Principles

Over time I’ve accumulated a bunch of life principles, some I’ve developed myself, some I’ve learned as lessons others have shared. I will list a few here as I think are worth sharing.

I try to have only a few as the “operating” ones though, so I can focus on the few that are more relevant to the given point in my life.

To remember - these are not the principles I live by, these are the principles I strive to live by. There is a lot of internal subconscious programming that I’ve accumulated as part of being a human, and pretty much none of it works as per these principles. The principles are constant reminders of how I want to shape my life.

Core principles

• Be as transparent as I can - Do things because I actually want to do them. Try to avoid any instances of doing something because “it looks good” or “someone will think highly of me”.

• Confront - face the things that are a problem in my life, in whichever way. Don’t avoid them. Delaying a decision forever is actually making the decision of inaction. People use this delaying to pass blame on someone/something else for decisions they don’t want to make. Don’t do this.

• Remove the word “should” from my life - do things because I want to, not because I “should”. This helps with taking responsibility for your life. Everything I do, is because I choose to do so. Yes, even paying taxes or visiting that annoying family member a part of me doesn’t want to. When you refrain these as things you choose to do and are not forced to do, you realise you’re the master of your fate and the captain of your soul.

Accessory Principles

• Act on imperfect conditions and keep moving forwards always. Don’t try to optimise everything - this is a recipe for being permanently paralysed. ACT FIRST, CORRECT COURSE LATER.

• We’re all playing an infinite game, the game of life. You don’t “win” at it, the only thing that resembles winning it is actually enjoying the ride.

• Allow your actions to show who you are. Originally inspired by Hugh Jackman and his father’s advice “your religion should be in your actions“, not on a sticker. In a sport, let your performance show your status, not your clothes and gadgets.

• If you want to develop a good relationship with someone you don’t yet know, treat them as if they were your friends already. If you keep your distance and formalities, you’re just perpetuating that.

• “Go first” - from Gabby Reece. I first heard this on a Tim Ferriss podcast. It basically means everybody wants to be kind and nice, but everybody is also scared of taking action. Being the one that “goes first” in these interactions just unlocks the good stuff for everyone.

• Allow yourself to see other’s point of view. Exposing yourself to different cultures and ways of thinking can go a long way to help with this, but it’s always pretty powerful to try to see a situation from someone else’s eyes.