Tamsen WebsterFounder & Chief Learning Officer, Message Design Institute · I study what novel ideas require to make aha moments possible | Researcher, author, and professional sensegiver for people whose work changes minds

Defend Against Your Old Self

27 Jan 2026 · 1 min

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This content was created by Tamsen Webster. This content was uploaded by Tamsen Webster. This is a YouTube video titled "Defend Against Your Old Self" (posted 2026-01-27) containing a short monologue by a single speaker labeled SPEAKER A. The speaker critiques the effectiveness of using a single-word theme for personal change—arguing it's cognitively easy to rationalize behaviors to fit that word—and cites a quote from Denise Hamilton about planning to defend against one's old self.

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The big pro of a single word is that it is cognitively easy. It's cognitively easy to make almost anything fit that word. My friend and thinking leader, the incomparable and wise Denise Hamilton, posted, "If you want to be a new person, you better have a plan to defend against the old one." Mwah! Oh, such a good quote. This is the issue, right? If we can rationalize any behavior to fit in with the theme, how likely is it that we're really going to change the behavior?