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Desert Island Test
Last discussed Oct 28, 2026
A self-reflection question: would you still pursue a goal if you had to do it on a desert island where nobody would ever know?
Recently discussed in
Failure, Solved
Mark Manson · Oct 7, 2026
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Mark Manson
mentioned
Used for: Determining whether a goal is driven by external validation
Praised: Sorts out externally motivated people chasing social approval
vs: Offered alongside Rothermund's five quitting criteria
"I have another one that I used to ask people way back in the day when I coached people, which is I used to call it the desert island test, which is if you could do it, but you had to do it on a desert island and nobody would know about it, would y..."
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