I kind of think that a lot of these insights are either pretty flawed[0], or are only achieved at after a lot of mental struggle. I had a deep depression in my teens after logically deducing that there was no point to our existence as a species, nor as individuals. At the same time, telling me that "We, as a species, just are. Don’t try to figure it all out. Enjoy your journey." wouldn't have helped a single bit because I wasn't in a state of mind that would allow me to accept that information.
[0]:
"Don’t Complain" is actually stupid advice. If you're in a group of people and you see something wrong, you have two options: 1) Continue being unhappy. 2) Speaking out about it (i.e. complaining). Other people might have the same concerns, and you might actually spark something off that helps people to change it. Either that or you have learned that you will always be unhappy in that group, and it is worthy to change it. In addition, complaining itself can be extremely cathartic, and can help that spark that enables you to think through problems and flaws.
"Don’t Care About What People Think" -- my criticism of this is divided into two points: 1) If you care about what people think, you are not in a position to readily accept this information, thus this advice is pretty worthless. 2) There are some circumstances where caring what someone thinks allows you to improve yourself. Of course, "Don't care about what most people think unless they happen to give very good advice or have 10x more experience than you at the task you're attempting" isn't as memorable as the soundbite that they bulletpointed. Point (1) also applies to "Get Comfortable With Being Uncomfortable".
"Take More Risks" -- "Risk" can be divided into three categories. "Physical risk", "Financial risk", "Mental risk". I assume that they don't mean "That car's going slowly, you can make it if you run", and I also assume that they don't mean "Pour all of your life savings into this quack's venture". Although the "Don't be such a wimp" part makes me question this assumption.
Time really is a constraint. It does not make much sense to try to work all the time in order to achieve your goals. As programmers, we really ought to get that there are constraints and trade offs to things.
I would add to the list -- "Don't go it alone. Get other people involved, even if you don't have to."
When I was younger, I used to put the same Socrates quote on everything I could, almost to fetish level.
This list I think is actually quite good, it's surprisingly wise. As I've gotten older, I've stopped thinking of 30 as very old. (though I haven't quite gotten there myself.)
This life for me comes at a point of transition in my life, both personally and professionally... and at least for me it makes me seriously think that I am doing the wrong thing currently.
Also, for what it's worth, I think the first newsletter I've signed up for after reading something and not by accident during an account creation.
Except for 13, about the money, whenever I read that I always think that comes from the luxury of having needs met, but I will avoid delving into some Maslow debate.
> Except for 13, about the money, whenever I read that I always think that comes from the luxury of having needs met, but I will avoid delving into some Maslow debate.
"Having money's not everything, not having it is."
I don't know why this got flagged. I vouched. I think it's valuable advice. The only thing I disagree with is rule number 7. Don't say 'thank you' all the time. Be grateful, but show your gratitude with actions. Always saying thank you and never doing anything about it is weak.
[0]: "Don’t Complain" is actually stupid advice. If you're in a group of people and you see something wrong, you have two options: 1) Continue being unhappy. 2) Speaking out about it (i.e. complaining). Other people might have the same concerns, and you might actually spark something off that helps people to change it. Either that or you have learned that you will always be unhappy in that group, and it is worthy to change it. In addition, complaining itself can be extremely cathartic, and can help that spark that enables you to think through problems and flaws.
"Don’t Care About What People Think" -- my criticism of this is divided into two points: 1) If you care about what people think, you are not in a position to readily accept this information, thus this advice is pretty worthless. 2) There are some circumstances where caring what someone thinks allows you to improve yourself. Of course, "Don't care about what most people think unless they happen to give very good advice or have 10x more experience than you at the task you're attempting" isn't as memorable as the soundbite that they bulletpointed. Point (1) also applies to "Get Comfortable With Being Uncomfortable".
"Take More Risks" -- "Risk" can be divided into three categories. "Physical risk", "Financial risk", "Mental risk". I assume that they don't mean "That car's going slowly, you can make it if you run", and I also assume that they don't mean "Pour all of your life savings into this quack's venture". Although the "Don't be such a wimp" part makes me question this assumption.