Yanwen’s blog

7/25/2026

Two days ago I came across a study whose findings truly surprised me. It was about something many people quietly struggle with every day: perfectionism.

The paper was published on Psychological Bulletin by Thomas Curran, Andrew P. Hill, & Pia Marie Pose (2026).

The researchers analyzed 307 separate studies on 82,939 college students from the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom covering the period 1989–2024.

They examined several dimensions of perfectionism, including: 

--self-oriented perfectionism (demanding perfection from oneself), 

--socially prescribed perfectionism (feeling others expect perfection), 

--concerns over mistakes, 

--doubts about actions.

The researchers found that perfectionism has continued to increase over the past 35 years. The sharpest increases were in fear of making mistakes and self-doubt. Compared with students in the late 1980s, today's college students reported substantially higher levels of perfectionistic concerns. The rise also appears to have accelerated during the past decade.

Curran argues that smartphones are not the primary cause. Instead, social media may amplify the problem, while the deeper drivers are structural: rising tuition costs, greater job competition, widening inequality, economic insecurity, and a growing perception that there is less room for failure.

Whether or not Curran's explanation proves to be the whole story, one thing seems clear: more and more young people are living with the feeling that they cannot afford to make mistakes. That may be one of the defining psychological challenges of our time.

Understanding the causes is important. But knowing how to overcome unhealthy perfectionism may be even more important. Tomorrow I'd like to explore more on this topic.

7/24/2026

The FIFA World Cup, co-hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico, concluded last week. Spain defeated defending champion Argentina 1–0 to win its second World Cup title.

Much has been written about Spain's national team and its star players. But one story caught my attention—not about a player, but about the place where many of them learned the game: La Masia.

La Masia is FC Barcelona's renowned youth academy, widely regarded as one of the most successful talent-development systems in the history of football.

Its influence was on full display in this year's World Cup final. Nine of the 46 players on Spain's and Argentina's squads were La Masia graduates, including Spain's rising star Lamine Yamal and Argentina's captain Lionel Messi.

What fascinates me is that La Masia offers lessons that extend far beyond football. They apply equally well to education, business, leadership, and even our own personal growth.

Lesson 1: Greatness is built over a long period of time 

La Masia recruits children as young as six and trains them for ten or more years before they are ready for the first team contest.

Rome was not built in a day. Whether learning a language, becoming a musician, writing well, or building a career or a company, success usually comes from years of consistent effort.

Results take time. Perhaps the most impressive thing about La Masia is its patience.

The academy invests enormous resources in children with no guarantee of success. Many leave. Many never become professional players.

Yet the academy continues investing because it understands that developing people is a long-term endeavor.

There is an old Chinese saying: 十年树木，百年树人—"It takes ten years to grow a tree, but a hundred years to cultivate a person."

Lesson 2: Develop a system, not just talent

La Masia's long history of success emphasizes this fact: an organization’s long-term competitiveness depends on a system to consistently produce the next winning team.

Players grow old and retire. Coaches come and go. What truly endures is the system—the shared philosophy, the training methods, and the standards that shape every generation.

Talent certainly matters, but talent alone is rarely enough. A well-designed system—supported by excellent coaching, a clear mission, and continuous feedback—allows talent to flourish year after year.

The same applies to ordinary life. Instead of relying on motivation alone, we benefit more from building habits and routines that make improvement inevitable.

Lesson 3: Learn the fundamentals first

La Masia is famous for emphasizing: ball control, passing, positioning, teamwork, and quick decision-making.

The daily drills may seem repetitive and even monotonous. Yet young players spend years mastering these fundamentals before attempting spectacular plays.

That principle applies everywhere.

Whether writing, painting, playing the piano, or programming, those who master the fundamentals usually outperform those who chase shortcuts.

Lesson 4: Success is a team effort 

Football, like building a successful company, is never a one-person endeavor.

La Masia teaches players to understand space, anticipate teammates' movements, and make decisions that benefit the team.

In life, too, our achievements often depend on collaboration within a social group rather than individual brilliance.

Finally, even the best system cannot guarantee success. Likewise, no educational method, parenting style, or business strategy can guarantee outstanding results. But good systems do something equally valuable—they consistently increase the odds of success over time.

Perhaps that is La Masia's greatest lesson. Excellence is rarely the product of luck. More often, it is the result of patient cultivation, strong fundamentals, and a system that keeps producing excellence long after individual stars have come and gone.

7/23/2026

Yesterday I heard an NPR story titled "French Lawmakers Approve a Sweeping Social Media Ban for Children Under 15."

Based on my reading of the news, the French lawmakers approved three major measures:

1. Children under 15 will generally be prohibited from creating social media accounts.

2. Social media platforms will be required to implement age-verification systems.

3. Existing accounts belonging to children under 15 will be removed or reverified as the law is phased in.

The legislation was prompted by growing concerns over the effects of social media on young people, including rising anxiety and depression among adolescents, cyberbullying, exposure to harmful or addictive algorithm-driven content, sleep disruption, and increased risks of self-harm and suicide.

As President Emmanuel Macron has argued, children need greater protection in the digital environment.

Interestingly, France's new law appears to be more restrictive than China's current regulations on minors' use of social media.

China has adopted a phased approach to regulating minors' internet use. In 2021, it introduced strict limits on online gaming for children, a policy that attracted worldwide attention.

In August 2023, China proposed the "Minor Mode" (未成年人模式, Wèi Chéngniánrén Móshì), a broader framework requiring smartphones and apps to provide a dedicated mode for minors. The proposal included age-based screen-time limits and other parental control features.

On January 1, 2024, the Regulation on the Protection of Minors in Cyberspace《未成年人网络保护条例》(Wèi Chéngniánrén Wǎngluò Bǎohù Tiáolì) came into effect. It became China's first comprehensive national regulation governing the online protection of minors.

