Few things seem more obvious and unquestionable than the notion that leaders should always be true to their values, no matter what.
This widely-endorsed mantra, known as moral authenticity, is based on two rather logical assumptions.
First, leaders (unlike, say, first line supervisors or mid-level managers), are not just in charge to coordinate human activity, but also to act as agents of meaning. Indeed, what most people expect from leaders is some form of inspiration, including ethical guidance, spiritual direction, and strong alignment between their values and behaviors.
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Second, followers gravitate towards leaders who share their values or core beliefs. Therefore, they have an incentive to know and understand how leaders feel and think about critical issues (e.g., ideology, politics, social issues, and current affairs) in order to decide whether they are worthy of being followed.
Accordingly, leaders who are either unclear about their values or unable to convincingly project what their values are may be incapable of leading, and questioned, if not plainly ignored, by followers. For a modern example in politics, consider John Kerry, who became an emblem of political flip-flopping when, during the 2004 campaign, remarked that he had voted for the $87 billion before he voted against it, referring to a wartime funding bill he initially supported with conditions and later opposed, eroding public trust in the consistency of his convictions.
The case for changing course
And yet, there are reasons why adhering to a strict consistency isnt always best. For example:
(1) Uncertainty invites self-doubt: In an age where almost nothing is certain and the world seems unpredictable, it is only rational (and human) for leaders to think before they act, and have the capacity to not follow their heart, controlling their instinctive impulses and decoupling the stimulus-response chain from knee-jerk reactions. What looks like hesitation is often a sign of maturity: the ability to pause, reflect, and override ones own emotional intuitions in order to choose the response that serves the group, not ones ego. In other words, a leader who never second-guesses themselves is not confident; theyre dangerous.
(2) Tolerance requires flexibility: The ability to not just park their values aside, but to attempt to understand and accept the values of others (not just followers, subordinates, and voters, but also critics and opposers) strengthens leaders ability to unite and, well, lead: since leadership is about bringing people together rather than dividing them or enhancing existing divisions. Conversely, leaders who treat their own values as sacred commandments will enhance factions and polarize, appealing to fans and fanatics with cult-like charisma but repelling and antagonizing almost everyone else. Dogmatic rigidity to ones values creates tribes; flexible curiosity creates pragmatic coalitions and unity.
(3) Toxic or problematic values: What if the leaders values are wrong, antisocial, or toxic? In those instances, surely leaders would benefit from at least entertaining the possibility that better values can be adopted and espoused in favor of the majority. Values are generally stable over time, but we do have the capacity to change, and that includes changing our views and beliefs around core values (if you want to know yours, take this very short, free assessment). This is especially important when values are maladaptive, or plainly wrong. As I illustrate in my latest book, the most the brutal dictators in history happen to have very few reservations about following their own crooked valuesin fact they were transparent and uncompromisingly true to them, but to everybodys detriment. A leader who insists on being true to their values, even when those values harm others, is doing nobody a favor. From an other-perspective, such leaders would be better off questioning, changing or ignoring their own values, so as to behave according to the prosocial values of the majority.
(4) Basic decency and integrity suffice: After that, values are a nice add-on, but what matters is leaders actual competence and ability to lead. The real test is not whether leaders have the right values but whether they behave with integrity, fairness, and restraint when it counts. Competence, empathy, and impulse control routinely outperform any abstract commitment to ones internal belief system, no matter how logical or psychologically appealing that system may be to some (which tends to mean it will be unappealing to others). People dont follow you because they agree with every value you supposedly hold; they follow you because you make good decisions that benefit more than just yourself, and because you have the skills, personality, and ability to make them better.
Adapt, rethink, and revise
In short, when leaders are decent human beings, with the ability to control their dark side and resist short-term temptations to benefit individually but at the expense of the collective, what matters is not so much what they think or how they feel about polarizing issues, but their ability to persuade a group of people to set aside their individual agendas to become part of a unity, a strong collective that can function and perform. This also means convincing people to set asid their own differences in values, at least when they are at work or attempting to collaborate, so the group can get on with the task of actually achieving something rather than endlessly litigating their personal worldviews.
What followers need is not leaders who perform their values but leaders who regulate themselves in service of the group. Teams, organizations, and indeed nations will generally benefit from leaders who can adapt, rethink, and revisenot because they lack conviction, but because they have the humility to prioritize collective progress over personal purity.
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Its a new year, which means millions of people are setting resolutions they genuinely want to keep.
We want to eat better. Move more. Make more money. Finally get control of our time. Were taking advantage of the Fresh Start Effect, a principle rooted in the idea that people often view new beginnings as an opportunity to distance themselves from past failures and shortcomings. This can lead to a psychological reset, where we experience a renewed sense of optimism, self-efficacy, and motivation, common around the New Year.
And yet, by February, most of this motivation will quietly evaporatenot because people dont care, but because the way we set resolutions is fundamentally flawed.
Why most resolutions faileven when you really want them to work
As a culture, New Years resolutions are tests of your personal discipline. If you stick with them, youre committed. If you dont, you fell off the wagon. Cue the familiar guilt/shame spiral.
