How to make decisions

Decisions are all around us, all the time — and getting better at them has more leverage on your life than each topic we share here in isolation. This is an 80/20 on decision making from Chip and Dan Heath's Decisive: why we're bad at decisions, and the four-step process they propose to fix it. Take a decision you're working through right now and apply the questions to it as you go.

Chapters

0:00 Intro0:17 A meta topic1:47 Why we're bad at decisions3:44 Generate options8:11 Test assumptions12:41 Distance yourself14:43 Minimize risk17:42 The four steps, recapped18:07 Three things to start18:49 Wrap-up

Three things to start on making better decisions

Block time in your calendar

Report back in the comments

Set a tripwire, linked to an existing trigger

Links

The full post: https://www.euzoia.org/p/ec567ea4-76c7-4604-806e-55b988003318

Every week, one principle of a good life: https://www.euzoia.org

https://euzoia.org

We’re wrapping up our work series and diving into a 5-week deep dive on Play. Today, we kick things off with Adventure. Christoph breaks down how to use AI to generate genuinely fun ideas, how to inject micro-adventures into your boring work routine, and how to safely navigate deep internal adventures (yes, we’re talking psychedelics).

Most teams do not have a leadership problem. They have an explicitness problem. Ruben Timmerman argues that the real fix is not more managers, but better systems for making decisions, surfacing tensions, and assigning accountability before things break.He explains why Holacracy felt like "GTD for a company," how his startup became one of the first sizable European companies to fully try it, and why the ideas behind it show up in great management even when nobody calls it Holacracy. If you have ever watched clear roles and responsibilities collapse in practice, this conversation gets to the root of why that happens.You'll discover:

• Why "drive-by management" creates the exact bottlenecks teams keep repeating
• How to make change cheap with weekly governance and tight feedback loops
• The difference between writing roles down and actually building a system people can use
• Why explicitness matters even more in remote, diverse, and cross-cultural teams
• How AI is pushing every team toward clearer goals, better context, and more human oversight

Ruben also shares what he learned leading inside Volt Europe, where political culture made alignment both essential and painfully difficult, and why trying to impose a system without full buy-in eventually breaks down. Along the way, he connects the dots between Holacracy, GTD, meditation, and the broader habit of stepping back to see what is actually real.This episode is for founders, operators, team leads, and anyone who is tired of vague ownership and invisible friction. If you want a sharper way to think about leadership, self-management, and how to build organizations that can adapt in real time, this one will change how you look at structure, tension, and trust.Ruben Timmerman is a longtime founder and operations builder who helped scale a startup over 15 years, served in leadership at Volt Europe, co-founded the School for Moral Ambition, and now works on systems that help organizations run with more clarity and autonomy.

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What if the fastest way to become exceptional isn’t fixing everything you’re bad at — but figuring out what you’re unusually good at and doubling down?

In this episode of Euzoia, Christoph breaks down the science and strategy of skill development: how to identify your strengths, practise deliberately, manage your weaknesses, and build feedback loops that actually make you better.

We explore how much your natural predispositions matter, whether personality tests can reveal hidden strengths, why simply “putting in the hours” isn’t enough, and how motivation, focus and your environment can dramatically change how productive you are.

You’ll learn:

• How to figure out what you’re actually good at
• Why deliberate practice beats mindless repetition
• How genetics and personality can influence skill development
• When to improve a weakness — and when to work around it
• Why feedback is essential for getting better
• How to create a practice → application → feedback loop
• Why motivation can matter more than willpower
• How reducing distractions can dramatically improve your output
• Whether you should double down on strengths or become more well-rounded

The goal isn’t to become good at everything.

It’s to understand yourself well enough to become exceptionally good at the things that matter.

💬 What’s one skill you’re actively trying to improve right now?

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to skill growth and personal development
02:11 Identifying your strengths and experimenting
04:35 The role of deliberate practice and mentorship
06:37 Managing weaknesses and building around them
08:14 Doubling down on strengths vs fixing weaknesses
09:00 Boosting productivity through motivation and focus
09:56 Reducing distractions and organizing your thoughts
10:54 Effort vs enjoyment in productivity
11:23 Building a deliberate practice and application loop
12:28 How to start your skill development journey

