Daniel Pink

Another thing that you can do in the midpoint is actually create a set of smaller, shorter moments. And so what you can do is you can say you're writing a book and you're not sure exactly what the midpoint is. Basically say, you know, what I want to do is I want to get to the end of this section. I want to get to the end of this chapter.

And that can give you the motivation, even if you're not at the end of the book itself. So slicing into smaller things. There's some interesting research from the NBA about the NBA. done by Jonah Berger and Devin Pope showing that teams that are ahead at halftime in the NBA are more likely to win the game.

And that can give you the motivation, even if you're not at the end of the book itself. So slicing into smaller things. There's some interesting research from the NBA about the NBA. done by Jonah Berger and Devin Pope showing that teams that are ahead at halftime in the NBA are more likely to win the game.

Not surprisingly, but teams that are behind by one are actually behind by one are actually more likely to win. than teams that are ahead by one. And there's other experimental evidence showing that if you feel like you're slightly behind in the middle, you get some extra motivation. So if you feel like you're way behind, you give up. If you feel like you're way ahead, you can become complacent.

Not surprisingly, but teams that are behind by one are actually behind by one are actually more likely to win. than teams that are ahead by one. And there's other experimental evidence showing that if you feel like you're slightly behind in the middle, you get some extra motivation. So if you feel like you're way behind, you give up. If you feel like you're way ahead, you can become complacent.

But if you just feel like you're a little bit behind, and so having that thin edge of hunger and feeling a little bit behind in the middle can be helpful.

But if you just feel like you're a little bit behind, and so having that thin edge of hunger and feeling a little bit behind in the middle can be helpful.

I had regrets. I mean, it's that simple. It's very therapeutic for me, Ilana, to sort of talk about how all of this evolved. But this is not a book that I would have written in my 30s. I would not have written a book about regret in my 30s. But in my 50s, it felt in some ways inevitable because, you know, if you hit age 50, you likely have more of your life behind you than ahead of you.

I had regrets. I mean, it's that simple. It's very therapeutic for me, Ilana, to sort of talk about how all of this evolved. But this is not a book that I would have written in my 30s. I would not have written a book about regret in my 30s. But in my 50s, it felt in some ways inevitable because, you know, if you hit age 50, you likely have more of your life behind you than ahead of you.

And so I had a lot of room to look back. And I look back, as people do. And when I look back, there were things I wish I had done. There were things I wish I hadn't done. There were things I wish I had done differently. And I was curious about that.

And so I had a lot of room to look back. And I look back, as people do. And when I look back, there were things I wish I had done. There were things I wish I hadn't done. There were things I wish I had done differently. And I was curious about that.

Here there was a catalyst in that I really started thinking about this deeply at my elder daughter's college graduation because that kind of marker is very meaningful because, you know, I'm in this graduation ceremony and, you know, I see this kid, not kid, this young woman and... How did that happen?

Here there was a catalyst in that I really started thinking about this deeply at my elder daughter's college graduation because that kind of marker is very meaningful because, you know, I'm in this graduation ceremony and, you know, I see this kid, not kid, this young woman and... How did that happen?

Exactly. Precisely the question I asked, how the hell did that happen? Like this kid used to be like an infant. This is the same kid we're talking about being born and then like then they're writing Free Asian Nation. It's like crawling up the stairs of my attic office. And suddenly she's walking across the stage in a college graduation. I blinked and that happened.

Exactly. Precisely the question I asked, how the hell did that happen? Like this kid used to be like an infant. This is the same kid we're talking about being born and then like then they're writing Free Asian Nation. It's like crawling up the stairs of my attic office. And suddenly she's walking across the stage in a college graduation. I blinked and that happened.

And so that's kind of disorienting. And then also it's like, how can I have a kid? How can I have a daughter who's 22 years old when I'm like 25 myself? And, you know, I started thinking about, in particular, about my own college experience, which was generally quite positive. But I had some regrets about that.

And so that's kind of disorienting. And then also it's like, how can I have a kid? How can I have a daughter who's 22 years old when I'm like 25 myself? And, you know, I started thinking about, in particular, about my own college experience, which was generally quite positive. But I had some regrets about that.

And when I came back home to Washington, D.C., where I live, this is a moment where I was thinking a lot about regret. I realized it's like, oh, my God, I don't want to talk about this with anybody because nobody wants to talk about regret. And I sheepishly mentioned my regrets to a few people. And I discovered that everybody wanted to talk about it.

And when I came back home to Washington, D.C., where I live, this is a moment where I was thinking a lot about regret. I realized it's like, oh, my God, I don't want to talk about this with anybody because nobody wants to talk about regret. And I sheepishly mentioned my regrets to a few people. And I discovered that everybody wanted to talk about it.

That once I brought up regrets, it just uncorked this need that other people had. And that's a very interesting reaction when you're a writer. And so I decided that I would actually threw away a book that I was working on and then wrote an entirely new proposal for a book about regret.