conditions, not character — what ...

conditions, not character — what my calendar taught me about quitting on myself

insyed; cozy psychology by Syed Imran Al-Hasyir
S2 · E12
Jun 25, 2026
04:26

Episode notes

I deleted my entire to-do list out of spite. What filled the empty calendar afterward wasn't more guilt — it was everything I'd already done that never made the list. A story about contingent self-worth, the psychology of why winning and losing both hit harder when you tie them to performance, and what's left of you on the days you cross nothing off at all.

Source:

  • Wouters, S., Thomaes, S., Colpin, H., Luyckx, K., & Verschueren, K. (2018). How does Conditional Regard Impact Well-being and Eagerness to Learn? An Experimental Study. Psychologica Belgica, 58(1), 105–114. https://doi.org/10.5334/pb.401

Keywords

Productivity
academic burnout
academic pressure podcast
identity and achievement
conditional self-esteem
self-worth and productivity
psychology of burnout