When learning something new

When learning something new, spend 5 minutes trying to teach it to someone. Make a note of where the other person gets confused. You'll get an immediate sense of your understanding of the topic and where you need to dig in more.

Everyone is on a spectrum

Everyone is on a spectrum. No one has absolute power, and no one is powerless. But our expectation and experience of power is always a choice. Choosing the attitude of powerlessness is self-defeating as well as self-negating. The fact that the attitude can be chosen is in itself a form of power. We can find control over our attitude and our actions, gaining priceless power as we do.

Just because it’s your instinct

Sometimes, in the absence of data or useful experience, we’re left to act on our instincts. It’s worth noting that other people have instincts as well. And in a given situation, their instincts might prove to be as right as ours. Just because it’s your instinct doesn’t mean it’s the best instinct. When in doubt, seek reality and useful experience instead.

Even the tiniest shift in the system

If you memorize the steps, you have a direct, simple, and fast path to obtain the result. Until the world changes. Even the tiniest shift in the system will render your memorization useless. On the other hand, if you understand the concept, you can produce the steps whenever you need them.

Make amends

If you’re holding onto resentment or guilt, reach out and try to make it right—even if the other person doesn’t respond as you hope. Apologizing or forgiving clears emotional clutter and lets you move forward.

Limit how people can reach you

Choose just a few ways to stay reachable—like calls, email, or text—and cut back on the rest. Turn off notifications from apps you barely use and stop checking a dozen inboxes daily.

Clean up your information diet.

Audit what you consume—news, social media, group chats—and cut out sources that leave you anxious, angry, or drained. Follow fewer accounts, and replace doomscrolling with books, meaningful podcasts, or curated news summaries that actually inform and uplift. “Garbage in, garbage out.”