Wee Bit Wiser by Jordan Harbinger Something wise(-ish) They say that no one on their deathbed wishes they spent more time at the office. I think it’s safe to say that no one on their deathbed wishes they answered more emails, spent more time in traffic or scrolled more on TikTok, either. (Well, it depends how lit your FYP is, I suppose.) I haven’t died myself yet, but when I’m on my way out, I think I’ll feel the same way. Or will I? Honestly, I’m not sure. I definitely won’t wish I spent...
13 days ago • 3 min read
Wee Bit Wiser by Jordan Harbinger Get wiser You’re not avoiding the thing you’re avoiding. You’re avoiding the feelings that the thing will bring up. You’re not avoiding the responsibility you have. You’re avoiding the parts of yourself that the responsibility will reveal. You’re not avoiding life. You’re avoiding yourself. Procrastination, avoidance, denial — these are all ultimately ways to flee the “problem” of having to be you, in a specific moment, doing something you don’t want to do....
20 days ago • 3 min read
Wee Bit Wiser by Jordan Harbinger Something wise(-ish) There’s a lot of wisdom out there about the art of starting things. Landing a job. Launching a company. Starting a family. Initiating a project. Even cleaning out that one drawer where all your tools and post-its and USB cables end up in a tangled mess. Which is somehow harder than launching a company. (Just me?) But when it comes to the art of ending things… Well, there isn’t really a playbook for that. If you want to find a partner,...
27 days ago • 4 min read
Wee Bit Wiser by Jordan Harbinger Something wise(-ish) You’re not here to be happy. You’re here to evolve. You’re not here to be satisfied. You’re here to grow. You’re not here to be successful. You’re here to learn. I genuinely believe this to be true. And I forget it all the time. Sometimes I feel like Guy Pierce in the movie Memento, except the things I keep forgetting are basic psychospiritual truths. I should get “learning > happiness, you idiot” tattooed on my forearm. Then I’d remember...
about 1 month ago • 3 min read
Wee Bit Wiser by Jordan Harbinger Something wise(-ish) We all know that feeling like an impostor is pretty awful. It’s stressful. It’s anxiety-provoking. And the fear of being “found out” — which is the hallmark of all fraudulence — can eat you up inside. But not all impostorism is created equal. In fact, if you don’t feel like an impostor sometimes, you’re doing something wrong. Because feeling like an imposter isn’t always a symptom of fraudulence. It’s also a sign that you’re growing. Here...
about 2 months ago • 3 min read
Wee Bit Wiser by Jordan Harbinger Something wise(-ish) Years ago, at a conference, I met a borderline obese doctor who smoked a pack a day. I couldn’t wrap my head around it. But there he was, hitting the buffet hard and puffing on Camels between talks. Since then, I’ve met unstable therapists, undisciplined coaches and uncreative copywriters. People who, in a variety of ways, didn’t live up to the substance or spirit of their professions. And it always bugs me. Whatever field you’re in,...
about 2 months ago • 3 min read
Wee Bit Wiser by Jordan Harbinger Something wise(-ish) Out of all the reasons people come up with to not pursue their goals, I think my favorite is “I’m too late.” I’m too late to go back to school. I’m too late to change careers. I’m too late to start exercising. I’m too late to build relationships. I’m too late to work on my marriage. And look — I get this line of thinking to some degree. Time is finite. We’re all getting older. History can be crushing. Also, in some cases, it really is too...
2 months ago • 4 min read
Wee Bit Wiser by Jordan Harbinger Something wise(-ish) Whenever I catch myself saying, “Okay, this is how this situation needs to go,” I already know I’m in trouble. The mind loves to do this. It loves to imagine the ideal version of events to satisfy our desires, needs, fantasies. Or our fears. “As long as things go exactly the way I want, I’ll be satisfied.” And how often does that happen? I’ll speak for myself: never. That never happens for me. What always ends up happening is something...
2 months ago • 4 min read
Wee Bit Wiser by Jordan Harbinger Get wiser Holding people accountable for their role in a toxic situation is not “victim blaming.” There. I said it. You can forgive and empathize with people who have experienced awful things and help them appreciate the ways they participated in a situation. Maybe they overlooked red flags. Maybe they justified bad behavior. Maybe they stuck around longer than they should have. Maybe they struggled to ask for help. Maybe they avoided doing the self-work...
3 months ago • 3 min read