
Sign up to save your podcasts
Or


Is personal development and self-improvement making us better—or just more self-absorbed? In today's episode, we wade into the debate sparked by a recent New York Times article (link below) about whether the world of betterment is actually helping with personal growth, or just creating inward navel-gazing? We discuss how to think about the role of individual agency in a world of structural challenge, the pitfalls of hyper-optimization, and why nuance (and community) matter more than ever. We explore how to use self-help as a tool—without letting it take over your life. Whether you’re a self-improvement skeptic or a die-hard devotee, this conversation will give you new ways to think about growth, agency, and what it really means to be excellent, on both an individual and collective level.
"Is Today's Self-Help Teaching Everyone to Be a Jerk?" by Emma Goldberg: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/25/style/self-help-books-columns-readers.html
Unedited transcript: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1mzKxdG-NcdRbzUsKH6IEMLGt3z5Z7Fln00AN1T4hN3U/edit?usp=sharing
If you have a questions for us, send an email to [email protected] or call our voicemail at (646) 893-9503.
Subscribe to The Growth Equation newsletter: https://thegrowtheq.com/newsletters/geq/
If you are enjoying "excellence, actually," do us a huge favor: text your favorite episode to three people so they can enjoy it, too. Thanks!
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
By Steve Magness, Brad Stulberg, & Clay Skipper4.8
357357 ratings
Is personal development and self-improvement making us better—or just more self-absorbed? In today's episode, we wade into the debate sparked by a recent New York Times article (link below) about whether the world of betterment is actually helping with personal growth, or just creating inward navel-gazing? We discuss how to think about the role of individual agency in a world of structural challenge, the pitfalls of hyper-optimization, and why nuance (and community) matter more than ever. We explore how to use self-help as a tool—without letting it take over your life. Whether you’re a self-improvement skeptic or a die-hard devotee, this conversation will give you new ways to think about growth, agency, and what it really means to be excellent, on both an individual and collective level.
"Is Today's Self-Help Teaching Everyone to Be a Jerk?" by Emma Goldberg: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/25/style/self-help-books-columns-readers.html
Unedited transcript: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1mzKxdG-NcdRbzUsKH6IEMLGt3z5Z7Fln00AN1T4hN3U/edit?usp=sharing
If you have a questions for us, send an email to [email protected] or call our voicemail at (646) 893-9503.
Subscribe to The Growth Equation newsletter: https://thegrowtheq.com/newsletters/geq/
If you are enjoying "excellence, actually," do us a huge favor: text your favorite episode to three people so they can enjoy it, too. Thanks!
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

11,905 Listeners

376 Listeners

1,652 Listeners

1,332 Listeners

483 Listeners

501 Listeners

560 Listeners

61 Listeners

377 Listeners

428 Listeners

183 Listeners

1,829 Listeners

452 Listeners

1,744 Listeners

138 Listeners