1: After thirty-five years of research on goal-setting, it all comes down to this:

Harder goals inspire greater effort.

There is, however, a caveat,  Jane McGonigal writes in her book SuperBetter. “As long as the goal is not absolutely and obviously beyond a person’s control or ability.”

That’s the rub. Harder goals are better. As long as they aren’t too hard.

Here’s another key point about goal-setting: “Go only … continue reading

1: Laura was pregnant when she learned about SuperBetter.

“I’m getting SuperBetter because my second baby is due any day now,” Laura says in Jane McGonigal‘s book SuperBetter: The Power of Living Gamefully.

“As all parents know, the first three months or so are pretty rough,” she remembers. “I figured anything that encouraged me to take care of myself would be a good thing.”

The SuperBetter framework asks … continue reading

1: Say you’re faced with a difficult challenge.

Or a big opportunity.

What if you approached it like a game?

This is the main idea behind Jane McGonigal’s SuperBetter framework, described in her book. It uses allies, quests, power-ups, bad guys, and epic wins to help you become more resilient and make real progress.

Yesterday, we looked at how radio producer Alex Goldman used SuperBetter to recover after … continue reading

1: “There’s nothing in the world I hate more than asking for help,” Alex Goldman said.

Alex is a public radio producer in New York City who loves cycling.

“In the summer of 2011, he suffered a terrible accident when he was knocked off his bike and run over by a car,” Jane McGonigal writes in her book SuperBetter: The Power of Living Gamefully.

“I had multiple fractures in … continue reading

1: Last week, we explored how “triggers” can help us build new habits.

What is one of the best triggers to build new habits? Your existing habits.

In fact, when done right, you can create a habit chain, Tynan writes in Superhuman by Habit: A Guide to Becoming the Best Possible Version of Yourself, One Tiny Habit at a Time.

“A very good practice,” he notes, “is to … continue reading

1: Do you believe that all meaningful problems are deeply rooted and difficult to change?

David Yeager, a mindset researcher at the University of Texas at Austin, shares a story that reveals how deep people’s skepticism can run about the power of short interventions to improve people’s lives.

This week we’re examining multiple studies that show your mindset, or how you think about something, can have a profound impact … continue reading

1: Two-thirds of the housekeepers in Stanford Professor Alia Crum’s study believed they weren’t exercising regularly.

One-third said they got no exercise at all.

“Their bodies reflected this perception,”  Kelly McGonigal notes in The Upside of Stress.  “The average housekeeper’s blood pressure, waist-to-hip ratio, and body weight were exactly what you’d expect to find if they were truly sedentary.”

Their perception was their reality.

Which is different from … continue reading

1: Do people who have a positive attitude about aging live longer?

More than seven years longer, according to researchers at Yale University.

They followed middle-aged adults for twenty years.  “Those who had a positive view of aging in midlife lived an average of 7.6 years longer than those who had a negative view,” writes Kelly McGonigal in her terrific book The Upside of Stress.

“To put that number … continue reading

1: Many people believe they are the only ones who don’t fit in.

“Feeling like you don’t belong can change how you interpret everything you experience,” writes Kelly McGonigal in her powerful book The Upside of Stress.

“Conversations, setbacks, misunderstandings,” she notes, “almost anything can be viewed as evidence that, in fact, you don’t belong.”

“The belief that you don’t belong also feeds into many destructive states of mind, … continue reading

1: Think about a negative habit.

Typically, something triggers it.

“Stress triggers overeating or gambling, waking up might trigger smoking, or boredom might trigger wasting time online,” Tynan writes in Superhuman by Habit.

You can use this insight to power new, positive habits as well.

“Why not use such a powerful reality of the human experience to your benefit?” Tynan asks.

For example, you wake up every day. You … continue reading