Blog of Susmit.

Confidence starts with keeping the promises you make to yourself. This guide covers how willpower works, how to use it well, and how to quiet the thoughts that hold you back. How willpower works Willpower is limited, and it's what lets you follow through on promises to yourself. To build confidence, it helps to understand it. Kelly McGonigal's book "The Willpower Instinct" is a good place to start. She has a Ph.D. and teaches a willpower class at Stanford. Willpower also works like a muscle: the more you use it, the stronger it gets. At first, building good habits and working toward goals takes extra effort. Over time, your whole self-concept can change. Use your willpower when it's strongest When do you have more willpower: tired, hungover, and hungry, or rested, fed, and motivated? The second, obviously. So schedule your day around your peak hours. A morning routine is one way to do that. Meditation, exercise, cold showers, and outdoor walks all fit. Do your har...

Some habits do more for your life than others. These key habits form the base of a balanced, fulfilling life, like the tiles in a mosaic where each one adds to the full picture. Health, wealth, and happiness Almost any habit or activity fits into one or more of these three categories, and neglecting one throws the others off. The seven habits below are split across them. Health habits 1. Sleep. Both the quality and the quantity matter. Track your sleep so you can see what improves it. 2. Exercise. It helps your mind as well as your body. Regular exercise adds to your overall well-being. 3. Hydration. Drinking enough water supports physical and cognitive health. Wealth habits 4. Learn something. Continuous learning helps your wealth, health, and happiness. 5. Work toward your goals. Pursuing your passions and goals is a keystone habit, not a luxury. It brings happiness, purpose, and confidence. Happiness habits 6. Social interaction and relationships. Relationships matter a great deal f...

A lot of us chase self-improvement by following whoever sounds most sure. A guru, a trend, a morning routine that went viral. The trouble is that a path built for someone else may not take you anywhere useful. This post looks at why, using meditation as the example, and at a simple way to find the habits that work for you. Meditation: great for some, rough for others Meditation can change a life, but it has downsides. A 1992 study found that 62% of meditators reported adverse effects, and 7.4% had severe ones. These included emotional stress, confusion, disorientation, and anxiety, together called "falling into the pit of the void." You'd never guess that from the market. Meditation apps, books, and gurus are everywhere, and the hype is hard to ignore. There is a lot of research backing meditation, but that doesn't mean it works for everyone. We are all different Something that works for a Silicon Valley executive who meditates for hours may not suit you. People diffe...

Disappearing for a month and returning as a more confident, more productive version of yourself sounds dramatic. It's also a workable plan. This post covers how to move from anxiety and low confidence to steady focus through self-growth, built on habits, routines, and goals you can track. Anxiety, low confidence, and why habits matter Plenty of us deal with anxiety and low confidence every day. The way out isn't a burst of motivation. It's building habits and keeping them, because a structured routine does most of the work. Six core habits form the base: sleep, hydration, exercise, socializing, time outdoors, and breathwork or mindfulness. On top of those, tailor your routine to your own needs. Decluttering, reading, meditation, weekly objective planning, and brain dumping are common additions, and there are many more. Tips for building habits that stick Set clear intentions. Track your habits consistently. Start with a manageable number. Stay flexible and mix up your routi...

Look at what people spend their conversations on. It says a lot about where they're headed. Some people talk about vision. Others talk about people: who did what, who said what, who got lucky. One keeps your eyes on where you're going, and the other keeps them on everyone else. Then there's action. Some people do the work first and talk about it later. Others dream and scheme for years and never actually start. A plan you never act on is just a daydream. Your circle matters too. Some people surround themselves with success-minded people who push them forward. Others pick the people who tell them what they want to hear. Comfort feels nice, but it rarely makes you grow. Even money gets two different conversations. One side talks about using money to make more money. The other talks about using it to buy stuff they don't need. None of this takes talent or a lucky break. It takes a few habits: think bigger, start before you feel ready, choose your people carefully, ...

Ever feel like the butterflies in your stomach are really dragons? You're not alone. One of the most effective ways to manage it is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), and this guide walks through how to start using it. Understanding anxiety Anxiety is more than worry. It's a mix of thoughts, feelings, bodily sensations, and behaviors, and almost everyone experiences it. Understanding how those pieces fit together is the first step toward managing it. Anxiety disorders are the most common mental disorders worldwide. That's a sobering fact, but it also means plenty of people have studied the problem, and well-researched strategies exist. What CBT is and how it works CBT is a treatment, but it's also a way of seeing how your thoughts, feelings, physical sensations, and behaviors connect. Say you're anxious about a work deadline. A thought like "I'm going to fail" brings physical sensations: a tight chest, a racing heart. Those sensations push you toward ...

Most of us hit a wall with certain tasks. We mean to start, and we don't. This post covers why that happens and a simple technique that can help you start. Why we procrastinate Procrastination isn't always about laziness or incompetence. It can be a response to stress. Some tasks make us anxious, and putting them off gives the mind temporary relief. Seeing it that way makes it easier to stop blaming yourself. It's a way of avoiding something that feels stressful. What makes tasks stressful Tasks that feel negative, boring, or complicated can trigger that stress. If you can name what's making a task feel bad, you can deal with that directly, instead of just pushing yourself harder. The 5-second rule When you feel the urge to put something off, count down from 5 and start right away. The idea is that the countdown gets you moving before you have time to overthink and talk yourself out of it. Try it with a call you've been avoiding, a piece of writing, or a workout. Wh...