InnerTalk Blog

There is a difference between having nothing particularly wrong with your life and having something wonderfully right with it. I don't think we're supposed to feel happy all the time. In fact, I wouldn't want to. A rich emotional life isn't one from which we've eliminated all the uncomfortable emotions. It's one in which we care enough to feel deeply, allow ourselves to experience what is real, and then allow ourselves to come out the other side.

How much of who you are today was chosen—and how much was decided by old experiences, other people's opinions, or conclusions you once made about yourself? Real agency begins when you realize you can listen, learn, reconsider . . . and choose.

We talk a lot about self-esteem, and sometimes the term has become almost synonymous with telling ourselves how wonderful we are. But I don't think healthy self-esteem means believing we are wonderful, exceptional—or perfect. Self-esteem is not believing you are perfect. It is knowing you still have value when you are not.

We spend an enormous amount of time consuming information—reading, watching, scrolling, listening. But creative thinking asks the brain to do something with information: connect it, question it, rearrange it, imagine alternatives, and solve something new. There's an important difference between filling the mind and exercising it. And perhaps an equally important difference between simply moving through life and continuing to be fascinated by what we might still create within it.

Every important improvement in your life probably began with one simple thought: “What if I tried it differently?” The people who thrive aren’t always the smartest. They’re often the ones who see possibilities that everyone else overlooks. A few months ago, Eldon and I ordered a new mattress online. When ...

Earlier, I wrote about why smart people procrastinate and how subconscious resistance often keeps us from doing the very things we know are important. Today I’d like to share a personal experience that completely changed the way I think about productivity. For several months, I had one important task sitting ...