I just came out from a hot shower and my mind was constantly occupied with few thoughts I’m grateful I’ve learnt over the last couple of years. I don’t ever want to forget them and want to imbibe and live by them as much as possible. I’m just going to pour it out like water from an uneven shower pump. It’s freshly served from the shower to the notebook. Wow. That sounded so much better in my head!
Have opinions that are yours and yours only!
Know what you like and what you don’t like and be comfortable with expressing those tastes in any circumstance. Know how you like your tea and lime soda. Know what sort of music you prefer. What sort of clothes you like and what style suits your personality. Spend the time to understand yourself well enough that you know what you want and what you prefer. Any strong opinion that you have, try and understand it from the root up so that you’re clear and confident about it. A huge part of our mental energy is exhausted by making decisions. The more we automate these small preference based decisions, the more space and energy we’ll have for other important stuff.
Have a certain expectation of how things should be and actively work towards achieving those expectations. Learn to let go of the rest
We all want to change things. Something or the other pisses us off. It could be climate change or the fact that your neighbor is learning the guitar and is doing a pretty terrible job so far causing you to sqeeze your pillow between your ears at night. Don’t be another one of those people who only complain about things. Either do something about it or just accept the way it is. The in-between grey area only causes perpetual anxiety that isn’t worth dealing with. There aren’t a lot of things we’ll be able to change in one lifetime. So might as well pick those few things we really want to change and then accept the rest as it is.
Be more observant and notice how things around you work.
This is just another way of saying be present and be mindful. There is a lot of philosophy behind this art but I’m convinced that it’s a habit worth mastering. Every now and then let’s deliberately stop working in auto-pilot mode and be a part of our immediate surroundings. Let’s notice that small plant our mom kept by the tea pot and that boy who delivers newspapers to our house everyday. Let’s teleport ourselves to actually where we are!
Be decisive.
Weigh the options and have enough knowledge to make a decision. But always make a decision. Never be indecisive. Don’t be impulsive or make a big decision when angry or emotionally invested. Weigh the pros and cons, talk to the right people, read up from the right sources and make a calm informed decision. You might have messed but that’s okay. It’s better to make 3 good decisions and 7 bad decisions rather than no decisions at all. Never be scared to take charge of a situation and failing.
Never be scared to oppose and offend someone else.
Some people are not going to like you and that is okay! It’s stupid to think that everyone will like you or your way of thinking. If you want someone people to like you then you should be perfectly comfortable with some people not liking you. That’s just the price one pays for sticking to their core values.
Question the traditional working nature of everything and try to improve every situation that you’re in.
Always make things better. From a better route to work to a better approach to whatever project you’re involved in. Keep asking yourself ‘How can I make it better?’ or ‘Is there certain aspect about this that is not efficient’.
And finally be curious.
Be curious about people and find out more about them. Be curious about everything and immediately read up all the how’s and why’s that randomly pop in your head. The more quickly we quench our immediate curiosity, the quicker we can ponder about deeper things.
I wanted to capture my thoughts back in the shower and I think I caught most of them. The words are as dry as they come but my keyboard is a little wet and my hair is still damp from the shower. But that’s precisely how I would like to have it!
