202 Self-Deception

In order to gain self-knowledge, you have to reduce the gap between what you think about yourself and reality. Although this is often an uncomfortable process, the truth is always liberating.   In this episode, I share two theories from social psychology about why we sometimes lie to ourselves and fool ourselves, as well as suggestions for overcoming these tendencies. I describe some of my own approaches to overcoming self-deception by getting objective data about my life.  Show Notes Trivers' Theory of Self-Deception The Better Angels of Our Nature by Stephen Pinker The Dunning-Kruger Effect TVL E200 Quantified Self TVL Episode The Unexamined Business Is Not Worth Building