Today's Personal Growth Pulse
NYT launches ‘Ask the Therapist’ column to bring mental‑health advice to the masses
The New York Times introduced a weekly column called “Ask the Therapist,” written by psychotherapist and best‑selling author Lori Gottlieb. The feature invites readers to submit personal dilemmas, which Gottlieb answers with clinical insight and narrative flair. The newspaper aims to make professional mental‑health guidance accessible to a broad audience.
![High Performance Planner [Our 2026 Review]](/cdn-cgi/image/width=1200,quality=75,format=auto,fit=cover/https://www.developgoodhabits.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/cropped-DGH-v1.6.png)
High Performance Planner [Our 2026 Review]
The High Performance Planner, launched in 2018 by personal‑development guru Brendon Burchard, is a 60‑day, 192‑page hardcover that merges daily scheduling, habit tracking, and reflective journaling. Developed after two decades of research on elite performers, the planner offers structured morning and evening prompts, a three‑goal focus, 30‑minute time slots, and a life‑area scorecard. It targets adults seeking intentional, SMART‑goal‑driven productivity and self‑awareness, while its larger size and fixed time slots may limit appeal for digital‑first users. Pricing is positioned as a cost‑effective alternative to professional development workshops.
Economic Times Spotlights African Proverb on Inner Resilience and Self‑Discovery
The Economic Times highlighted an African proverb—“When there is no enemy within, the enemies outside cannot hurt you”—as a lesson in inner resilience and self‑discovery. The piece ties the ancient wisdom to modern psychological concepts and the growing personal‑development market.
4 Attentional States That Explain Why You Reach For Your Phone 47 Seconds Into A Book
Gloria Mark’s two‑decade research shows the average screen‑switching time for knowledge workers fell from 2.5 minutes in 2004 to about 47 seconds by 2020. Crucially, the data reveal that 44% of those switches are self‑initiated, meaning we often distract ourselves...
You’re Not Being Unfair if You Treat Mentees Differently
The article argues that effective mentorship requires tailoring guidance to each individual's personality, goals, and career stage, rather than applying a uniform approach. It cites a viral coaching moment in women’s basketball to illustrate how intensity can boost some athletes...
Rekha Bhardwaj Unveils Five Mantras to Boost Motivation and Well‑Being
Renowned Indian singer Rekha Bhardwaj told The Week on April 19, 2026 that five simple mantras have guided her toward a happier, healthier life. The mantras, focused on positivity, self‑acceptance, compassion, health, and daily good deeds, are being promoted as...
Productivity Trap Fuels Exhaustion as Workers Face Constant Optimization
A surge in relentless productivity tracking is pushing workers into a “productivity trap,” where 40% of employees start their day before 6 a.m. and are interrupted every two minutes. The trend is linked to rising burnout, mental‑health strain, and widening inequality...
Howling Monkeys Make Lousy Leaders
The article argues that vocal, controlling leadership – likened to a howling monkey – hampers productivity and engagement. It contends that effective leaders provide clear guardrails, trust competent team members, and step back to let talent operate. By reducing noise...
Adam Smith's Warning About Wealth, Fame, and Status (with Ross Levine)
In this EconTalk episode, host Russ Roberts talks with economist Ross Levine about his "From the Hand of Adam Smith" project, a series of modern letters written in Smith’s voice that critique today’s obsession with optimization, productivity hacks, and status‑driven...
Tales of Management: Myths and Fears About Leadership
IESE professor Santiago Álvarez de Mon dissected five pervasive leadership myths—micromanagement, title‑based authority, avoiding terminations, one‑way feedback, and profit‑only success—while also highlighting three common managerial fears such as isolation, demotivated teams, and difficulty showing empathy. He argued that authentic leadership...