Key ideas: skill development, deliberate practice, growth mindset, productivity, strengths and weaknesses, personal growth, career development, motivation, focus, self-improvement, learning faster, building skills

https://euzoia.substack.com/https://euzoia.org/https://www.youtube.com/@euzoiahttps://open.spotify.com/show/30qsIDrNDARnpMDBflwGKF?si=951b0e7b65e846b1https://www.tiktok.com/@euzoiaorgYour career takes up a huge portion of your waking life — so how much does choosing the right one actually matter for happiness?In this episode of Euzoia, Cameron speaks with Nina Friedrich, Director of High Impact Professionals, about the relationship between career, happiness, meaning, community and impact.We explore what actually makes work satisfying, why pursuing impact can add a deeper dimension to your career, and how to make a major career change without recklessly blowing up your life.Nina also explains how High Impact Professionals helps people use their careers for greater positive impact, why community can be so important when changing direction, and how to think strategically about developing the skills and connections needed to move into more meaningful work.We also dig into the realities of remote work, work-life balance, professional growth, and whether optimizing your career for impact can sometimes conflict with optimizing it for happiness.In this episode:What actually determines whether a career makes you happyThe relationship between meaningful work and well-beingWhy impact can make work more fulfillingHow to know when it might be time for a career changeMaking career transitions without starting from zeroBuilding skills and career capital strategicallyWhy community and networking matterFinding other people who care about having an impactThe benefits and downsides of remote workBalancing impact, ambition and quality of lifeHow to build a career that is both meaningful and sustainableIf you're wondering whether you're spending your working life on the right thing — or considering moving toward a career with more meaning and impact — this conversation is for you.

https://euzoia.substack.com/https://euzoia.org/https://www.youtube.com/@euzoiahttps://open.spotify.com/show/30qsIDrNDARnpMDBflwGKF?si=951b0e7b65e846b1https://www.tiktok.com/@euzoiaorgWhy do some people consistently create opportunities, recover quickly from failure, and shape their careers—while others wait for permission?In this episode of Euzoia, Christoph sits down with Sofia to explore agency: the ability to take initiative, make meaningful decisions, and influence the direction of your life.They unpack whether agency is something you are born with or a skill you can deliberately develop. From experimenting early in your career to building high-agency teams, Sofia shares practical strategies for becoming more proactive, resilient, and impactful.They discuss:• Why exploration is essential early in your career• How to choose work based on impact, autonomy, and culture• The balance between exploration and exploitation• How “duocracy” encourages initiative within teams• Why rejection and failure are necessary parts of growth• How small experiments can increase your tolerance for risk• The hidden danger of waiting for permission• How strong leaders balance freedom with structure• Why emotional recovery speed may matter more than avoiding failure• Practical ways to start building more agency todayThe biggest lesson? You probably have more permission than you think.Agency is not about having total confidence or knowing exactly what to do. It is about taking the next useful action, learning from the result, and continuing to move forward.Whether you are starting your career, changing direction, managing a team, or building an organisation, this conversation offers a practical framework for creating more opportunities instead of waiting for them.

https://euzoia.substack.com/
https://euzoia.org/
https://www.youtube.com/@euzoia
https://open.spotify.com/show/30qsIDrNDARnpMDBflwGKF?si=951b0e7b65e846b1
https://www.tiktok.com/@euzoiaorg

Why do some people consistently create opportunities, recover quickly from failure, and shape their careers—while others wait for permission?

In this episode of Euzoia, Christoph sits down with Sofia to explore agency: the ability to take initiative, make meaningful decisions, and influence the direction of your life.

They unpack whether agency is something you are born with or a skill you can deliberately develop. From experimenting early in your career to building high-agency teams, Sofia shares practical strategies for becoming more proactive, resilient, and impactful.

They discuss:

• Why exploration is essential early in your career
• How to choose work based on impact, autonomy, and culture
• The balance between exploration and exploitation
• How “duocracy” encourages initiative within teams
• Why rejection and failure are necessary parts of growth
• How small experiments can increase your tolerance for risk
• The hidden danger of waiting for permission
• How strong leaders balance freedom with structure
• Why emotional recovery speed may matter more than avoiding failure
• Practical ways to start building more agency today

The biggest lesson? You probably have more permission than you think.

Agency is not about having total confidence or knowing exactly what to do. It is about taking the next useful action, learning from the result, and continuing to move forward.

Whether you are starting your career, changing direction, managing a team, or building an organisation, this conversation offers a practical framework for creating more opportunities instead of waiting for them.

https://euzoia.substack.com/
https://euzoia.org/
https://www.youtube.com/@euzoia
https://open.spotify.com/show/30qsIDrNDARnpMDBflwGKF?si=951b0e7b65e846b1
https://www.tiktok.com/@euzoiaorg

Having children may be the most meaningful decision you ever make—but how can you know whether it is the right one?

