Have you ever scrolled Netflix for 25 minutes, finally picked something—and then couldn’t enjoy it because you kept wondering if there was something better? Or told yourself that if you just had more time, more space, or more freedom, you’d finally write the book, start the business, or get serious about the creative work you keep putting off?

We’ve been sold the idea that more options and more freedom make us happier and more creative. But what if the opposite is true—what if all that freedom is actually making you stay stuck?

My guest is David Epstein, a New York Times bestselling author whose TED talk has been viewed more than eight million times. His new book, Inside the Box, makes the case that the limits we resent might be the very thing standing between us and our best work.

Some of the things we discuss are:

• Why “think outside the box” is actually terrible advice—and what your brain does instead when you hand it a blank page.
• The reason too much freedom raises your Anxiety.
• The jazz pianist who turned a near-disaster into the best-selling solo piano album of all time.
• The “satisficing” rule a Nobel Prize winner used to free up his mind—and why he owned only three sets of clothes.
• Why “maximizers” who hunt for the best option end up less satisfied, more regretful, and unhappier with their lives.
• David’s simple three-letter framework (BCS) for putting useful constraints into your work and your day.
• The almost embarrassingly simple trick David uses to become a morning person and never skip a workout.
• The Therapist’s Take: my three favorite strategies for using constraints to think more creatively, make faster decisions, and grow mentally stronger.

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Inside the Box

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Amy Morin Therapist, Bestselling Author, Host of the Mentally Stronger Podcast

Amy Morin is a psychotherapist, international bestselling author and the host of the Mentally Stronger podcast. Her books on mental strength, including 13 Things Mentally Strong People Don’t Do, have sold more than 1 million copies and been translated into more than 40 languages.

She’s practiced therapy for over 20 years and she’s a sought after speaker whose TEDx talk, The Secret of Becoming Mentally Strong, has become one of the most popular talks of all time with more than 22 million views.

Amy lives on a sailboat in the Florida Keys.