Fantastic piece. This should be your next book. Social Media (and other factors) has put an insane amount of pressure on people to 'max' everything, and even though things are going well on paper overall, everyone is miserable. This is upstream of why the social fabric is fraying and why our politics are so dumb. I would pay real money for a data sourced deep dive on how regular people can find happiness and satisfaction while still living in the world. I assume it's mushrooms, but there's probably more to it than that.
That’s the challenge. I feel like a lot of people would be much happier if they could unplug. But it’s so hard to truly unplug in 2026 without hurting your career, social relationships, etc
I put single-point probabilities on geopolitical outcomes for a living, so I should be the last person agreeing with this. But the longer I do it, the more I think the point of pricing something at 35% isn't the number. It's the 65% you're admitting you can't see.
Measuring uncertainty doesn't make it smaller. It makes you honest about how much you're guessing.
I totally needed to read this today as I thoroughly enjoyed a hazelnut chocolate bunny left over from Easter in my cottage fridge while I waited for a contractor to come. The day is sunny, warm and breezy up here in the Muskoka area of Ontario, Canada. Life is good. I'm an 80/20 kind of healthy person and Scott, you gave me permission to enjoy the 20% of my day's calories, guilt and measured free! The other 80% is healthy of course. I think the 20% of life that provides the 80% of value can be the fun, guilt free pleasures. Balance is the key.
Good call. I wore an Apple Watch for about 36 hours before finally admitting to myself that tracking my heart rate, gait evenness, and other metrics totally sucked the fun out of EVERYTHING I did.
As a lifelong fan of Warren Zevon, I have always loved his “enjoy every sandwich “comment on the David Letterman show. And have joked with my family that that will be the epitaph on my tombstone. This was one of your best posts ever. Thanks for sharing.
Man, I love this reminder Scott. It reconnected me to one of Charles Eisenstein’s comments in his book “Climate,” where he describes the human predisposition to reductionist problem-solving because that allows us to think we’re influencing an outcome just because we’re controlling a variable we can measure. And it may not even be a variable worth controlling.
I found this article to be so helpful in letting go of some of the many metrics we are now in pursuit of as proxy to living a good life. I love your timeline which opened my eyes to how crazy we have become pursuing measures, instead of things far greater.
This is one of the best analysis and set of recommendations I have read in a long time. Thank you for explaining the value of balance.
I have felt the same but could not find validation. You have provided it.
I got rid of my smart watch since it was impacting my sleep and the enjoyment of food and drink. Instead I have a few large health goals that I am working towards while continuing to enjoy life.
I learned the Pareto Principle as a young Bain and Company consultant and had never thought about applying it to my lifestyle balance as well. Thank you for the wisdom, insight, and perspective!
I found the more I optimized, my life had less joy and color and resonance.
Now that I’ve created more space, I feel alive in a way I hadn’t for years (decades probably). Still learning. Still growing. More enjoyment and peace.
I love that you dived into the full quote “What gets measured gets managed — even when it’s pointless to measure and manage it, and even if it harms the purpose of the organization to do so.”
Fantastic piece. This should be your next book. Social Media (and other factors) has put an insane amount of pressure on people to 'max' everything, and even though things are going well on paper overall, everyone is miserable. This is upstream of why the social fabric is fraying and why our politics are so dumb. I would pay real money for a data sourced deep dive on how regular people can find happiness and satisfaction while still living in the world. I assume it's mushrooms, but there's probably more to it than that.
That’s the challenge. I feel like a lot of people would be much happier if they could unplug. But it’s so hard to truly unplug in 2026 without hurting your career, social relationships, etc
I put single-point probabilities on geopolitical outcomes for a living, so I should be the last person agreeing with this. But the longer I do it, the more I think the point of pricing something at 35% isn't the number. It's the 65% you're admitting you can't see.
Measuring uncertainty doesn't make it smaller. It makes you honest about how much you're guessing.
Do you really need AI to post a single comment 😂 just use your brain brother
I totally needed to read this today as I thoroughly enjoyed a hazelnut chocolate bunny left over from Easter in my cottage fridge while I waited for a contractor to come. The day is sunny, warm and breezy up here in the Muskoka area of Ontario, Canada. Life is good. I'm an 80/20 kind of healthy person and Scott, you gave me permission to enjoy the 20% of my day's calories, guilt and measured free! The other 80% is healthy of course. I think the 20% of life that provides the 80% of value can be the fun, guilt free pleasures. Balance is the key.
I was going to buy the new Google Fitbit Air. Now I don't think I will
Good call. I wore an Apple Watch for about 36 hours before finally admitting to myself that tracking my heart rate, gait evenness, and other metrics totally sucked the fun out of EVERYTHING I did.
Not to mention your hand buzzing every time you get a notification! Takes you out of the moment constantly
As a lifelong fan of Warren Zevon, I have always loved his “enjoy every sandwich “comment on the David Letterman show. And have joked with my family that that will be the epitaph on my tombstone. This was one of your best posts ever. Thanks for sharing.
Man, I love this reminder Scott. It reconnected me to one of Charles Eisenstein’s comments in his book “Climate,” where he describes the human predisposition to reductionist problem-solving because that allows us to think we’re influencing an outcome just because we’re controlling a variable we can measure. And it may not even be a variable worth controlling.
I found this article to be so helpful in letting go of some of the many metrics we are now in pursuit of as proxy to living a good life. I love your timeline which opened my eyes to how crazy we have become pursuing measures, instead of things far greater.
This is one of the best analysis and set of recommendations I have read in a long time. Thank you for explaining the value of balance.
I have felt the same but could not find validation. You have provided it.
I got rid of my smart watch since it was impacting my sleep and the enjoyment of food and drink. Instead I have a few large health goals that I am working towards while continuing to enjoy life.
One of your best pieces ever.
I learned the Pareto Principle as a young Bain and Company consultant and had never thought about applying it to my lifestyle balance as well. Thank you for the wisdom, insight, and perspective!
Dear Scott,
I wrote a piece in this too that goes deeper into explaining the 6 archetypes that are shaped by the 6 industries. I hope you’ll like it.
https://the4thplace.substack.com/p/ai-more-human-than-us-trap-of-optimization-culture
I found the more I optimized, my life had less joy and color and resonance.
Now that I’ve created more space, I feel alive in a way I hadn’t for years (decades probably). Still learning. Still growing. More enjoyment and peace.
Like Julia Child said ‘Everything in moderation, including moderation’ Bon Chance!
Fascinating because you optimize your brand, exactly as you posited
I love that you dived into the full quote “What gets measured gets managed — even when it’s pointless to measure and manage it, and even if it harms the purpose of the organization to do so.”
Absolutely fantastic piece, thanks Prof!!