if you change that habit?” And often, they don’t really care.

“The purpose of life is to discover your gifts. The meaning of life is to give your gifts away” — David Viscott

It’s one thing to use our strengths for our personal growth and wellbeing, but where the strength in strengths really shines is when we infuse them with purpose. Using our strengths to express our whole, authentic selves in a way that contributes to our own wellbeing – and the wellbeing of the communities and ecosystems we belong.

Coaching is not just for problems. Coaching helps you avoid problems by providing space to think and be more intentional about your goals and actions. And coaching is especially helpful for getting clarity on where you want to go.
Working with a coach gives you:
• Space for self-reflection
• Fresh perspective
• Challenges where your thinking is stuck
• Support for difficulties and new ideas
• Accountability for your plans
Coaches don’t provide answers, they ask great questions. Good coaching questions help you find your own answers.
In this Ted Talk, Bill Gates says, “everyone needs a coach.” 

I have taught an introduction to organizational behavior class for over 30 years-- to both undergraduate and graduate students. I first taught it as a doctoral student at The University of Michigan and taught an ever-evolving version of the class almost every year since I landed at Stanford in 1983. For many years, the final day, especially the final 20 minutes or so, felt awkward and forced as I struggled to look back on what the class had learned, provide closure, and end on an upbeat note. About 15 years ago, I experimented with an ending ritual: I passed out a list of 12 things I believe, made a brief comment about each one, and thanked the class for their efforts and for putting up with my quirks and imperfections. The list contained many beliefs that were related to the class. But they also drew on other work I hadn't mentioned in class and my general perspective on life.

Here are some questions to help us dig deep in our heart to uncover our inspiring purpose:

What makes you completely lose track of time, forget to eat, and causes all your aches, pains, and discomfort to magically disappear?
What did your eight-year-old-self dream of doing and becoming?
What brings you the greatest joy and makes you feel the most alive?
What are you best at…what are your true strengths?
What do you have an insatiable desire to learn more about?
For what do you want to be remembered when you leave this world?
When we ask these questions of ourselves clear patterns emerge. Then comes the fun part. We can now take action in the direction of our answers and open our eyes to WOOs that are in alignment with our purpose. As Christopher Reeve put it, “At first dreams seem impossible, then improbable, then inevitable.” Our purpose is what inspires us to get there. 

Want to become happier? Look no further. Here are 26 science-based strategies guaranteed to raise your level o

You're reading 41 Little Daily Habits for Growth and Happiness, originally posted on Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement. If you're enjoying this, please visit our site for more inspirational articles. There are little things we can do each day to empower our lives for more happiness and fulfillment. Dr. Glenn Williams, Senior…

We all know the ancient greek story of Sisyphus who revolted against the gods and was punished as a consequence. He was sentenced to push a boulder up a hill, just to see it roll down again, and keep doing so forever and ever and ever. Camus concludes his book with a surprising, bold statement:
“One must imagine Sisyphus happy.“

He says, Sisyphus is the perfect model for us, since he has no illusions about his pointless situation and yet revolts against the circumstances. With every descent of the rock he makes a conscious decision to give it another go. He keeps pushing that rock and recognises that this is what his existence is all about: to be truly alive, to keep pushing.

Both in their early thirties, one was quite relaxed, wearing a tweed jacket. The other wearing a suit, seemed under the weather, probably stressed out. He was talking fast and complaining about how…

Yeah I know, I had the same reaction when I was writing this. But, bear with me, since we are in this together. Over the last seven years, I’ve researched, studied and experimented, on myself and the…

There's a lot more to work that loving your job

Feel great and perform at your very best by picking your favorite tiny habits from this extensive list.

In a truly beautiful letter to his daughter Yolande, Sociologist W.E.B. Du Bois extolled the virtues of being uncomfortable.
Yolande was headed to a new school halfway around the world from the neighborhood and people she knew. It was years before women had the right to vote, and decades before the Civil Rights Movement.
Du Bois knew she would have more than a few fish-out-of-water moments. Instead of trying to shield her from them, he asked her to revel in them:
“Don’t shrink from new experiences and custom. Take the cold bath bravely. Enter into the spirit of your big bed-room. Enjoy what is and not pine for what is not. Read some good, heavy, serious books just for discipline: Take yourself in hand and master yourself. Make yourself do unpleasant things, so as to gain the upper hand of your soul. Above all remember: your father loves you and believes in you and expects you to be a wonderful woman.”

This simple science-backed method could help you kick your procrastination habit.

For many of us, the clues to our true potential and to us at our potential best are found in the dreams from our youth. It's time to revisit those dreams.

I just spent 13 hours in a car. Because of weather, yesterday's flight was canceled. Rescheduling was impossible. My first thought was I can go home and take a nap. Cancellation: I’d been talking with my client. It didn’t look like I was going to make it. Finally, a voice in my head said, “You…

Take our quiz to find out how effective you are at setting goals and get resources to improve your goal-setting skills.

Be ruthless.
As a U.S. Army recruit, that’s how Christopher L. Kukk was taught to get ahead—and it’s a philosophy you’ll hear in boardrooms, on sports teams, and even in school. The theory is that there’s only so much success to go around, and you have to aggressively compete for it.
But according to Kukk’s new book, The Compassionate Achiever: How Helping Others Fuels Success, ruthlessness is overrated. Instead, he outlines a pathway to success and achievement paved with compassion, altruism, and kindness. By following his suggestions, we can learn to cultivate compassion and reap the benefits for our productivity, our mental health, and our organizations. 

You might have read the famous story by Giorgio Vasari about Giotto, an early Renaissance painter. In this story Giotto was asked to prove his mastery in painting. He did so by drawing a perfect circle without the use of any technical instruments but his brush. Unfortunately I wasn’t present myself, but my guess is that Giotto’s circle was not perfect but masterful. To explain the difference between the two I am going to show you how good — or bad — I am at drawing:

As you can see my drawing is far from perfect. The red area shows you how much my circle differs from the perfect circle drawn by a software. It illustrates the tension between goal and achievement. Mastery is the strive to make this area disappear. And Giotto’s (red area) was probably a lot smaller than mine.
Mastery is not perfection, it is the pursuit of perfection.

Live a more minimalist life with these 20 brilliant every hacks.

Primarily used by you, but every once in a while, 20 other people walk through it and sometimes leave their things there. This house has a variety of stuff, some useful, others more like an obstacle…

What if I all I want is a small, slow, simple life? What if I am most happy in the space of in between? Where calm lives.