But new behavioral research suggests something very different.
A 2025 multi-country study examining goal persistence found that the strongest predictor of whether someone follows through on a resolution isnt willpower, discipline, or even how specific the goal is. Its intrinsic motivationwhether the behavior itself feels personally meaningful and rewarding, rather than externally pressured.
In other words, people dont abandon resolutions because they lack grit. They abandon them because the goal never fit into their real lives in the first place. That helps explain why the most common resolution formatsrigid, outcome-focused goals set once a yeartend to collapse under pressure.
The hidden problem with outcome-based goals
Most resolutions are framed as endpoints: lose 20 pounds, run a marathon, read 50 books, get promoted.
They sound motivating, but behavioral scientists increasingly argue that these outcome-first goals are poorly suited for behavior change. In fact, research suggests that popular frameworks like S.M.A.R.T. goals are no more effective than telling someone to do your best when it comes to sustaining new habits.
These types of goals skip the hardest part: the messy bridge between who you are today and who youre trying to become.
Tiffany Clevinger is a high-performance hypnotist who says, Its better to make identity-based goals over outcome-based goals . . . Who am I becoming in the process? She suggests reframing a goal like Save more money to an identity target of Become someone who is more responsible with money.
When progress inevitably slows, outcome-based goals create a psychological trap. Youre either on track or youve failed. Miss a few workouts or break a streak, and guilt creeps in. Shame follows. Motivation drops. The resolution quietly fades. But some high performers know how to avoid this trap altogether.
Why you should think in weeks, not years
People who consistently change their behavior dont rely on annual resolutions. They design systems that create momentum every week, not once a year.
Weeks offer fast feedback. They allow room for course correction. They make it easier to recover from setbacks without abandoning the entire goal. Instead of asking, Can I do this for a year? they ask, Can I do this easily this week?
And, as Clevinger explains, you can still take advantage of the Fresh Start Effect. Instead of looking at January 1st as being the only fresh start, we can look at every Monday as being a micro fresh start, she says. It feels so much lighter, so much easier for the nervous system to commit to.
This shiftfrom outcomes to process, from years to weeksis where sustainable change begins.
Want to try it out? Heres a science-backed alternative to traditional resolutions, based on our work at Lifehack Method with thousands of professionals who are trying to change real habits inside already full lives.
Step 1: Choose one identity shift plus one small habit
Behavior change is not easy. Each new habit competes for attention, energy, and willpower. Consistent achievers know this, which is why they focus on a single identity shift theyd genuinely like to evolvenot a full personality overhaul. Their focus is on long-term durability, not 75-hard level intensity.
A one percent improvement repeated daily compounds far more reliably than a burst of motivation followed by exhaustion, guilt, and abandonment. As Atomic Habits author James Clear notes, If you get one percent better each day for one year, you’ll end up thirty-seven times better by the time youre done.
For example, if you want to become the sort of person who takes care of their body, the one small habit you might commit to is to drink a glass of water each morning when you wake up. As this becomes more automatic, and you have success, you might add an additional small habit such as cooking a healthy breakfast each day.
The early stages should feel almost underwhelmingbecause the system is designed to work after motivation fades, not while its high. If it feels boring, youre probably doing it right.
Step 2: Add a number to make progress tracking easy
Vague resolutions fail because they dont give the brain anything concrete to act on. Adding a simple numeric anchorminutes, frequency, pagesturns a wish into a decision. Exercise more becomes jog for 30 minutes twice a week. Read more becomes read 30 pages before bed.
This isnt to make them more rigid, its to increase their clarity. Clear commitments reduce mental friction and give you a satisfying sense of doneness. They are harder to wiggle out of, especially on days when motivation is low.
Step 3: Identify the friction before it shows up
Most people plan for success and hope obstacles wont appear. But people who stick to their goals assume friction is inevitable, and plan accordingly.
Fear, overambition, scheduling conflicts, travel, and fatigue are highly predictable barriers. The more explicitly you identify what might derail a habit, the easier it becomes to respond without spiraling into self-criticism.
Asking, What stones are in my path that I need to clear? is a mental shift that keeps you focused on achieving your target for the long term.
Step 4: Borrow motivation from structure and accountability
Willpower is unreliable, especially when youre already juggling work, family, and constant digital demands.
Thats why external structure matters. Research on behavior change consistently shows that accountability increases follow-through by introducing eustresspositive, motivating pressure that reduces the cognitive load of self-regulation.
Behavioral scientst Susan Ibitz points to her experience in the military as an extreme but illuminating example. The environment created by the sergeants and soldiers creates momentum; action becomes easier because the structure removes friction. She encourages those of us to design structure into our own lives, starting with someone who can hold us accountable. You need to find a cheerleader who is not your mom. You need someone who sees real value in you, not because they love you, Ibitz says.
By joining a social mastermind or working with an accountability partner or coach, youll gain a supportive environment that calls you to the mat in a loving way. When accountability is built into your environment, it keeps you on task when willpower fades.
Step 5: Put the habit on your calendaror it doesnt exist
Habits dont form through intention alone. They form through repetition in a specific context.
