28 Pieces of Life Advice
Article Round-Up: 10.9.22
Enjoy this week’s curated list of articles, podcasts, and more from the web.
Featured Thoughts:
“28 Short Pieces of Life Advice”
Takeaway: Since I was sixteen, I’ve been making a list of life rules—a compilation of life lessons that have stuck with me over the years. I have twenty-six so far, and my criteria is pretty strict for what gets added.
First, the idea of a new life rule comes to mind (either through direct or vicarious experience), and then I sit with it awhile and see how it applies to my life in different circumstances. Only after the life rule holds up to scrutiny does it get added to the list.
As a result of this ongoing practice, I love reading others’ lists of life advice. One part inspiration and one part curiosity, I like to see the lens through which others approach their life.
There are some good ones in this Tweet thread linked above. Here are some of my faves:
When building a piece of IKEA furniture, don’t tighten all the screws to 100% right away. Start by tightening each one to 75%, and only bring them up to 100% once all the screws fit nicely together. This principle applies beyond furniture too.
Remember the Hotel Bathroom Principle: Whenever I’m in a city and I need to use the bathroom, I walk into a fancy hotel. If you’re dressed well and walk confidently, they won’t hassle you for using it. Dress well enough to walk into a 5-star hotel and use their bathroom.
Most of the pleasure in a dessert comes in the first three bites. After that, you should stop eating it. As a reward, you can eat dessert more often because you don’t binge it.
Takeaway: This article takes an interesting look at how important friendships are: the roles they serve and the impact these relationships have on your wellbeing. As the author states, there’s something special about these relationships because you constantly have to opt-in to them. They’re chosen again and again, unlike spousal or child-parent relationships which are out of deep obligation as much as choice.
I found it an interesting read and pulled it from another Substack newsletter, Read Something Great, that you’ll find on my recommended publications list. Check it out.
“What Is Your ‘Before’ — And What Is ‘After’”
Takeaway: The author, editor-in-chief of entrepreneur magazine, talks about separating your life into two parts, the “before” and the “after.” These two parts separated by a dividing moment. For him, it was sitting on an apartment floor just days before the birth of his first child, recognizing the monumental shift about to take place in his life. The end of the “before times”—before children, before another life being dependent on him, before losing many of his childless freedoms.
Our lives are a series of dividing moments, the before and the after. Mourning the before is important. It can help us close that chapter of our lives. These dividing moments are not always sad, because you can look forward to what’s to come in the new chapter.
I had a similar experience when Katrina and I moved out of our apartment into our new home. The memories, the care-free of not worrying about house repairs, the sense of freedom that comes with not being responsible for a property, that was all coming to an end. The excitement and anticipation of all the memories we’re building in the home that we built together—that’s to look forward to.
It reminds me of the quote “You don’t only live once, you live many lives within the span of one.” Each dividing moment marks the end of one life and the start of another. The before times are memories of lives past. The after times the life we are currently building.
What are your dividing moments?
”Need To Eat Health On A Budget? Do This.”
Takeaway: If you don’t want to break the bank while improving your diet, follow this advice. You can save a lot of money, even if you’re only eating for one, at the consumer wholesale stores like Costco. Even with the upfront membership cost, you’ll see that it’s worth it.