Rocky Romanella Unveils AIAI Framework to Embed AI‑Centric Culture in Enterprises
Motivational speaker and bestselling author Rocky Romanella announced the AIAI framework, a culture‑first model that positions AI as a catalyst for partnership and ownership. The framework, dubbed “Am I All In?”, is pitched as a remedy to the fear‑driven narrative...
Nvidia’s Jensen Huang Ditches One‑On‑One Meetings; Airbnb’s Brian Chesky Abandons Email
Nvidia chief Jensen Huang announced he no longer holds one‑on‑one meetings with his 55 direct reports, and Airbnb founder‑CEO Brian Chesky said he has stopped using email in favor of texts and calls. The moves reflect a growing trend among...
Peak Brain Power Comes After 50: Here’s Why Your Business Can’t Afford to Ignore That
Recent research overturns the long‑held belief that cognitive ability peaks in early adulthood, showing that crystallized intelligence—knowledge, judgment, and pattern recognition—continues to improve into the 50s. While fluid intelligence, the capacity for rapid abstract problem‑solving, declines after the late teens,...
7 Reasons You Keep Getting Passed over for CIO
The article identifies seven recurring gaps that keep IT leaders from landing CIO roles, from remaining order‑takers to lacking storytelling skills. It highlights the shift in the CIO’s mandate: 65% now report directly to the CEO, up from 41% a...
7 Small Morning Habits That Make a Big Difference
A new case study by Naturepedic and Talker Research found that 49% of Americans say their morning routine shapes the rest of their day, with 37% able to predict their day’s quality within ten minutes of waking. The research highlights...
Integrate the Slingshot Pause
The post urges professionals to embed a daily "thinking pause" into their schedules, arguing that deliberate mental time drives the most consequential decisions. It contrasts the common habit of allocating hours to physical exercise with the rarity of setting aside...
Helping Families Across Europe Build Healthy Digital Habits
YouTube has launched a suite of family‑focused tools across Europe, highlighted by an industry‑first Shorts timer that lets parents cap or completely block the Shorts feed. The rollout also includes a streamlined process for creating supervised kid accounts, making age‑appropriate...
5 Signs You're Living Someone Else's Definition of Success (and How to Stop That Without Burning It All Down)
Becca Pearce warns that many high‑achievers are living by a borrowed definition of success, chasing external markers like bigger houses, titles, and salaries. She outlines five tell‑tale signs—comparison‑driven ambition, hollow achievements, role‑based identity, guilt over new desires, and postponing happiness—that...
Why Prioritisation Alone Doesn’t Fix Overwhelm at Work
Many workers feel overwhelmed not because of workload size but due to lacking the right type of support. Liane Davey's upcoming book *Thoughtload* argues that productivity solutions must match four coping styles—talking, acting, structuring, and finding meaning—rather than relying solely...
5 Lessons Men Learn Too Late in Life, According to Warren Buffett
Warren Buffett distills five late‑life lessons for men, emphasizing disciplined time management, reputation protection, minimal leverage, thoughtful partner selection, and an inner‑focused scorecard. He argues that saying no safeguards the most valuable asset—time—while a reputation built over decades can be...
Want to Be More Organized This Year? Start With These iPhone Apps
The Inc. article spotlights eight iPhone organizer apps aimed at busy founders, with detailed looks at Things 3 and Todoist. Things 3 offers a minimalist, flat‑fee interface for project‑level task management, while Todoist provides a subscription‑based platform featuring AI‑driven task breakdown and...
What I’m Talking About When I Talk About Co-Learning
Mark Reich, LEI Chief Engineer Strategy, explains that lean learning thrives on co‑learning—mutual teaching between mentors, peers, and organizations. He illustrates the concept with a Murakami coaching anecdote, Toyota’s assembly‑line training, chief‑engineer market immersion, and the TSSC cross‑industry TPS program....
Your Boss’s Feelings Matter Too
A new LSE Business Review analysis challenges the myth that senior leaders are emotion‑free, citing a review of 101 academic studies that link leader feelings to downstream outcomes. The authors highlight the double‑edged nature of emotions—anger can deter misconduct yet...