Research suggests that simple habits can become more automatic within roughly two months, while more complex behaviors take longer. The mistake most people make is assuming the habit will find a place in their schedule.
It wont.
Blocking time on your calendaraccounting for travel, energy levels, and realistic constraintsturns the habit into a commitment instead of a hope. Many people also find success by chaining a new habit to an existing one, reducing the mental effort required to start.
Step 6: Use rewards
Reward is one of the most underused levers in habit formation, especially among high achievers who are often more comfortable with self-criticism than self-reinforcement.
Some people rely on negative incentives, like penalties for missed actions. While these can work short-term, they often undermine intrinsic motivation over time.
Positive rewards are different. They reinforce identity. They make the process itself feel worthwhile. For example, rewarding yourself with a quick walk around the neighborhood, a bike ride, frisbee with your dog, or a break from work to watch inspiring TED videos is all it takes sometimes to make the juice worth the squeeze.
Think of it as an insurance plan against failure, rather than an unnecessary indulgence.
Why this system works when resolutions dont
Traditional resolutions ask people to change their behavior without changing the system around that behavior. But the people who make lasting changes arent more disciplined than everyone else. Theyre more focused on identity-based, consistent change.
By focusing on intrinsic motivation, weekly momentum, structural support, and realistic planning, the goal shifts from perfect execution to staying in the game. Miss a week, and you dont failyou get up and try again.
They stop trying to reinvent themselves every January and start designing habits they can live with in February, March, and beyond.
So if 2026 is going to be different, it wont be because you wanted it more. It will be because you built a system that made change easier to sustain.
Want more housing market stories from Lance Lamberts ResiClub in your inbox? Subscribe to the ResiClub newsletter.
Zillow economists just published their updated 12-month forecast, projecting that U.S. home pricesas measured by the Zillow Home Value Indexwill rise 2% between November 2025 and November 2026.
Heading into 2025, Zillows 12-month forecast for U.S. home prices was +2.6%. However, many housing markets across the country softened faster than expected, prompting Zillow to issue several downward revisions. By April 2025, Zillow had cut its 12-month national home price outlook to -1.7%.
In the second half of this year, Zillow began upgrading its forecast. In August, it revised its 12-month outlook to +0.4%. In September, the forecast increased to +1.2%, and in October Zillow upgraded its 12-month national home price forecast to +1.9%. In November, Zillow slightly downgraded its 12-month outlook to +1.5%. This month, however, Zillow revised its 12-month outlook for U.S. home price growth back up, just a tad, to +2%.
While Zillows national home price forecast is no longer negativeit isnt exactly bullish either. It’s calling for a soft national housing market in 2026, one where national housing affordability may improve slightly as U.S. income growth outpaces U.S. home price growth.
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Among the 300 largest U.S. metro-area housing markets, Zillow expects the biggest home price increase from November 2025 to November 2026 to occur in these 15 metros:
Atlantic City, New Jersey +5.9%
Rockford, Illinois +5.6%
Knoxville, Tennessee +5.1%
Concord, New Hampshire +5.1%
Green Bay, Wisconsin +5%
Saginaw, Michigan +4.9%
New Haven, Connecticut +4.7%
Appleton, Wisconsin +4.7%
Wausau, Wisconsin +4.7%
Fayetteville, Arkansas +4.6%
Jacksonville, North Carolina +4.6%
Kingston, New York +4.6%
Janesville, Wisconsin +4.6%
Bangor, Maine +4.6%
Morristown, Tennessee +4.6%
Among the 300 largest U.S. metro-area housing markets, Zillow expects the biggest home price decline from November 2025 to November 2026 to occur in these 15 metros:
Houma, Louisiana -7.0%
Lake Charles, Louisiana -6%
New Orleans -4.1%
Shreveport, Louisiana -3.1%
Lafayette, Louisiana -3%
Alexandria, Louisiana -2.4%
Beaumont, Texas -2.3%
Austin -2.2%
Chico, California -2%
Punta Gorda, Florida -2%
Monroe, Louisiana -1.9%
San Francisco -1.6%
Odessa, Texas -1.5%
Corpus Christi, Texas -1.3%
Santa Rosa, California -1.1%
U.S. home prices, as measured by the Zillow Home Value Index, are currently up 0.01% year over year. If Zillows latest 12-month outlook (+2%) comes to fruition, it would represent a small acceleration nationally.
Below is what the current year-over-year rate of home price growth looks like for single-family and condo home prices. The Sunbelt, in particular Southwest Florida, is currently the epicenter of housing market weakness right now.
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With supply no longer as tight as it was during the pandemic, price gains are likely to stay modest. Buyers should see a bit more time and leverage when they shop, while sellers can still build equity, just at a slower pace than in past boom years, wrote Zillow economists in a report published on Monday.
Zillow economists added: Looking ahead, Zillow projects sales will strengthen in 2026 as mortgage rates trend lower and affordability improves. Existing home sales are forecast to reach 4.3 million next year, a 5.2% yearoveryear gain. After two slow years, the recovery is expected to be led by the Southeast and West, where demand is more ratesensitive and is starting to rebound as borrowing costs ease.
