Let pleasure be enough

Let pleasure be enough. Don’t turn leisure into another metric to optimize. A weekend does not need to be maximally meaningful; a meal does not need to be perfect, and rest does not need to be exceptionally restorative. Enjoy things without grading the experience.

Build yourself through action

Build yourself through action. Stop waiting to discover your “true self” or feel completely certain about a choice. Experiment, commit, learn, and revise. Who you are emerges from what you repeatedly do.

Identify the payoff behind your bad habits

Identify the payoff behind your bad habits. When you keep repeating a behavior you know is harmful, ask: What am I getting from this? Stress might make you feel important, outrage might feel satisfying, or disappointment might provide drama. Find the hidden reward before trying to remove the habit.

Slow to reveal

Coughing out everything about you too early will be met with the indifference one would greet a cat’s hairball with, at best. Create intrigue by holding back on sharing all your gripes, woes, stories, and personal plans. If others know it all, there’s no more incentive to want to find out more.

Stop interrupting others

Why do people interrupt each other? It comes across as disrespectful, but often the action is rooted in insecurity. Have the confidence and courage to allow space to appear in conversations. When you cut in, you seem childish and unable to control your impulses to speak. Allow others to finish, and you will respect yourself most of all.

Do not act or speak out of anger

Some of the greatest tragedies have come from people’s inability to take a breath when angry. The last thing you want to do when triggered is speak or act uncontrollably. This may work in the heat of a battle, but in most cases, very little good comes out of acting in anger. Remaining calm when upset will instil more confidence than you can imagine.

Learn something for at least 20 minutes and take notes

Learn something for at least 20 minutes and take notes. Note-taking has been shown to better internalise the focus of study. Whether via books, apps, videos, or courses, daily study shouldn’t end at University. It’s a practice that can lead to exponential growth, especially when you go deep on a topic to develop mastery in something specific and helpful to the world.