The psychology of beating procrastination, inaction, and confusion that lets you systematically work towards any goal.

Goal setting is easy - Goal achieving is a very different thing.

We dig into the main causes and the often small but subtle tweaks we can make that keep us in check.

Using ideas from psychology and ancient wisdom we see how humans have dealt with the big hairy ambitious goals over history and how you can too:

Task Initiation Paralysis - Shows us how Charles Darwin overcame the most complex tasks in history.
Ulysses Contracts - Teaches us how Victor Hugo wrote the timeless Hunchback of Notre Dame ahead of schedule by engineering his environment.
Effective vs Fluffy Intentions - How psychologists helped heart surgery patients double their success rates through a simple sentence change.

Sam also lists some of the most effective resources and tools you can access to stay on track to beat the common problems we face.

This episode carries on the mini-series on goals and achievement:

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Sam Webster explores the psychology of happiness, satisfaction, purpose, and growth through the lens of self-improvement.

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Chapters:

00:00 How we lose track of reality and where to find it

01:21 Unrealistic expectations

02:07 Not ready for the moment

05:36 Time to adjust to new habit

06:11 Personal responsibility - No external help - No momentum

07:49 Charles Darwin and Task Initiation Paralysis

10:02 Beating Motivation with "when - Then" contracts

13:06 Ulysses contracts and Victor Hugo's writing strategy

16:47 Get it out of your head

17:43 Cohort learning

19:10 Coaching

20:02 Accountability Groups

21:45 Future letters

23:02 Bonus tips

24:07 Temporal discounting and the real Marshmallow study

26:18 Keeping promises to ourselves

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