Did your Christmas morning start off with a Mac under the tree? No matter if you unwrapped a new MacBook, iMac, or Mac mini, that hardware is just the beginning of a gift that will keep on giving. In 2025, there are more apps and games for Apple computers than ever. Here are six we recommend taking a look at.
Pages
Whether youre a student or a professional who just got a new Mac, one of the most critical apps to have is a word processor. For decades now, the word-processing king, Microsoft Word, has been available on Macs. The problem is that Microsoft Word is now largely a subscription servicemeaning that if you use it, youll have to pay a monthly fee.
[Screenshot: Apple]
That annoying subscription model is why every Mac owner should download Apples Pages. Apples word processor is incredibly powerful and versatile, enabling the easy creation of everything from manuscripts to newsletters. It even lets you create and edit documents in the Word format for cross-platform use.
Book Tracker
One great thing about the Mac is that there are tons of indie developers creating high-quality apps for nearly any niche use you can think of. One of the best indie apps weve found this year is dedicated to helping you track your book library.
[Screenshot: Simone Montalto]
Book Tracker is an app any book lover will adore. Scan the UPC of any book with your Macs camera, and the book will be added to Book Trackers library, where you can view information about it, organize it into collections, and add notes. The app also allows you to set and track reading goals, add books to your to-be-read wish list, and easily see all the quotes youve decided to jot down from your favorite books.
Flighty
If youre a frequent flier, youll probably be bringing that new MacBook you just got on any trip you take. But more than just a tool to use on long flights, your MacBook can actually make your travel experience less stressful, thanks to a certain app. That app is Flighty, which allows you to view all kinds of information about your upcoming flight right on your Macs desktop.
[Screenshot: Flighty LLC]
Enter your flight details, and Flighty will instantly display your flights itinerary on a beautiful interactive map, along with a detailed timetable of your departure, taxi, and takeoff as well as your landing metrics. The app also alerts you to delays and displays other useful information like the time zone and weather at your destination.
Assassins Creed Shadows
Gaming on the Mac has never been better, and 2025 saw the release of what is probably the most graphically impressive game ever to hit Apples platform: Assassins Creed Shadows. The AAA game by gaming giant Ubisoft shows that game studios are finally going all-in on Mac gaming, mainly thanks to the Macs powerful Apple Silicon chips.
[Screenshot: Ubisoft Entertainment]
Assassins Creed Shadows is the latest installment of the Assassins Creed franchise, which lets you play as a shinobi assassin and a samurai in feudal Japan. With riveting story, characters, and jaw-dropping graphics, this is a must-have game if youre looking for some fun downtime on your Mac over the holidays.
Resident Evil 2
If youre looking for a game a little less mesmerizing and a lot more horrifying, you should definitely check out the Resident Evil 2 remake by Capcom. Originally released in 1998, Resident Evil 2 is the game that defined the survival horror genre for a generation.
[Screenshot: Capcom]
The remake retains all of the originals tense atmosphere, compelling characters, and bone-chilling sound design, but repackages it in a layer of modern graphics and lighting effects. Best of all, as with Assassins Creed Shadows above, Resident Evil 2 supports game controllers, making your playing it on a Mac feel reminiscent of a console experience.
Altos Adventure
If samurai and zombies arent your thing, and you prefer a more casual gaming experience, youll likely love Altos Adventure. The endless runner snowboarding game originally debuted on the iPhone in 2015 and was widely praised for its art design, score, and game mechanics. And all that is turned up to an 11 in the Mac version of the game, thanks to the Mac’s expansive displays compared to the iPhone’s.
[Screenshot: Snowman]
In Altos Adventure, you play a llama herder on a snowboard as he races across beautiful landscapes collecting his runaway flock while performing flips and other aerial acrobatics on his snowboard. Yet despite its kinetic action, the game is surprisingly calming, and its wintry, snowcapped backdrops couldnt be more appropos for this time of year.
From boardrooms to startup garages, leaders need ideas that work in the real world. These 10 books offer a broader perspective on business, helping us see the patterns behind the day-to-day grind.
Learn something new every day with Book Bites, 15-minute audio summaries of the latest and greatest nonfiction. Get started by downloading the Next Big Idea App today!
Today Was Fun: A Book About Work (Seriously)
By Bree Groff
When we wish away the workweek, we wish away our lives. What would it take for us to look forward to Monday? Find out in this refreshing and unconventional take on the world of work. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Bree Groff, in the Next Big Idea App or view on Amazon.
Click: How to Make What People Want
By Jake Knapp with John Zeratsky
A guide for starting big projects the smart waybased on firsthand experience with more than three hundred new products and businesses. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Jake Knapp, in the Next Big Idea App or view on Amazon.
Capitalism: A Global History
By Sven Beckert
A challenge to rethink the most important force shaping our livescapitalismby looking beyond Western narratives and embracing a truly global perspective, opening new ways to imagine our economic futures. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Sven Beckert, in the Next Big Idea App or view on Amazon.
