The best gift you can give yourself

It’s that time of the year again…

Where we plan new goals, revisit our intentions and aspire to explore different places and experiences.

The human mind thrives on novelty. Mine does anyway.

Yet when it comes to our internal mechanics, we carry on with the same rigid beliefs and fixed views from year to year.

Political and social scientist Phil Tetlock outlines four of the most common thinking styles we operate with, which almost every one of us is guilty of.

The Preacher mode: When we’re convinced that our ideals and opinions deserve precedence over everyone else’s. This sense of entitlement is what often prevents us from considering other people’s perspectives.

The Prosecutor mode: Finding flaws in other people’s reasoning and attacking any ideas that don’t fit with our own. A common symptom here is to argue our way into proving others wrong.

The politician mode: Here we get into approval mode, by using persuasive tactics to convince others to buy into our ideologies, without considering opposing viewpoints.

Reading this probably reminded you of someone who thinks like a preacher, a prosecutor, or a politician, or perhaps times that you’ve been guilty of thinking along those lines.

In his book, Think Again, Adam Grant suggests that the way to counteract the three mental models is to think like a scientist.

If you think about it, as kids we’re born scientists. Curious as ever and eager to explore ideas we hear about and deconstruct objects that we stumble upon. But as we grow older, society programs us into shutting up and just following ‘the norm’. And so we adopt linear thinking while becoming rigid in our views.

To think like a scientist is to embrace curiosity and look at things objectively without biases. It’s about examining your views, much like a scientist would, by actually searching for reasons why you might be wrong and then revisiting them.

Imagine what could shift in your life if you thought more like a scientist?

How’s that for a new year plan…

When feeling stuck in life…

If you’ve ever felt stuck in a loop and found yourself circling back in the same position repeatedly, it’s a sign that there’s deeper work to do.

Here’s a conversation that may offer some clarity.

My guest Melissa Kazan shares some insight into what keeps us stuck and playing small. Tune in to find out how to move past your most limiting patterns so you can change your story.

An important reminder for the new year

One of the many symptoms of anxiety and overwhelm is that makes us focus on past failures and what’s not working.

This cycle leads to excessive self-criticism accompanied by a constant pursuit of new achievements, only to feel dissatisfied over achieving the next one and so the process repeats.

With 2024 around the corner, thought this would serve as an appropriate reminder:

In case you missed me last week: