it was never all or nothing — how to ruin a meal and mean it

it was never all or nothing — how to ruin a meal and mean it

I tried making fried vermicelli noodles for the first time and ended up with porridge. What surprised me wasn't the failure — it was how quickly I let it mean everything. In this episode, I explore all-or-nothing thinking, what the physics of energy has to do with resilience, and why ruining something is sometimes the only way to make it. Source: Understanding and Overcoming All-or-Nothing Thinking [https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/all-about-cognitive-and-behavior-therapy/202210/understanding-and-overcoming-all-or-nothing]

start now or plan forever; why do my sims always live better lives than I do

You know exactly what you need to do. You've written it down, time-blocked it, maybe even colour-coded it. And yet — nothing starts. In this episode, I reflects on six hours of playing The Sims and the uncomfortable moment I realised my virtual self was outperforming me. Not because he was smarter or more disciplined — but because he was simpler. No hesitation. No "one more thing before I start." Just the next action. References * Gollwitzer, P. M. (1999). Implementation intentions: Strong effects of simple plans. American Psychologist, 54(7), 493–503. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.54.7.493 [https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.54.7.493]

you still have a battery

How letting my laptop die let me live. Burnout doesn't always announce itself with a collapse — sometimes it shows up as not caring anymore. In this week's episode, I'm coming to you five hours deep into a report, running on fumes and the wrong kind of determination, and what happened when I unplugged my laptop on purpose and worked until the battery died. Rest days exist for a reason. You're no machine — but you still have a battery. Reference List * https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35997632/ [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35997632/]

You Don't Need Hope, You Need Agency

This one is different. I'm going back to where it all started — episode one. And reading it with fresh eyes, a year later and 10,000km from home. In this episode: the reason agency is still the strongest predictor of life satisfaction, the mistake I made framing hope and agency as opposites, and why hope is the invitation that agency walks through. As always — there's always more INSyed.

you were always going to notice it

My shoelaces kept coming undone. On the third time stopping to tie them, I noticed a patch of grass I'd never really seen — despite walking past it every day. That's inattentional blindness: the brain's filter that helps us function, and quietly hides the world from us. This week, we look at what we've been missing. Reference List * https://www.researchgate.net/publication/12620563_Gorillas_in_Our_Midst_Sustained_Inattentional_Blindness_for_Dynamic_Events [https://www.researchgate.net/publication/12620563_Gorillas_in_Our_Midst_Sustained_Inattentional_Blindness_for_Dynamic_Events] * https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-inattentional-blindness-2795020 [https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-inattentional-blindness-2795020] * https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-a-schema-2795873 [https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-a-schema-2795873] * https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJG698U2Mvo [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJG698U2Mvo]