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Confront Procrastination by Facing Resistance
One of the common procrastination tactics is to become busy doing something else – we want to do anything other than the task we are trying to avoid. Here is a tactic to handle such procrastination. First, assign some time to work on the task....
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Flying, Safety, and the Myth of Magic Solutions
Whenever I take a flight, my mother becomes anxious and is on tenterhooks till the flight lands. For 20 years, I have been convincing her that...
Why the Zero Inbox Philosophy Fails
If you follow the 'zero inbox' philosophy for email, I have some bad news for you. Zero inbox is great in theory but in practice, it fails. Here is...
The Hidden Truth Behind Motivational Content Online
I was once recording a video talk for a TED-like online platform. When I was preparing the script, the organizer asked, "Can you insert some...
Learned Helplessness: Why Good People Help Us Break Free
During my policing career, when interacting with very poor people, I would often notice an attitude of helplessness and resignation. Life had...
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How Elimination Reveals What Truly Matters
A partner at McKinsey once told me about a massive cost-cutting project at a company that used to operate very lavishly. For example, on every floor, this company had multiple large printers. Had you asked, the staff would have probably insisted...
Why Deep Change Feels Invisible – Until It Transforms You
8 months after trying out another gym, I went back to my old gym recently. And I saw a familiar-looking guy, who used to be overweight and flabby. But now, he seemed quite fit -- most of his excess weight, including a prominent double chin, was...
Why True Confidence Comes from Hands-On Experience
When you first hold a rifle, shooting seems so easy -- just align the gun's foresight, backsight, and the target, and pull the trigger. But there is a challenge! Your eye is like a camera that can focus only at one distance at a time. So when you...
There Is No Single Mold for Success
A few years ago, I was at IIT Kanpur to give a talk. And the speaker before me was a brilliant entrepreneur, who had built a billion-dollar company from scratch, AFTER his retirement. And while this gentleman was talking, the students started...