99% Perspiration: A New Working History of the American Way of Life
By Adam Chandler
An enlightening and entertaining interrogation of the myth of American self-reliance and the idea of hard work as destiny. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Adam Chandler, in the Next Big Idea App or view on Amazon.
Dirtbag Billionaire: How Yvon Chouinard Built Patagonia, Made a Fortune, and Gave It All Away
By David Gelles
A New York Times reporter reveals how Patagonia became a global leader in doing well by doing good and how other companies are adopting its principles. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author David Gelles, in the Next Big Idea App or view on Amazon.
Superbloom: How Technologies of Connection Tear Us Apart
By Nicholas Carr
The great tragedy of communication is that the more we have, the more discord it sows. Despite generations of repeated hope that world peace awaits on the other side of faster, more frequent contact, the reality is that history and psychology tell a different story. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Nicholas Carr, in the Next Big Idea App or view on Amazon.
The Mysterious Mr. Nakamoto
By Benjamin Wallace
Someone created Bitcoinbut no one actually knows who. In The Mysterious Mr. Nakamoto, journalist Benjamin Wallace chronicles his attempt to unmask the figure behind the currency and the world it wrought. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Benjamin Wallace, in the Next Big Idea App or view on Amazon.
Breakneck: Chinas Quest to Engineer the Future
By Dan Wang
A riveting, firsthand investigation of Chinas seismic progress, its human costs, and what it means for America. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Dan Wang, in the Next Big Idea App or view on Amazon.
The Thinking Machine: Jensen Huang, Nvidia, and the Worlds Most Coveted Microchip
By Stephen Witt
The riveting investigative account of Nvidia, the tech company that has exploded in value for its artificial intelligence computing hardware, and Jensen Huang, Nvidias charismatic, uncompromising CEO. Listen to our Next Big Idea podcast episode interviewing author Stephen Witt, or view on Amazon.
1929: Inside the Greatest Crash in Wall Street Historyand How It Shattered a Nation
By Andrew Ross Sorkin
An eye-opening account of the forces that led to the worst financial crisis in history and the lessons that disaster can teach us about todays economy. Listen to our Next Big Idea podcast episode interviewing author Andrew Ross Sorkin, or view on Amazon.
The Key Ideas in 15 Minutes
If you are going to get anywhere in life, you have to read a lot of books, Roald Dahl once famously said. The only trouble is, reading even one book from cover to cover takes hoursand you may not have many hours to spare.
But imagine for a moment: What if you could read a groundbreaking new book every day? Or even better, what if you could invite a world-renowned thinker into your earbuds, where they personally describe the 5 key takeaways from their work in just 15 minutes?
With the Next Big Idea App, weve turned this fantasy into a reality. We partnered with hundreds of acclaimed authors to create Book Bites, short audio summaries of the latest nonfiction that are prepared and read aloud by the authors themselves. Discover cutting-edge leadership skills, productivity hacks, the science of happiness and well-being, and much moreall in the time it takes to drive to work or walk the dog.
I love this app! The Book Bites are brilliant, perfect to have in airports, waiting rooms, anywhere I need to not doomscroll You guys are the best! Missy G.
Go Deeper with a Next Big Idea Club Membership
The Next Big Idea App is free for anyone to tryand if you love it, we invite you to become an official member of the Next Big Idea Club. Membership grants you unlimited access to Book Bites and unlocks early-release, ad-free episodes of our LinkedIn-partnered podcast. You also gain entry to our private online discussion group, where you can talk big ideas with fellow club members and join exclusive live Q&A sessions with featured authors.
For a more focused learning experience, we recommend a Hardcover or eBook Membership. Every few months, legendary authors and club curators Malcolm Gladwell, Susan Cain, Adam Grant, and Daniel Pink select two new nonfiction books as the must-reads of the season. We then send hardcover copies straight to your doorstep, or eBook versions to your favorite digital device. We also collaborate with the authors of selected books to produce original reading guides and premium e-courses, 50-minute master classes that take you step by step through their most life-changing ideas. And yes, its all available through the Next Big Idea App.
My biggest Thank You is for the quality of book selections so far. I look on my shelf and see these great titles, and I find myself taking down one or two each month to reread an underlined passage. Full marks to all involved! Tim K.
Learn Faster, from the Worlds Leading Thinkers
Whether you prefer to read, listen, or watch, the Next Big Idea is here to help you work smarter and live better. Wake up with an always-fresh Idea of the Day, the perfect shot of inspiration to go with your morning coffee. Then dive into one of our Challenges, hand-picked collections of Book Bites that form crash courses in subjects like communication, motivation, and career acceleration. Later, watch the playback of an interview with U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, Stanford psychologist Jennifer Eberhardt, or philosopher John Kaag. And be sure to check the Events tab in the app, so that you can join an upcoming live Q&A and personally chat with the next featured thought leader.
If youre hoping to grow as a person or as a professional, we hope youll join us and tens of thousands of others who enjoy the Next Big Idea. Get started by downloading the app today!
Enjoy our full library of Book Bitesread by the authors!in the Next Big Idea App.
This article originally appeared in Next Big Idea Club magazine and is reprinted with permission.
