GRANTED: The flaws in perfectionism and the ego in meditation

June 2022

Progress isn’t always about getting better. Sometimes it’s about bouncing back.
 
Success is not only the peaks you reach—it’s the valleys you conquer. Every experience of enduring adversity and overcoming obstacles is a meaningful accomplishment. Resilience is a form of growth.
 
Some links that contributed to my growth recently:

1. So You’re Thinking About Writing on the Internet (Dynomight)
Some compelling observations about when to listen to criticism and how to benefit from it.
 
2. Do Not Bring Your Whole Self to Work (Economist)
“People are a melange of traits, some good and some bad. Many of them should be kept well away from the workplace…. Your professional self makes presentations to the board and says things like: ‘Let’s get the analytics team to kick the tyres on this.’ Your whole self cannot operate a toaster and says things like: ‘Has anyone seen my socks?’
 
3. The Inside Outtakes (Bo Burnham, YouTube)
If you haven’t watched Burnham’s Netflix special Inside, it might be the best thing to come out of COVID. The comedian wrote, directed, filmed, edited, and performed it solo during the pandemic—no crew, no audience. It’s a brilliant, hilarious musical commentary on mental health, authenticity, the internet, and more. A year later, he’s released the outtakes, and they include some real gems.

From my desk

4. Meditating Probably Won’t Make You a Better Person
New evidence suggests that although meditation reduces inner stress, it fails to boost outer compassion—and even loving kindness meditation can make you more self-absorbed.

5. WorkLife season 5
My favorite new podcast episodes:

• Breaking up with perfectionism: Apple | Spotify | Transcript

• Ava DuVernay is triumphant: Apple | Spotify | Transcript

• The do’s and don’ts of returning to the office: Apple | Spotify | Transcript

In solidarity,

Adam Grant, Ph.D.
Organizational psychologist at Wharton, author of THINK AGAIN, and host of the TED podcast WorkLife