When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing

The self-help shelves at bookstores and libraries are teeming with titles about how to successfully do x, y and z. This book is less about “how to” and more about “when to.” Daniel Pink’s When is the synthesis of over 700 studies from fields as diverse as biology, neuroscience, anthropology, economics and social psychology. His aim is to show that timing in life is not an art, but a science. Pink’s book is full of fascinating facts and practical suggestions for when it is best to take action.

The Power of Regret: How Looking Backward Moves Us Forward

I wish I didn’t worry about what other people think.

My deepest regret of my fifty-two years of life is having lived it fearfully.

I spent too much time trying to meet other people’s ideas of normal.

I regret not being kinder to people. I was too often concerned with being right instead of being kind.

These are a handful of responses that people submitted to the World Regret Survey, which collected some 16,000 regrets from respondents hailing from 105 different countries. A common response to regret is to “let it go,” but according to serial bestselling author Daniel Pink, who spearheaded the World Regret Survey, the “no regrets” approach to life is untenable. Regrets keep us connected to our humanity and give us the opportunity to become better than we were before. In The Power of Regret, Pink examines the findings of the World Regret Survey, follows up with 100 of the respondents for in-depth interviews, and combines his discoveries with several decades of research on the subject of regret. Regret is an emotion as powerful as it is misunderstood, and Pink submits that it carries the potential to make us better.

Drive

Motivation is an essential part of everyday life. It is the driving force that gets us out of bed in the morning and pushes us forward throughout the day. Our motivation has become more intrinsic, and society has started to recognize our need to connect on a deeper level beyond that of a simple reward system. Daniel H. Pink illustrates motivation by comparing it to an operating system. As we grow as a society, our operating system must be updated to accommodate the changes around us. By exploring the evolution of motivation, we can learn what inspires us.