I curate articles from around the web that present an interesting perspective or helpful information at the intersection of technology and wellbeing. Each of these articles were featured in my October 2020 newsletter. I send out an update twice a month along with some notes on my latest work. Sign up for my newsletter here.
OCTOBER I
Practice Analytically, Perform Intuitively
Taking a data-driven approach to athletic performance has flowed into nearly ever part of sports after the groundbreaking Moneyball story of baseball's Oakland Athletics made famous by the movie staring Brad Pitt as the pioneering general manager Billy Beane.
Last month, golf was the latest success story of using technology and data to helpBryson DeChambeau win the 2020 U.S. Open.
However, what's often missing from the conversation is how the intuition still sits at the center of the performance. David Perell in this essay writes: "You don’t reach a state of mastery when you know everything. You reach it when you’ve absorbed the knowledge so deeply that it becomes a part of you."
As we all use more data to improve our decisions and performance in all endeavors, it's important to remember it's a dance between the arts and the science.
"In praise of the golfer Moe Norman, Bryson once said: 'Why was he able to hit it straight every time? It wasn’t that he was thinking about everything. More like he was thinking about nothing. He found his baseline, then let himself be an artist, not a machine. That's the ultimate triumph in golf.'"
The Skill of Managing
Would you rather endure or manage?
Probably doesn’t take a lot of imagination to assume that you clearly would rather manage and be able to take care of business than suffer through with pain and difficulty. RIght?
Unfortunately, a lot of folks have been--and still are--in an “endure” state.
But there is an alternative. It’s what adapting is about. Adapting means to adjust to, to fit. That’s a whole lot better than “endure.”
In the throes of hardship, struggle, and maybe even tragedy, it’s easy to lose perspective, to overlook the moment-to-moment opportunities we have to define ourselves by our responses to those challenges in a way that reveals our dignity, power, and grace.
This post shares two exercises for setting the stage and laying the foundation for adapting.
OCTOBER II
Solution Focused Approach to Adapting in Turbulent Times
Last week, I hosted a 30 minute session with Deborah Teplow, PhD where we talked about four practical steps to being your own best coach in this new normal.
Here's a link to the recording, which includes 3 key questions you can use to help adapt and find solutions.
We end with a Q&A about the fall session ofBe Your Own Best Coach. It's the 5-week program I've developed with the Institute for Wellness Education to show science-backed solutions to shift mindset and change behavior.
Be Your Own Best Coach is a system with a step-by-step guide to help you boost your creativity and imagination, harness the deep expertise you already have about yourself, and polish the strengths, skills, and resources you possess so you can live a life worth living, the life you want for yourself.
Each week, we’ll take you through a series of experiential exercises to help you shift your mindset about who you are and what you’re capable of. Then, we’ll do a deep dive into the science of change to show you how you can adapt to the new normal in a way that brings the best version of yourself to the table.
Registration for our fall session closes tomorrow at noon with the first of 5 live sessions beginning tomorrow at 8pm ET. Here's the link to learn more and enroll.
Cultivate people in your life whose normal behavior is your desired behavior
I liked this tweet from Farnam Street blog editor, Shane Parrish. If you haven't seen his blog, I highly recommend it for a deep dive into mental models.
"Cultivate people in your life whose normal behavior is your desired behavior"
The tweet got a response from Atomic Habits author James Clear along with this great visual that highlights a key message of the book:
"One of the most effective things you can do to build better habits is to join a culture where your desired behavior is the normal behavior.
New habits seem achievable when you see others doing them every day."