In this episode of Euzoia, Christoph speaks with Julia Wise, licensed social worker, Community Health Lead at the Centre for Effective Altruism, former President of Giving What We Can, and mother of three.

They explore one of life’s biggest and most irreversible questions: Should you have children?

Julia shares the honest reality of parenthood—from sleep deprivation, lost time and reduced freedom to the extraordinary love, meaning and connection that children can bring. She also explains how she approached the decision through an ethical lens: considering the money, energy and attention that raising children might take away from helping others.

The conversation explores:

• Whether you can predict how much you will enjoy being a parent
• Why parenthood often feels more meaningful than it feels “happy”
• The hidden cost of children: not just money, but attention and focus
• Whether having a second or third child is really much harder
• Why many people may wait until they feel “ready” for too long
• How to think about the possibility of future regret
• Why becoming a father may not feel real until the child arrives
• The pressure to become financially and emotionally perfect first
• What contradictory parenting advice gets wrong
• Why imperfect parents have successfully raised children for thousands of years

Julia also shares what living with a newborn before becoming a parent taught her, why having her own children felt completely different from watching someone else raise theirs, and how parenting created a form of meaning unlike anything she had experienced through work or charitable giving.

This is not an argument that everyone should have children. It is an open, thoughtful and unusually honest examination of what the decision involves—and why complete certainty may never arrive.

“Children are the most immediate, ongoing and ever-present project that you can do.”

00:00 – Meet Julia Wise
01:29 – Living with a newborn before becoming a parent
05:11 – Can you practise for parenthood?
07:00 – The ethics of having children
09:30 – The true cost: time, money and mental focus
11:54 – Can non-parents understand the experience?
14:28 – Is having more children much harder?
18:47 – Do you need to be completely ready?
23:01 – Children, commitment and future regret
24:22 – Happiness versus meaning
27:50 – Why parenting advice is so contradictory
30:32 – Why imperfect parents are probably doing better than they think

Find Julia’s writing at juliawise.net and on Substack.

Subscribe to Euzoia for more conversations about health, relationships, meaning, fulfilment and what it takes to build a genuinely good life.

Chapters

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Most relationships don’t fall apart because the love suddenly disappears. They weaken because people stop actively practising it.

We tend to think of love as a feeling—something magical that either exists or doesn’t. But lasting love is closer to a skill: something built through attention, affection and deliberate action.

In this episode of Euzoia, we explore four evidence-based strategies for creating stronger, happier and more deeply connected relationships:

⏳ How to spend genuinely meaningful quality time together
💌 Why tiny gestures often matter more than grand romantic displays
🗣️ How regular relationship check-ins prevent resentment from building
❤️ Why affectionate touch matters—even when it doesn’t lead to sex

You’ll learn how novelty can bring energy back into a relationship, why sending one thoughtful message can have an outsized impact, and how to discuss your relationship without making it feel like a performance review.

These ideas aren’t limited to romantic couples. They can also help you become a more loving friend, family member and person.

Because love isn’t only something you feel.

Check out Settled: Settledlove.com

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hat if the “perfect relationship” doesn’t exist — and the strongest couples are just the ones who learn how to repair, reassure, and choose each other again?In this episode of Euzoia, Christoph sits down with Ann from SettledLove.com to unpack what actually makes relationships last after the honeymoon phase fades. From attachment styles and emotional safety to texting anxiety, conflict loops, avoidant patterns, and the surprisingly messy reality of long-term love, this conversation gets into the stuff couples usually avoid saying out loud.Ann brings insights from matchmaking, public health, mental health, and her own informal study of 50 long-term couples — including the surprising truth that even “solid” relationships are often full of doubt, conflict, uncertainty, and repair.We explore:Why happy couples still question their relationshipHow anxious and avoidant attachment show up in datingWhy conflict is often about safety, not the surface-level argumentThe power of regular relationship check-insWhy texting speed is a terrible measure of loveHow to stop taking every little thing personallyThe uncomfortable truth about choosing someone long-termWhy your mindset about your partner may matter more than shared hobbiesThis is a conversation for anyone who has ever thought:“Is this normal?”“Do they still love me?”“Why am I pulling away?”“Should relationships feel this uncertain?”Turns out: love is less about finding someone who never triggers you, and more about learning how to become safe for each other.