Later that year, China issued detailed technical guidelines for implementing Minor Mode across smartphones, app stores, and applications, making the system more standardized.

What strikes me most is the thinking behind these laws, regardless of whether they come from the East or the West.

First, lawmakers are increasingly treating excessive social media use as a public health issue, much like tobacco, drunk driving, or gambling.

Second, despite their different political systems and cultures, governments share a common concern for the well-being of children and the future of their societies.

Third, while social media companies such as Meta design features like infinite scrolling and autoplay videos to keep users engaged, governments are stepping in to place limits on how these platforms can reach and influence children. See my writing on this.

Perhaps this is the most interesting takeaway. When it comes to protecting children from the potential harms of social media, governments around the world may have different methods, but they are increasingly recognizing the same problem.

Governments around the world are increasingly recognizing the same challenge, even if they choose different ways to address it. If governments believe the problem is serious enough to require legislation, perhaps it is also time for parents to ask what more they can do to help their children in this digital age.

A reader’s comment, “少年强则国强，儿童是国家的未来，政府都知道的道理。”

From a reader, “ Well summarized and well argued. Government regulations are definitely needed to protect the vulnerability of children from harmful effects of social media. Even for adults, social media is a double-edged sword that provides quick access to information as well as polarizing opinions and spreading false narratives.”

7/22/2026

On Monday, I spent hours trying to resolve an issue with Verizon's customer service, but got nowhere. Frustrated, we ended up visiting a Verizon store the following day.

While standing outside the store, I noticed the neighboring stores belonged to Verizon's competitors—Spectrum and T-Mobile. That reminded me of a recent news report describing Verizon's growing challenges from rivals, especially T-Mobile.

For years, Verizon dominated the U.S. telecommunications market. With its vast customer base and extensive network, it seemed almost untouchable. T-Mobile, by contrast, was once the smaller challenger with far fewer resources.

Today, however, the roles appear to be changing. T-Mobile has been steadily gaining market share, while Verizon is facing increasing pressure. Perhaps one day T-Mobile will become the industry leader. If it does, history suggests that another ambitious challenger will eventually emerge to challenge it.

This brings to mind the old Chinese saying: 骄兵必败，哀兵必胜 (Jiāo bīng bì bài, āi bīng bì shèng)—"An arrogant army is destined to be defeated, while an army fighting with determination is more likely to prevail." Or success often breeds complacency and leads to defeat, while challengers are forced to innovate which leads to success.

There seems to be a recurring cycle: the incumbent on the top seat has more to protect, while the challenger has more to prove. Once the challenger reaches the top and becomes the incumbent, the fire that fueled its rise can gradually give way to complacency, creating an opening for the next ambitious challenger.

Perhaps this Chinese saying contains wisdom that goes far beyond the battlefield. Success can breed complacency, while adversity often fuels determination. Whether in business or in life, the greatest challenge is not reaching the top—it is continuing to learn and improve after you get there.

The saying also echoes a central idea in modern psychology: cultivate a growth mindset.

Finally, here's the enduring wisdom behind 骄兵必败，哀兵必胜. Success should be a motivation to keep growing, not a reason to stop.

7/21/2026

A college classmate shared an article with me yesterday about olfactory training, a rehabilitation method for people who have lost or impaired their sense of smell.

The original olfactory training protocol, developed by Thomas Hummel, uses four distinct scents—rose, lemon, eucalyptus, and clove—because each represents a different category of odor. The goal is to expose the olfactory system to a diverse range of chemical stimuli rather than repeatedly smelling similar scents.

Among these four, eucalyptus and clove have an additional feature. Besides stimulating the olfactory system, they also activate the trigeminal nerve, which detects sensations such as cooling, warmth, and mild irritation rather than smell itself.

One remarkable characteristic of the olfactory system is its ability to regenerate. Unlike most neurons in the central nervous system, olfactory receptor neurons are continuously replaced throughout life. This unique capacity is one reason smell rehabilitation is possible.

The most fascinating aspect of olfactory training, however, is the emphasis on conscious recall. Patients are encouraged not merely to smell a lemon, but to actively imagine it—to picture its bright yellow color, remember its fresh citrus aroma, and even recall the sensation of biting into it.

Modern neuroscience suggests that smell is much more than the simple detection of odor molecules. It is a complex cognitive process involving memory, emotion, expectation, previous experience, and focused attention. 

When you smell a cup of coffee, for example, your brain is not just recognizing airborne chemicals. It is simultaneously retrieving memories, emotions, and associations built over a lifetime.

This emphasis on active attention, rather than passive smelling, fits well with what we know about the brain. 

Whether learning a new language, recovering from a stroke, practicing the piano, or rehabilitating the sense of smell, focused and repeated practice is generally far more effective than passive exposure.

That is why many smell specialists encourage patients to do more than simply sniff an odor:

"Don't just smell it. Think about it. Imagine it vividly. Recall the memories it evokes. Pay attention to every faint sensation you experience."

This advice reflects one of the brain's most remarkable abilities—neuroplasticity, its capacity to reorganize and strengthen neural connections through repeated, purposeful practice. Although researchers are still investigating exactly how olfactory training works, the underlying principle is well supported.

What attracted me to this topic is not the treatment of smell loss but the broader insight that active mental engagement can help the brain heal and sharp.

This also makes me wonder whether olfactory training might benefit older adults in ways beyond restoring smell. Because the brain links odors so closely with memory and emotion, perhaps repeatedly recalling familiar scents helps exercise neural pathways associated with the hippocampus. Whether future research confirms this remains to be seen, but it is certainly an intriguing possibility.

So, sniff a fruit, focus your attention, imagine, and activate your hippocampus!