The World's Best Book Summaries
How can you recognize bad decision-making in your life? How can you avoid it? Bad decision-making often falls into three categories: unnecessary purchases, unhealthy relationships, and harmful habits. What these have in common is that they cause regret. Learn how to avoid regret by making better decisions.
Is slow but steady always the best approach? Or are there times when snap decisions are better? A slow but steady approach to decision-making can help you make more purposeful and thoughtful decisions. However, having expertise in an area allows you to make good quick decisions, too. Read on for more on the benefits and drawbacks of a more thoughtful approach.
Why do we regret purchases after we make them? How can we make better buying decisions? When you regret purchases, it’s because your desire for something blinded you from thinking through the decision rationally. Often we think rationally only to justify these purchases after the fact. Learn why we get buyer’s remorse and why rationalizing purchases doesn’t help.
Is talent a myth? What makes someone good at something? The talent myth is the idea that inherent talent dictates how well you will perform, and it has been shown to be false. Instead, practice plays a much more important role in determining how much someone will excel. Read on for more on what makes someone excellent.
Why is leaving a bad relationship so hard? How do you know it’s time to go? Leaving a bad relationship instead of talking yourself into staying can be difficult, but it can also help you avoid regret. It’s important to recognize when you have mismatched values that can’t be reconciled. Here’s why you should evaluate your relationships early and honestly.
What is deliberate practice, and how can you use it to get better at something? What can this style of practicing do for your performance? Deliberate practice is a method of identifying your weaknesses and specifically targeting them, instead of generally practicing an entire set of skills. This process focuses your energy on where you need improvement the most. Continue reading to learn how deliberate practice works.
Do you know how to avoid regret? What is the best way to break bad habits that cause it? To avoid regret, recognize and fix bad habits before they grow and develop further. Bad habits lead to the worst regret because they’re decisions that we make repeatedly over time. Keep reading to see why forming good habits is so important.
Does it take 10,000 hours to become an expert? What does research say about how much practice you need? The idea that you need 10,000 hours to become an expert is backed by the research of psychologist Anders Ericsson and is famously cited in Malcolm Gladwell’s book Outliers. While there’s some debate around this exact figure, most agree that a lot of practice makes the difference between experts and non-experts. Read on for a look at all sides of the 10,000-hour debate.
Why do you always make bad decisions? And how do you stop lying to yourself about your choices? We all make bad decisions sometimes, and often it’s because we’re telling ourselves lies instead of basing our choices on reality. When we lie to ourselves, it’s easier to make unwise decisions. Here’s how to take control of your life and make better decisions.
What is direct practice, and what separates it from indirect practice? Which is better? Direct practice is unique in that it involves engineering a situation in which you can practice skills, as opposed to practicing indirectly during normal activities. Both are effective, but there are certain situations in which direct is better. Take a look at this explanation of when to use direct practice and what it looks like.