Can Gervaise Work His Psycho-Magic at WPP?
WPP CEO Cindy Rose has hired high‑performance psychologist Michael Gervaise to boost leadership resilience after a period of underperformance. Over 200 senior executives are already participating in the program, which focuses on mental strength and cohesive decision‑making. The initiative coincides...
Endure the Grind, Invest Now, Brighter Days Ahead
Smiling on the outside but dying on the inside. That was me in 2023. - Living with my parents to save on rent - 2 hour commute to my job in downtown Toronto - 10-14 hour work days - Woke up miserable, went to bed...
If You’re Not Quitting, Not Pivoting, and Consistency Isn’t the Problem — What Do You Actually Do?
The author audited recent articles and realized they were repeatedly covering the same theme of "building something slowly on the side," despite varied angles. A similar misstep on YouTube—pivoting too quickly—cost a 90% drop in reach, highlighting the danger of...
Discomfort Signals Growth, Not a Warning to Quit
Discomfort has a bad reputation. We treat it like a warning sign. Like something is wrong. Like we should step back. But often, it’s the opposite. Discomfort shows up when something is changing. When you’re learning, stretching, trying something you haven’t mastered yet. That’s why it feels...
Independence First, Wealth Follows Through Patience
Charlie Munger never set out to become a billionaire. He just wanted to never need permission from anyone. The money? That came from the same place the independence did — patience, compounding, and not doing dumb things. Financial freedom isn't a destination. It's...
Permission: The One Word Solution to Procrastination
Jon Acuff’s latest podcast episode argues that a single word—permission—can instantly overcome procrastination. Drawing on his new book *Procrastination Proof*, he likens adult hesitation to the lack of a childhood permission slip that once unlocked opportunities. By consciously granting oneself...
Daily Habits Separate Thriving SMEs From Struggling Ones
What separates thriving SMEs from those that struggle? It's not luck—it's a commitment to these daily habits of the smartest business minds. Are you in an SME? You can do them too.
Your Body Isn’t Lazy—It Feels Unsafe to Exert
You are not lazy. Your body just does not feel safe enough to sustain effort.
What a Self Is.
The article distills Anil Seth’s view that the self is a "controlled hallucination" constructed by the brain to regulate the body using interoceptive signals. This predictive framework stitches together past memories, present sensations, and future projections, making the self a dynamic...
Boost Recall: Reduce Distractions, Chunk, Space Study
Memory operates in three key stages—sensory, working, and long-term—each involving distinct brain regions, and simple strategies like reducing distractions, chunking information, and spacing study sessions can significantly enhance recall. memoryscience
Stanford Luck Researcher: How to Manifest the Life You Want
In this episode, Mel Robbins talks with Stanford neuroscientist and entrepreneurship professor Dr. Tina Selig about the science of luck. Selig explains that luck is not a mystical trait but a skill built through intentional actions, calculated risks, and how...
Why Good Learning Habits Often Start With Family Routines
Good study habits begin at home, where family routines provide the structure children need to develop organization, focus, and time‑management skills. Consistent daily practices—like set meal times, bedtime, homework periods, and screen limits—create predictability that reduces mental noise and emotional...
Your Environment Affects Your Happiness More Than You Think with Dr. Leidy Klotz
In this episode, Dr. Leidy Klotz, a professor at the University of Virginia and author of *In a Good Place*, explains how the physical spaces we inhabit shape our happiness by fulfilling three core psychological needs: agency, competence/growth, and connection....
Blue Zones’ Dan Burden Marks 80th with Call for Outdoor Adventure to Boost Longevity
Dan Burden, Blue Zones Director of Inspiration & Innovation, celebrated his 80th birthday by telling Blue Zones how outdoor adventure fuels longevity and purpose. His interview highlights the need for community‑driven outdoor programs to keep aging adults engaged and healthy.