In the 1966 film Fantastic Voyage, a spacecraft and its crew are shrunk to microscopic size and injected into the body of an injured astronaut to remove a life-threatening blood clot from his brain. The Academy Award-winning movielater developed into a novel by Isaac Asimovseemed like pure fantasy at the time. However, it anticipated what could be the next revolution in medicine: the idea that ever-smaller and more sophisticated sensors are about to enter our bodies, connecting human beings to the internet.
This internet of beings could be the third and ultimate phase of the internets evolution. After linking computers in the first phase and everyday objects in the second, global information systems would now connect directly to our organs. According to natural scientists, who recently met in Dubai for a conference titled Prototypes for Humanity, this scenario is becoming technically feasible. The impact on individuals, industries, and societies will be enormous.
The idea of digitising human bodies inspires both dreams and nightmares. Some Silicon Valley billionaires fantasise about living forever, while security experts worry that the risks of hacking bodies dwarf current cybersecurity concerns. As I discuss in my forthcoming book, Internet of Beings, this technology will have at least three radical consequences.
First, permanent monitoring of health conditions will make it far easier to detect diseases before they develop. Treatment costs much more than prevention, but sophisticated tracking could replace many drugs with less invasive measureschanges in diet or more personalised exercise routines.
Millions of deaths could be prevented simply by sending alerts in time. In the US alone, 170,000 of the 805,000 heart attacks each year are silent because people dont recognise the symptoms.
Second, the sensorsbetter called biorobots, since theyll probably be made of gelare becoming capable of not just monitoring the body but actively healing it. They could release doses of aspirin when detecting a blood clot, or activate vaccines when viruses attack.
The mRNA vaccines developed for COVID may have opened this frontier. Advances in gene editing technologies may even lead to biorobots that can perform microsurgery with minuscule protein-made scissors that repair damaged DNA.
Third, and most importantly, medical research and drug discovery will be turned on its head. Today, scientists propose hypotheses about substances that might work against certain conditions, then test them through expensive, time-consuming trials. In the internet of beings era, the process reverses: huge databases generate patterns showing what works for a problem, and scientists work backwards to understand why. Solutions will be developed much more quickly, cheaply, and precisely.
Radical transformations
The era of one-size-fits-all medicine is already ending, but the internet of beings will go much further. Each person could receive daily advice on medication doses tailored to micro-changes such as body temperature or sleep quality.
The organisation of medical research itself will transform radically. Enormous amounts of data from bodies living natural lives might reveal that some headaches are caused by how we walk, or that brains and feet influence each other in unexpected ways.
Research currently focuses on specific diseases and organs. In the future, this could shift to the use of increasingly sophisticated digital twinsvirtual models of a persons biology that update in real time using their health data. These simulations can be used to test treatments, predict how the body will respond and explore disease before it appears. Such a shift would fundamentally change what we mean by life science.
The dream here isnt to defeat ageing, as some transhumanists claim. Its more concrete: making healthcare accessible to all Americans, saving the UKs NHS, defeating cancers, reaching poorer countries and helping everyone live longer without disease.
The nightmare, however, is about losing our humanity while digitising our bodies. The internet of beings is one of the most fascinating possibilities that technology is opening upbut we need to explore it carefully. Were resuming the voyage that humankind was travelling in those optimistic years of the 1960s, when we landed on an alien planet for the first time. Only now, the alien territory were exploring is ourselves.
This article was commissioned in conjunction with the Professors Programme, part of Prototypes for Humanity, a global initiative that showcases and accelerates academic innovation to solve social and environmental challenges. The Conversation is the media partner of Prototypes for Humanity 2025.
Francesco Grillo is an academic fellow at the Department of Social and Political Sciences at Bocconi University.
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
For many of us, December rushes by in a blur of holiday merrymaking and gift-giving, end-of-year invoicing and accounting, and hasty planning for the year ahead. In the rush, the thoughtful year-end reflection we might have hoped for often doesnt happen.
Thats a missed opportunity. Reflection doesnt have to be complicated, though. Heres a simple end-of-year exercise to help you process the year, stay aligned with your goals, and move forward with intention.
Year in Review
First, remind yourself what actually happened this year. Its easy to fall prey to recency bias, focusing on the last few weeks and forgetting earlier events. We also tend to fixate on where we fell shortgoals unrealized, tasks unfinished, issues unresolved. These linger in our minds precisely because they remain incomplete. What we often overlook, though, is what weve already achieved.
To get a more accurate picture, use your phones camera roll, online calendar, journals, work self-evaluations, and social media accounts to reacquaint yourself with the full year. Keep this light and stress-free. I often rediscover dinner parties and weekend trips Id forgotten, or reflect on time with family or work projects that felt all-consuming earlier in the year. Theres no rigid process here, just a deliberate stroll through the past year, noting what stands out. If its helpful, make a few notes along the way.
Three Questions
Next, ask yourself three questions, each of which calls for three answers. The rule of three keeps the exercise simple, efficient, and easy to revisit year after year.
1. What are the three best things I did for myself this year?
This question helps you examine how you prioritized your own well-being. How quickly or slowly you arrive at your answers can be revealing in itself. Asking this question first also sends an important signal that self-care is the foundation for everything that you do.
