Growth

The Zone of Proximal Development

Nathanael Garrett Novosel, June 4 2025

Everyone wants to grow into their ideal future state. Regardless of whether you want to be an athlete, a musician, or a family man, you want to get the best outcome out of as little effort as possible. (Unfortunately, outcomes are often correlated with effort) But how do you actually do that? How do you optimize your growth and development to...

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Growth

It Doesn’t Matter What You’ve Done; It Only Matters Who You’re Going to Become

Nathanael Garrett Novosel, May 28 2025

One of the hardest parts of life is letting go of your past. They call it “baggage” for a reason: it weighs you down and holds you back. Yes, there are things that definitely do legitimately restrict your behavior: owning a home, holding a job, having a spouse, having children, and similar responsibilities and obligations. But that’s not what...

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Support

Should You Care About What Other People Think?

Nathanael Garrett Novosel, May 21 2025

I wrote a blog post a few years ago about standing out vs. fitting in that was pretty popular. It seems like people are always trying to optimize the degree to which they stand out in a good way but fit in where sticking out would be negative. For example, no one would walk around wearing underwear on their head if they wanted to be accepted by...

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Life Goals

Limiting Beliefs and Effort

Nathanael Garrett Novosel, May 14 2025

A popular position to take in life is that of the “realist”—meaning you try to set real expectations and not get your hopes up because they might get crushed. It is a middle ground between optimism and pessimism, where in the former you try to see life events in as positive as a light as possible and the latter in a negative light. The pessimist...

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Happiness

All Good Things Come to an End

Nathanael Garrett Novosel, May 7 2025

There is a famous saying, “This, too, shall pass.” Whether you are going through good times or bad times, those times will change. The interesting thing about that is that it is a double-edged sword: if you’re suffering, you (of course) want them to change; if you’re are having a blast, you don’t want the fun or joy to

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Desire

Is Never Being Satisfied a Good Thing or Bad Thing?

Nathanael Garrett Novosel, April 30 2025

“Always be content; never be satisfied,” is a statement that I like to use to explain the ideal attitude that you should have toward life. It’s a succinct way to explain the (seemingly paradoxical) relationship between two things that you need to do simultaneously: you want to always be grateful for what you have (which should make you feel...

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The Meaning of Life

Universal Life Goals

Nathanael Garrett Novosel, April 23 2025

In my book, The Meaning of Life: A guide to finding your life’s purpose, I cover what people mean by “meaning” when they ask that question. The number one thing they mean by that is, “What goals should I have?” While “meaning” can refer to definition, purpose, significance, goals, or ethics, the one people most mean is goals. Why? Because...

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Desire

You’re Just Looking for an Excuse

Nathanael Garrett Novosel, April 16 2025

I always wondered why there are so many holidays. Yes, I know that the primary stated reasons are to commemorate a person, event, or idea and to take a moment to remember them and what significance they have to your life. People can get caught up in their day-to-day lives and neglect things like their health, their relationships, and their...

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Belief

Respecting Others’ Beliefs

Nathanael Garrett Novosel, April 9 2025

Do you respect others’ beliefs? This is an interesting question because it’s one of those difficult situations where everyone wants others to respect their beliefs but don’t necessarily want to respect others’ beliefs. It’s a tough situation because even the most open-minded people have to draw a line somewhere: you can’t respect all beliefs...

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Belief

Root-Causing Negative Beliefs

Nathanael Garrett Novosel, April 2 2025

I was just recording a podcast the other day and was asked which of the eight elements of humans’ sense of meaning in their lives was the most difficult for people to implement in their lives. Naturally, I said, “Judging by the scientific measure of the number of self-help books focusing on the topic: belief. More self-help books focus on...

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