Start by telling yourself the truth

[The Joy List]

Fellow traveler,

Here is this week’s edition of The Joy List. Hope you find it worthwhile.

With joy,
Bolu.

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> Quit Lying to Yourself

If you are willfully oblivious to your flaws, you can’t correct them. As my colleague Steven Pinker, the author of the new book Rationality: What It Is, Why It Seems Scarce, Why It Matters, reminded me by email, “Whatever advantages self-deception may have in motivation … it has to be balanced against the obvious downside of not learning from mistakes.” Research shows that self-deception is associated with an inability to see our own flaws, which makes self-improvement harder. Refusing to admit that I am a bit neurotic might make me feel better in the moment, but it also discourages me from undertaking efforts to change for the long-term good of myself and those around me.

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