Category: Expectations
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Advice for high performers
If you’ve been recognized as a high performer by someone, you’ll probably need to learn different things than everyone else. For example, while other people can let go of their work very easily, you may have trouble doing that; you can’t stop thinking about it when you get home. This might be fine in your…
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Ironic effects
A few weeks ago, Jaylen Brown said this after winning three games in a row and on the verge of a historic playoffs moment. He pointed out how his team almost fumbled the game. “I guess I’m not sure why we do it. It seems like when we get in those moments, we get a…
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On shrinking, dying, industries
Sometimes, the most rewarding things to do also make little sense on paper. They would be the complete opposite of a smart decision. Two examples come to mind: 1. When graphic novelist Gene Luen Yang started writing comic books, Marvel Comics had just declared bankruptcy. “People were predicting that it was just gonna blink out…
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Your future is constrained by…
The direction of your work will be constrained by the people you’re talking to and the projects you’re doing right now. If you’re forecasting your path and don’t like where it’s going, you need to talk to people who have taken a different path, and change the projects you’re participating in. Start building new relationships.…
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Suspension of disbelief
Part of the magic of stories—RPGs, films, improvised comedy—is they require you to temporarily suspend disbelief. You need to put aside the heuristics that pop up in your mind that are incredibly useful for the real world, and be open to a new set of rules. There’s a use for this in the physical world,…
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Brag
If you have a problem bragging for yourself, don’t brag for yourself. Brag for your work. Your work deserves to be bragged about, not because you made it. It’s because it will need other people’s attention and interest to sustain its life and reach its potential. Brag for your team. You work with people who…
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Nirvana fallacy
That’s the name of a documented tendency to negatively compare actual, real, solutions and situations with unrealized, idealized, ones. A person can use this fallacy to compare an imaginary, perfect, plan with a realistic alternative. It’s a fallacy because the imaginary plan is imaginary, and will inevitably be plagued by the constraints of reality. The…
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It’s not supposed to go according to plan
Planning is always a good idea. The adage goes, “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” There’s another saying, attributed to Peter Thiel, “A bad plan is better than no plan.” Things get weird when our plans create a byproduct: expectations. It’s like we forget that our plans are just guesses; it can…
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Playoff mode
In amateur and professional sports, the year is typically structured into a series of games known as a regular season. Not to be confused with a season in nature, a sports season can last the majority of the year. For example, in the NBA, each team plays 82 games from October to April in a…
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Pronoia
Pronoia is the opposite of paranoia. In ambiguous situations, you’re probably better off biasing your thoughts in favor of positive outcomes. When you believe that the world is conspiring in your favor, you start behaving in ways that contribute to a positive outcome. Your attitude is more positive and expansive; you’re open-minded, mindful, and relaxed.…