Articles.

Every month, I post a long-form article with practical reflections on direction, decision-making, and getting unstuck. You can subscribe here to my monthly newsletter.

The three versions of career paralysis I see most often

Career paralysis shows up in three guises, each with a different cause and way out. Misdiagnose it and you'll waste months solving the wrong problem.

Analysis paralysis: why clever people get stuck longest

Why high-performers freeze in front of major career decisions, and what to do instead.

Is your social circle limiting your career change options?

The hidden gravitational pull of the people around you, and how to break out of it.

Eureka thinking: how to get better ideas by trying less hard

Your best ideas usually arrive once you stop trying so hard. Seven steps for deliberate daydreaming.

The secret to networking: stop networking

Standard networking advice doesn't work for thoughtful people. A better way to build a network.

Fear of success: how to befriend the unknown

Fear of success usually disguises a fear of the unknown. Three mindset shifts to help you move past it.

Desperate to switch careers but stuck on what to do next?

When ideas keep running dry, you might be fishing in the same pond. 14 tips for generating more career options.

When your heart isn't at work: 4 psychological needs you might be neglecting

77% of workers say they're disengaged. The four needs that drive real engagement.

T-shaped careers: ten ways to stop your career going stale

Specialist depth isn't enough any more. Ten ways to broaden your skills and keep your career fresh.

Strategic quitting: when to stop flogging a dead horse

Seth Godin's framework for knowing when to quit and when to push through.

Courageously competent: how to choose your battles at work

Confidence is overrated. The quality that actually shifts your career is your willingness to act courageously, and intelligently.

The three versions of feeling stuck I see most often

Feeling stuck shows up in three distinct guises, each with a different cause and way out.

Stuck on what to do next? How to brainstorm better ideas

Why we run out of ideas about what to do next, how to get past your inner censor, and practical tips for generating far more options before…

The paradox of choice: how to stop losing while choosing

Why having too many options can make us worse off, and ten practical ways to make decisions with less regret.

Self-help vs shelf-help: how to make personal development stick

Why consuming self-help rarely changes anything, and six practical ways to actually integrate what you learn through deliberate practice.

The 9 happiness myths that are probably ruining your life

Nine common myths about happiness, purpose and passion, and the reframes that make each of them more useful in real life.

Life planning: why the grass is always greener in the other universe

Why chasing one 'true' path keeps you stuck, and a thought experiment for designing three good-enough alternative lives.

The spotlight effect: 8 billion reasons nobody is staring at you

Why we wildly overestimate how much others notice our mistakes, and how to loosen the grip of the spotlight effect and the illusion of transparency.

Discipline: the missing link between mediocrity and mastery

The difference between discipline, self-control and willpower, why willpower doesn't actually run out, and six practical ways to build…

Confidence: the joy of not knowing what you don't know

What confidence actually is, why it isn't the same as competence, and how self-efficacy and self-worth shape whether you show up sure of yourself.

Solitude: three surprising ways to quiet the noise

Why genuine solitude is rarer than being alone, what it does for self-knowledge, and three easy ways to build more of it into your week.

Flow: how to find happiness by getting in the zone

What flow is, the conditions that create it, the 4% rule that keeps you in the zone, and eight ways to build more flow into your life.

How to make new friends in your 30s and beyond

Thirteen quiet beliefs and habits that keep us from making new friends as adults, and a more useful way to approach each one.

Some unusual facts about making new friends

Seven research-backed facts about how adult friendships actually form, from proximity and similarity to self-disclosure and social identity.

Anatomy of a bad decision: 13 ways to ruin your life

The psychology behind poor choices, why good enough beats perfect, and thirteen common reasons we make bad decisions, with a checklist to…

Zooming out: four questions to help you see the big picture

Why stress pulls us into the detail, and four simple questions that help you zoom out, think strategically, and calm your nervous system.

The power of prototyping: how to test a big change before you leap

How to borrow a designer's habit of prototyping to test a major life or work change in the real world, through informational interviews and…

Wayfinding: four guiding principles for a clear direction in life

Why a vision is about direction, not destination, and four wayfinding principles, logos, values, past self and future identity, for…

How to get better at visualising your future self

Why our brains treat our future selves like strangers, and three simple practices for building a clearer, more motivating picture of who…

Intuition: should you ever trust a gut feeling?

What a gut feeling actually is in neurological terms, why your intuition is only as good as your experience, and when to trust it.

15 ways your brain is messing with you

Intuition is powerful but far from infallible.

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