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5 things to stop doing now if you want to be ahead of everyone else in 10 years

Hesiod, Demosthenes, Pliny the Elder and Epictetus all noticed how small habits add up over the years. Here are five things worth giving up now if you want to be further along in a decade.

By Lachlan Brown · November 14, 2026

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In 1963, a three-page paper used two short examples to show that knowledge can’t simply be justified true belief, an idea Plato seems to have weighed

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5 things to stop doing now if you want to be ahead of everyone else in 10 years

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From the magazine

10 words you should stop using if you want to sound smart

Researchers studying retirement discovered something that money and free time can't necessarily replace: the feeling that your presence matters to other people. And simply keeping yourself busy might not bring it back.

In 1963, a three-page paper used two short examples to show that knowledge can’t simply be justified true belief, an idea Plato seems to have weighed

Thought of the day by Stoic philosopher Marcus Aurelius: "The best way of avenging yourself is not to become like the wrongdoer."

New to philosophy? Start here.