Self-care can take many forms. It might mean working out, learning to play the ukelele, or cutting back on drinking. Or it could mean landing a new client, setting a boundary with a difficult colleague, or taking a step toward a new certification.
Some answers may feel significant; others may not. One of mine this year was, I went away for a summer weekend with friends. Looking back, that trip stood out as a fun highlight, and I realized how much it recharged me after a busy spring. You get to define what counts here. Where are you trying to grow? What made your life easier or better?
2. What were my three top wins this year?
A win is something youre proud of, an accomplishment that resulted from your efforts. It can be personal or professional, but it should reflect your contribution. Rather than my team won an award, for example, try: I contributed X, Y, and Z, which led to my team winning an award.
Recognizing accomplishments gives us the confidence to navigate hard moments and clarifies what matters to us. Once youve identified a win, delve deeper to think through what actions produced the outcome. Perhaps a key relationship is stronger this year. What did you do differently? What behaviors, choices, or boundaries made the difference? Look for your specific actions.
Again, you define what counts. Your top three wins might not be what the outside world would call your top three wins, but you know why they were important and meaningful, and how hard you worked for them.
3. What are the three most important lessons I learned this year?
As you reflect on the year and the first two questions, difficult moments may surface as well. Spend some time with them and ask: Whats the lesson here?
Try to distill each lesson into a single sentence. Two of mine from this year were, Its worth paying extra to make travel easier, and Do the hard thing quickly. Yours might involve boundary setting, listening to your instincts, or not settling for less than you need. This year taught you valuable lessons. Dont leave them behind.
Once youve identified your three lessons, write them down somewhere you can easily revisit them. Let your own wisdom guide you as you make decisions or face challenges in the year ahead.
As the year winds down, its tempting to rush straight into goal-setting and strategy for whats next, but clarity about the future is hard to achieve without first making sense of what just happened. A simple, low-pressure reflection can create a bridge between what weve experienced and our intentions. It helps us carry forward what worked, release what didnt, and enter the new year with clearer self-knowledge and more grounded decision-making.
In recent weeks, a project called Jmail.world has quickly recreated the online life of Jeffrey Epstein, the late financier and convicted sex offender with myriad ties to the rich and powerful.
The effort started with a reproduction of the tranche of released emails in common Gmail style, searchable just like your own email app. Earlier this week, the team behind Jmail, software engineer Riley Walz and CEO of Kino Luke Igal, revealed JPhotos, which is inspired by Google Photos and is full of images that have been made public. The Jmail.world archive now includes sections imitating Google Drive, as well as JFlights, a section tracking Epsteins flight history, Jemini, an Epstein-inspired chatbot, and even Jotify. Together, they create an immersive facsimile of Epsteins digital world.
To engage Jmail.world, we must suspend our disbelief, at least in part. The emails, and other documents, include the redactions of government lawyers. Jeffrey Epstein did not have a virtual reality platform for exploring his old haunts (obviously). These pictures were not uploaded to a database in this format and no one actually tracks their flights like this.
Still, the endeavor feels not unlike the systems sometimes used by law enforcement to poke through the worlds of their subjects. They suck up records, and then recreate them on their own systems to mine through. In this case, the Jmail tool is available to everyone to examine. You, too, can sort through the digital refuse for evidence of one of the most odious scandals in U.S. history.
It is indeed horrifying, in a pick-your-poison sort of way. [A]t some point this stuff will come out — as long [Trump] continues to top polls, wrote a New York Times reporter to Epstein in one exchange, back in 2015. Epstein responded: would you like photso [sic] of donald and girls in bikinis in my kitchen.
There are the ever-flowing emails from his associates, including Ghislaine Maxwell and Steve Bannon. The back-and-forths over strategizing with reporters on the myriad allegations facing Epstein and his associates. There are the redacted images of his sometimes-naked victims. There are his critics, who email him: You are dead. And then, his morally disturbed fans. One anonymous emailer wrote to Epstein: I can’t believe they arrested you again, you are the only man on the planet who would never be bad with any women as you love them too much.
Whats surprisingly striking is how much of the stuff on first glance doesnt appear like much of anything, really. There is the endless supply of updates from Quora and the boomerist conversations on political-goings. There are lots of re-forwarded news stories, articles flagged by Flipboard, updates on the markets, and, sometimes, very strange Epstein wrote to himself.
In the photos, there are pictures of Epstein doing relatively normal things, like playing the piano and riding a horse. In his online orders, theres a device for mitigating back pain, Fruit of the Loom mens boxers, and CPAP machine replacement tubing. In a virtual recreation of his house, theres a reading nook, a laundry room, and storage areas. It can seem fairly benign, dull even.
One has to look through the email back-and-forths to find direct references to the worst of it, but its there, if you know what to look for. His Amazon orders show he orders reveal he bought Bitcoin for Dummies, but also several books about Vladimir Nabokov, the author of Lolita.
