motivation

  • The X by X Effect

    You have it scheduled and you’ve set a goal to do something by a certain date. You’ve picked the date. It’s far enough away to feel achievable and close enough to feel real. You’ve told yourself this time is different. You’ve maybe told a few other people, too. The goal is clear, the deadline is…

  • Tiny Nudges

    A few years ago, out of the blue, I received two written complaints about my practice. Generally, I have a complaint rate of about one in every four thousand consultations. It doesn’t seem like a large amount, and what’s important is that neither of these complaints were about misdiagnosis, medical error, or clinical mistakes. The…

  • The Average Trap

    Average isn’t good enough anymore. The Average Trap is where you end up when you try just enough. It’s a place you can hide from your potential, an excuse never to really stretch yourself. And maybe, if you’re honest, it’s also part of why you’ve never quite got what you really want. In a world…

  • The Zeigarnik Effect

    You’re not going to finish what you don’t start. Sounds obvious, but most people live their entire lives never starting the things that actually matter. Here’s something less obvious. Once you start something, you’re significantly more likely to finish it. Not because you suddenly develop willpower or motivation or discipline, but because your brain doesn’t…

  • Habitual Inertia

    I wrote an article way back in 2012 about the good habits you need to develop to build the inertia for change. All of these habits are common sense, you may think. We’ve already talked about common sense earlier in our courses, and the lack of it is not doing the obvious, even when it’s…

  • The Coaching Equation

    There’s a simple equation that’s been used for years when working with top athletes, helping them achieve peak performance. Tim Gallwey first framed this as Performance = Potential − Interference in The Inner Game of Tennis, and John Whitmore built modern coaching practice on it in Coaching for Performance. It’s one of the most useful…

  • Critical Mass and Inertia

    Critical mass and inertia are great concepts and ones you can apply to your own life. Understanding these two principles will change how you approach everything you’re trying to achieve. First, let’s start with critical mass. Reaching Critical Mass Critical mass is the term used when the minimum amount needed for something to happen is…

  • Conclusion

    You’re Not the Same Person Who Started This Course Think back to where you started. Maybe a week ago, maybe longer. Think about the version of you who opened this course for the first time, probably with that familiar mixture of hope and quiet scepticism that you’ve felt before, the part of you that wanted…