Adam Alter

you probably learn something more about that experience of stuckness from that time, which will make you more effective in dealing with it later on. So I think that pause, that beat at the beginning before you do anything is really, really critical in marshalling your resources in a productive direction.

It's very much a cultural thing, how we think of stuckness and of change in general. So in the West, in the United States, in Australia, where I'm originally from, in Canada, in the UK, we tend to think of things as being fairly consistent across time. And when they change, we find that a little bit surprising, even though we say change is inevitable.

It's very much a cultural thing, how we think of stuckness and of change in general. So in the West, in the United States, in Australia, where I'm originally from, in Canada, in the UK, we tend to think of things as being fairly consistent across time. And when they change, we find that a little bit surprising, even though we say change is inevitable.

It's very much a cultural thing, how we think of stuckness and of change in general. So in the West, in the United States, in Australia, where I'm originally from, in Canada, in the UK, we tend to think of things as being fairly consistent across time. And when they change, we find that a little bit surprising, even though we say change is inevitable.

In the East, in East Asia, in particular in Japan, Korea, China, That's the opposite. They anticipate things changing. So one of the studies I did was I gave people a pattern of days where there had been either sun or rain for three days in a row. And then I said, tell me what's going to happen on day four. Now, in the US, we say things like, oh, it's a sort of warm streak and it's a warm period.

In the East, in East Asia, in particular in Japan, Korea, China, That's the opposite. They anticipate things changing. So one of the studies I did was I gave people a pattern of days where there had been either sun or rain for three days in a row. And then I said, tell me what's going to happen on day four. Now, in the US, we say things like, oh, it's a sort of warm streak and it's a warm period.

In the East, in East Asia, in particular in Japan, Korea, China, That's the opposite. They anticipate things changing. So one of the studies I did was I gave people a pattern of days where there had been either sun or rain for three days in a row. And then I said, tell me what's going to happen on day four. Now, in the US, we say things like, oh, it's a sort of warm streak and it's a warm period.

And so the fourth day is probably going to be sunny as well. Or if it's rainy, we're in the middle of a rainy patch. It's probably going to be rainy. In East Asia, people say, oh, no, change is around the corner. If it's been three days of rain, tomorrow is going to be sunny.

And so the fourth day is probably going to be sunny as well. Or if it's rainy, we're in the middle of a rainy patch. It's probably going to be rainy. In East Asia, people say, oh, no, change is around the corner. If it's been three days of rain, tomorrow is going to be sunny.

And so the fourth day is probably going to be sunny as well. Or if it's rainy, we're in the middle of a rainy patch. It's probably going to be rainy. In East Asia, people say, oh, no, change is around the corner. If it's been three days of rain, tomorrow is going to be sunny.

So East Asians tend to be better prepared for change and therefore for getting unstuck and for seeing that stuckness is just sort of a part of life. You will always be experiencing change. Whereas you're right, in the West, we see it as a journey and stuckness is the sort of frustrating thing that intervenes and makes that journey more complicated than we'd like it to be.

So East Asians tend to be better prepared for change and therefore for getting unstuck and for seeing that stuckness is just sort of a part of life. You will always be experiencing change. Whereas you're right, in the West, we see it as a journey and stuckness is the sort of frustrating thing that intervenes and makes that journey more complicated than we'd like it to be.

So East Asians tend to be better prepared for change and therefore for getting unstuck and for seeing that stuckness is just sort of a part of life. You will always be experiencing change. Whereas you're right, in the West, we see it as a journey and stuckness is the sort of frustrating thing that intervenes and makes that journey more complicated than we'd like it to be.

And so I think when you can change your mindset and adopt the sort of Eastern way of seeing change as inevitable and as just a necessary part of life that you should always be anticipating, you're much better at coping with that.

And so I think when you can change your mindset and adopt the sort of Eastern way of seeing change as inevitable and as just a necessary part of life that you should always be anticipating, you're much better at coping with that.

And so I think when you can change your mindset and adopt the sort of Eastern way of seeing change as inevitable and as just a necessary part of life that you should always be anticipating, you're much better at coping with that.