Teach Kids Effort Over Results; Grades Follow Passion
If you’ve got kids in sports, you have to teach them they win or lose *before* the game starts. Kids “win” by putting in countless hours of work, not by how they perform in any single game/competition. So, teach them to...
CNN Chief Mark Thompson Unveils Leadership Shake‑Up After Network‑Wide Bonus Cuts
CNN chairman Mark Thompson announced a sweeping leadership reshuffle and a company‑wide bonus reduction in a Friday memo. The memo introduced a five‑point plan to accelerate digital growth and named new digital chief Alex MacCallum, prompting both skepticism and cautious optimism...
There’s a Specific Kind of Adult Who Apologizes for Crying Even when They’re Alone, and It Isn’t Sensitivity, It’s the...
The article explains why many adults automatically apologize when they cry, even when alone. It traces the habit to childhood emotional invalidation, where caregivers dismissed or ignored distress, teaching children to treat emotions as a mess to be hidden. Psychological...
LearningRx CEO Kim Hanson Grows Franchise to 170 Sites on Faith‑Based Principles
Kim Hanson, chief executive of LearningRx, has steered the brain‑training franchise to more than 170 centers across 40 countries by embedding faith‑based values into its growth strategy. Her tenure, which began as EVP in 2004 and moved to CEO in...
Your Free Time Shapes Your Future Success
What you do in your free time matters How you focus your energy after hours can change the course of your entire future Investing your time in the right places can make all the difference
Choosing Your Dream Life: You’re Not Alone
For the girl who’s tired of being the practical one and is finally choosing the life she actually wants… This is your reminder that you’re not alone.
Psychology Says the Unhappiest Men in Any Room Aren’t the Ones Who Complain — They’re the Ones Who’ve Become so...
The article reveals that many high‑functioning men in their 30s‑40s hide profound unhappiness by perfecting a performance of contentment. Interviews with over 200 professionals show they often cannot articulate their true feelings, having compartmentalized emotions for years. Psychological research links...
World Champion and Awake Academy Founder Layne Beachley Talks High Performance at Sydney Growth Summit
World champion surfer and Awake Academy founder Layne Beachley will speak at Sydney's Growth Summit on June 18, delivering a session titled “High performance that lasts.” She will discuss emotional fitness and resilience, drawing on her seven‑time world title experience...
Proactive, Fearless Mindset Drives Our Winning Ambition
“Nobody’s banging on our door. We’re banging on their door. We got to be better. We got to be smarter. We got to be more nimble. We have to deliver. We’re held through a different lens. And if you can...
Do Hardest Work Before Lunch; Afternoons Are Low‑energy
NO ONE in my family schedules an important doctor appointment at 3PM. About seven hours after you wake up, your brain hits a biological trough. Focus drops, mistakes rise, and decisions get worse. The fix is simple. For most people, it pays to...
Mental Wellness & The Culture You Leave Behind
John Trautwein, founder of the Will To Live Foundation, urges CEOs to confront the hidden mental‑health crisis in their workplaces. He cites that one in five employees silently battle diagnosable mental illness, a stigma‑driven condition that can erode productivity and...
Stop Sabotaging Yourself: Action Beats Skill Mastery
I have trained over 12,000 writers & ghostwriters. And what people struggle with the most isn't the "hard skills." It's the relationship they have with themselves. They are their own worst enemy. They talk themselves out of taking action. They...
Small Actions Beat Procrastination's Hidden Energy Drain
That thing you keep putting off? It’s quietly draining your energy. Not doing it costs more than doing it. You don’t need a big plan… just a start. One small action today changes everything. Pick one thing. Start. 👉 Read more and subscribe to my LinkedIn...
Hard Work and Kindness Bring Unexpected Amazing Results
“Nobody in life gets exactly what they thought they were going to get. But if you work really hard and you’re kind, amazing things will happen.” - Conan O’Brien #Quotes #MondayMotivation