Change is a constant. Changes big and small are always happening in our lives, while the world also changes around us. We can either resist these changes as unmooring threats to our sense of self, or embrace them as chances to get better and stronger. The key to taking that second approach, my guest says, […]
A couple of months ago, I put out a survey to our email subscribers, asking what their biggest problem was in life. Overwhelmingly, they responded with “time management.” AoM readers are busy men. They’re juggling school, jobs, family, and volunteer work and also trying to improve themselves with fitness and hobbies. We’ve done a bunch
A young guy is the big man on campus at his high school. He’s captain of the varsity football team. Student body president. Homecoming king. Honor society. Valedictorian. Thanks to his stellar high school career, he gets accepted to a prestigious Ivy League university. But instead of continuing his string of teenage successes, our promising
Over the life course, people’s happiness tends to follow a U-shaped curve; it begins to decline around the age of 18 and hits its lowest point around age 47 or 48, at which point it starts to go back up again. Researchers aren’t sure why happiness follows this trajectory. Our personal hypothesis is that after
It’s one thing to be bored by having to wait in line or sit through a dry lecture. It’s another thing to be bored with life itself. What can you do about this kind of existential boredom? My guest will share a remedy with us today on the show. His name is Kevin Hood Gary,
Maybe you’re in a midlife slump. Maybe you’re unhappy in your job and marriage. Maybe you’re inactive and overweight. Maybe you’ve tried to change your life before but can’t seem to make the changes stick. What do you need to do to finally turn things around? My guest would say that the answer might be
A focus on gratitude is typical this time of year. But more often than not, the cognitive or behavioral nods we give gratitude around Thanksgiving can feel a little limp, rote, and unedifying. If you feel like this American holiday has been lacking in meaning, maybe what you need is to infuse it with a
Back in 2015, I started weightlifting seriously. Over eight years of training, I was able to get strong. But more importantly, I discovered a hobby that brought me immense satisfaction. While I don’t barbell train like I used to, I still religiously lift weights. During my eight years of serious training, I’ve learned some important
Attend the graduation of a college senior, and the commencement speech is likely to include a few themes: Do something big. Make a name for yourself. Change the world. My guest is not a fan of this advice, and says that rather than focusing on solving large-scale problems, we ought to concentrate on making things
Note: This is a rebroadcast. When you think about someone having a midlife crisis, you probably think of a man getting divorced, stepping out with a younger woman, and buying a sports car. But my guest today says the often jokey, mockable trope of the midlife crisis we have in our popular culture discounts the
