One of Aesop’s better-known fables features some ants and a grasshopper; the industrious, hardworking ants who labor all summer to store up for the harsh winter, and the lazy, indulgent grasshopper who spends his time playing the fiddle and enjoying...
I recently had a friction-filled experience when I tried to make an appointment for a routine physical exam. It’s been a while since I’ve had my annual exam, as my previous doctor moved away in 2015 and I haven’t gotten...
Human behavior is anything but simple, and for that exact reason I believe that oversimplifications can be useful in the first step of designing for behavior change. When it comes down to it, there’s a lot of human behavior that...
Your new year’s resolution is very likely to fail. Most do. Resolutions are just not built to succeed. They rely on willpower, hoping and wishing (which last about a week, a month if you're lucky). New year’s resolutions are like...
Your beliefs don’t always predict your behavior While it’s true that your beliefs may spur action when you’re particularly passionate about something (if you believe that Coke is superior to Pepsi, you’ll choose Coke over Pepsi until you die), it...
Social media is everywhere and shows no signs of slowing down. There are now more monthly active Facebook users in the world than there are households owning a television set. Any product experiencing this degree of success is bound to...
We often hold vague notions about what we want to do for our health. You might say you want to exercise more, eat healthier, or stick to the doctor’s orders. But it’s not often that we transform those fuzzy desires...
“If I am parking, then I will park in the spot farthest from my destination.” “If I wake up tomorrow morning, then I will put on my shoes and go on a 20 minute run.” “If I am feeling tempted...
Did you sign a lease to rent housing, or sign a deed to buy your house? Did you have to sign your marriage certificate to solidify your nuptials? What about the last time you executed a business contract? Or when...
So many health goals, so little time. I’m probably not alone when I say that the number of healthy behaviors I aspire to is greatly outweighed by the number that I actually motivate myself to do. I know that I...
My phone buzzes with a text. “Who’s running?” asks my friend Ankoor. ?♀️ replies Eileen; she’s in. I perform a slow mental wince at the thought of dragging my body 3 miles in the North Carolina heat, but I already...
My grandma is a bona fide superhero. With 80 looming just around the corner, she can be found traveling the world (that’s right, she’s been to 32 countries since she turned 55), cutting the hair of her husband, sons and...
