10/02/2019
10 things I learned about life from asking myself a single question
If you knew that you were going to die exactly 5 years from today, what would that embolden you to change in life?
1. Don't aim for success.
"The more you aim at it and make it a target, the more you are going to miss it. For success, like happiness, cannot be pursued; it must ensue." - Viktor Frankl
The word success in and of itself means nothing. It's not a tangible target.
Chasing this arbitrary measure only gets in the way. Dedicate yourself to something greater and more concrete and let success come as a byproduct.
2. Relentlessly eliminate.
"Our life is frittered away by detail. Simplify, simplify." - Henry David Thoreau
The world is noisy. The less you have, the better you can focus on the signal.
Simplify your commitments and your relationships. It's not about trimming down for the sake of trimming down. It's about strategically choosing less.
3. Treat people like stories.
"Though we see the same world, we see it with different eyes." - Virginia Woolf
Everybody perceives a different reality based on their unique experiences.
Try to understand what makes a person who they are before reasoning with them. It's not only a better communication tactic, but it builds empathy.
4. Avoid being a critic.
"The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena." - Teddy Roosevelt
Productive criticism is crucially important. Intellectual snobbery is not.
It doesn't take much to find fault in something. The real question is whether or not pointing it out positively changes anything. If it doesn't, don't do it.
5. Fall in love with boredom.
"There are no uninteresting things, only uninterested people." - G.K. Chesterton
Anything in life worth doing takes time, and the work isn't always a thrill.
Much of the journey is redundant, draining, and unsexy. If you can't learn to enjoy the process, the odds of you making it all the way are almost zero.
6. Do it the wrong way.
"All the heroes of tomorrow are the heretics of today." - E.Y. Harburg
In reality, unless it's illegal or dangerous, there really isn't a wrong way.
There's just unconventional and that route is less saturated with others. Standing out isn't a bad thing if you've got the substance to back it up.
7. Acknowledge ignorance.
"I know one thing, and that is that I know nothing." - Socrates
The world is too complex for you to be certain. It's a good idea to act like it.
Knowing what you don't know is a competitive advantage. It keeps you in your circle of competence, and it adds an incentive to get smarter.
8. Hack your mind.
"Losses and gains are really not symmetric." - Daniel Kahneman
Don't use milestones as motivation. Frame the goal as if it's yours to lose.
To the brain, avoiding the cost of losing is a greater catalyst for activity than the benefit of reaching a destination. Loss aversion is a powerful tool.
9. Seek out discomfort.
"There is safety in the midst of danger." - Vincent Van Gogh
Growth is what keeps life interesting. It rarely occurs without discomfort.
Nothing is as bad as you think it is. You almost always adapt, and you're almost always better off for it. Allow yourself the luxury to experience that.
10. Have a bias for action.
"Buy the ticket, take the ride." - Hunter S. Thompson
Start before you're ready and let the process self-correct onto the right path.
Preparation has diminishing returns beyond a certain threshold. Action tends to compound. The more you do, the closer you are to changing things