In the same database of pictures that include snapshots of a concert and pictures of a horse, and pictures of Epstein playing pingpong and petting a dog, are the pictures of horrifying crimes, including plenty of (redacted) images of victims. When he communicates with the other affluent accomplices, its often about nothing, in particular until it isn’t.
Social media and the news industry have carefully mined through these emails, looking for the most concerning to highlight. But Jmail asks us to work by ourselves, in a notably more disturbing exercise, and sift through the everyday doings and digital vestiges of a very evil man.
After the crystal ball drops on New Years Eve in New York City, it will rise again, sparkling in red, white, and blue to usher in 2026 and kick off months of celebrations for the nations upcoming 250th birthday.
The patriotic touches at this year’s Times Square gathering, including a second confetti drop, will offer an early glimpse of whats ahead: hundreds of events and programs, big and small, planned nationwide to mark the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776.
Im telling you right now, whatever youre imagining, its going to be much more than that, said America250 Chair Rosie Rios, who oversees the bipartisan commission created by Congress in 2016 to organize the semiquincentennial anniversary. Its going to be one for the ages, the most inspirational celebration this country and maybe the world has ever seen.
Rios and her group worked with the Times Square Alliance business district and One Times Square, the building from where the ball is dropped, to make the changes to this year’s ceremonies. They’re also planning a second ball drop event on July 3, the eve of the nation’s birthday, in the same beautiful style that Times Square knows how to do it,” Rios said.
It will mark the first time in 120 years there will be a ball drop in Times Square that doesn’t occur on New Year’s Eve, she said.
A New Years Eve ball was first dropped in Times Square in 1907. Built by a young immigrant metalworker named Jacob Starr, the 700-pound (318-kilogram), 5-foot- (1.5-meter-) diameter ball was made of iron and wood and featured 100 25-watt light bulbs. Last year, the Constellation Ball, the ninth and largest version, was unveiled. It measured about 12 feet (3.7 meters) in diameter and weighs nearly 12,000 pounds (5,400 kilograms).
The only years when no ball drop occurred were 1942 and 1943, when the city instituted a nightly dimout during World War II to protect itself from attacks. Crowds instead celebrated the new year with a moment of silence followed by chimes rung from the base of One Times Square.
This year, the stroke of midnight will also mark the official launch of America Gives, a national service initiative created by America250. Organizers hope to make 2026 the largest year of volunteer hours ever aggregated in the country.
On the following day, America250 will participate in the New Years Day Rose Parade in Pasadena, California, with a float themed Soaring Onward Together for 250 Years.” It will feature three larger-than-life bald eagles representing the countrys past, present and future.
We want to ring in this new year from sea to shining sea. What better way to think about it than going from New York to California, Rios said. This has to be community-driven, this has be grassroots. Were going from Guam to Alaska, from Fairbanks to Philadelphia, and everything in between.
President Donald Trump has also announced the Freedom 250 initiative to coordinate additional events for the 250th anniversary.
Rios said she sees the wide range of celebrations and programs planned for the coming months, from large fireworks displays and statewide potluck suppers to student contests and citizen oral histories, as an opportunity to unite a politically divided nation.
If we can find something for everyone … having those menus of options that people can pick and choose how they want to participate,” she said. Thats how were going to get to engaging 350 million Americans.
Susan Haigh, Associated Press
As cases of a new, highly contagious “super flu” surge across the nation this holiday season, more and more Americans are looking for ways to treat the symptoms, which include everything from fever and chills, to headaches and vomiting.
A variant of influenza A H3N2, called subclade K, which is being blamed for an early and severe flu season in the United Kingdom, has hit residents in New York, Rhode Island, Colorado and Louisiana the hardest, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
While flu vaccines usually have an efficacy rate of 40% to 60% an early report from the U.K. estimates this super flu strain has an efficacy rate of 32% to 39% in adults, and 72% to 75% in children, Northeastern University associate clinical professor, Brandon Dionne said.
Four antiviral drugs recommended by the CDC to treat the flu
There are four FDA-approved antiviral drugs recommended by CDC to treat flu this season: Tamiflu (oseltamivir); Xofluza (baloxavir); Relenza (zanamivir); and Rapivab (peramivir).
Tamiflu (oseltamivir) is most commonly prescribed in the U.S.
Xofluza (baloxavir) is a pill, given as a single dose by mouth, and is approved for early treatment of uncomplicated flu in people 5 years and older. (It is not recommended for treatment of flu during pregnancy, while breastfeeding, in those with progressive illness, or in hospitalized patients.)
Relenza (zanamivir) is a powdered medication that is inhaled and approved for early treatment of flu in people 7 years and older. It is not recommended for people with breathing problems like asthma or COPD. (Oseltamivir and zanamivir are given twice a day for five days.)
Rapivab (peramivir) is given once intravenously by a health care provider, and is approved for early treatment of flu in people 6 months and older.
CDC recommendations
Antiviral drugs work best when started within 1 to 2 days after flu symptoms begin; and the CDC recommends prompt treatment for people who have flu (or suspected flu) and are at increased risk of serious complications such as: pregnant women, people with asthma and chronic lung disease, diabetes (including gestational diabetes), or heart disease.
