On principles
Pillars to guide your life.
Embody them. Build your decisions upon them.
1. Emotional Intelligence
Feel, skilfully.
A healthy mind is the cornerstone of a healthy existence. Be self-aware of your emotional states. Don’t let them uncontrollably guide your thoughts or actions. Skilfully manage them with reflection and intent. Practise mindfulness meditation. It is a skill to be learned and improved upon.
Influences: The School of Life (Alain de Botton), The Art of Loving (Erich Fromm), Waking Up (Sam Harris)
2. Discipline
Be unapologetically disciplined.
The only thing or person you can truly control is yourself. Hence, discipline lies at the core of fulfilling most wants and needs. It pays off to be – unapologetically disciplined. In everything you do, practise this skill. Because that is what it is: a malleable skill.
Influences: Meditations (Marcus Aurelius), Enchiridion (Epictetus), The Courage to Be Disliked (Ichiro Kishimi and Fumitake Koga)
3. Intention
Life is ending every second, don’t be stupid.
Remind yourself of your own mortality. Be aware of how you spend your limited time. Do so with intention. Embody a philosophy of life – to live a life worth having lived.
Influences: A Guide to the Good Life (William B. Irvine), Meditations (Marcus Aurelius), Enchiridion (Epictetus), The Little Book of Hygge (Meik Wiking)
4. Virtue
Be good, do good.
The highest good is virtue. Be a good person. Find joy in being of use to society, in contributing. Maximise your potential and have a positive net contribution. Let this principle be at the core of your decisions. It will be intrinsic. It will be freeing.
Influences: Meditations (Marcus Aurelius), The Daily Stoic (Ryan Holiday and Stephen Hanselman)
5. Passion
Be insanely passionate about something.
Have something that makes you forget to eat or sleep. This passion allows you to pursue and create relentlessly. It will be deeply meaningful.
Influences: Man’s Search for Meaning (Viktor E. Frankl), Leonardo Da Vinci (Walter Isaacson)
6. Curiosity
Be curious about everything.
Be interested in the little things. Have diverse interests. Be easily fascinated. Ask how and why things work. Learn about them. This curiosity drives continuous excitement. It sparks new ideas.
Influences: Leonardo Da Vinci (Walter Isaacson), Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman! (Richard P. Feynman)