Forty

Thirty-six and thirty-nine were fun. Let’s keep the habit going.

This year I’m going to write down the first forty ideas that come to mind and seem worth reminding myself of. Its non-exhaustive. There will be gaps. There will be repeats.

1. I am no longer a young man. The last handful of years lacked a perception of transition. Mentally I’ve felt 27 for 12 years. This is the first one in a while that feels different. I am undeniably middle aged.
2. Living in the season I’m in is the work. Don’t long for the past with my selective memories of it. Don’t look to the future and miss the moment. Live now.
3. Alcohol is not for me.
4. Friendships can wither. Friendships can bud. Friendships can volunteer. I haven’t met some of my friends, yet.
5. Contemplation in moderation. Over-indexing on contemplation is a coping mechanism to avoid failure. Undervaluing contemplation is addiction to novelty to avoid confronting my inevitable mortality.
6. I do not want to be well known. I do want to be known well.
7. Complain less. Probably none. Confront the catalyst for complaint or let it go.
8. Being good at something is not a good enough reason to keep doing it. It has to mean something. I have to enjoy the process.
9. Quit making it harder than it has to be. There’s no bonus points for toggling life to hard mode.
10. Challenge yourself in the areas you want to grow. There’s no resilience for the realities of life if you stay on easy mode.
11. I will die. Keep that in perspective and the day’s troubles melt away.
12. I haven’t faced many real troubles in my life. I’ve suffered in imagination more than reality.
13. I won’t go looking for troubles to counterbalance my good lot in life. I’ll stay thankful and recognize I’m improbably fortunate, blessed, and otherwise a benefactor of forces beyond my control.
14. Quit trying to manage other people’s feelings, experiences, and lives. Managing your own is enough.
15. Pursue what you want. You can close the gap between what you have and what you want. The tool to get there is ambition. The tool that won’t get you there is entitlement. The world doesn’t owe you anything.
16. Ideas are fragile. They are dependent on the context, stories, problems, and incentives they come into contact with.
17. The Holocaust actually happened and the things humans did to other humans were bad, wrong, obscene, immoral.
18. I bought an under desk treadmill when the outdoors were there the whole time.
19. Enjoy our National Parks.
20. Live music. Live theater. Live sports. Live más.
21. True wealth is ordering ice cream without checking a budget.
22. True wealth is relationships.
23. True wealth is control over your time.
24. True wealth is enjoying ice cream with whoever you want whenever you want.
25. Having a purposeless collection is fine. Mine is bandanas.
26. Spend less money than you make.
27. Make enough money to spend on things you enjoy.
28. Don’t buy so many bandanas that you have to second guess whether or not you can treat people to ice cream.
29. The future is unknowable. Growing old is knowable. Spend money now on things you know you won’t be able to enjoy later.
30. Work hard. Not too much. Mostly on things that energize you.
31. Beware of clever solutions. Not because they won’t work. Because they won’t be understandable when they inevitably need repair.
32. Hosting is a skill. It can be learned. It can be taught. It can be practiced.
33. You always regret saying something about someone that you wouldn’t say to someone. Always.
34. Sarcasm has run its course. Directness with kindness is coming in.
35. Move your body every day.
36. Perfection is the enemy of action. Perfection is a cover for insecurity. Perfection doesn’t deliver on its promises.
37. Let people enjoy things.
38. Interests change. Interest rates change. You will be different in 10 years. The world will be different in 10 years. Enjoy it while it lasts.
39. Books.
40. Accumulating 1% improvements is what it’s all about.

Published: 2024-01-12

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