When I first read this awesome post by Rand Fishkin on his life learnings, I thought I should write one too. My immediate next thought was, may be I don’t need to write about my learnings. I haven’t learnt enough.
I just turned 30. Sometime in the past few months I realised that there are things I have learnt in this life so far and those are the exact things that I strive to live up to each day. Here are some of my learnings that still continue to challenge me …
- Life is about tough negotiations. You can’t always just take it or leave it. Negotiation is part of the process.
- Don’t let go of love. It doesn’t come easy.
- Don’t give any heed to rituals. They will ask you to dress well, be politically correct and be nice to people in a way you don’t want to be. Don’t be what they ask you to be. But be what you must be and a part of that may be to listen to what they tell you, consider it. And if and when you think that’s a good idea, be that person. Simply put, ‘be open to change, but don’t change just because someone asked you to’.
- Honesty works.
- Judge people. It’s necessary. You need to choose where to spend your time & who is worth it. But don’t write them off, life is not a constant, it is moving and allow space for love.
- People will fail you. Often. So will machines. It is part of the game. Don’t let that change you easily. But at the same time being practical is underrated.
- There are no straight answers to the toughest questions in life. It’s a choice. You don’t choose the right path, you choose a path and do your best to make it right. So think twice before walking the path, but don’t look back once you start walking. And remember, being practical is underrated.
- Super hero men and women are overrated. Many get famous and we follow them, doesn’t mean they are great or wise.
- Trust your instinct. But identify your biases. Look for patterns where you fail.
- Be desperate and helpless. It’s good. It builds compassion and empathy.
- Some of us have a habit to make our lives tough. No one would judge you for taking it a bit easy. You deserve it. Like my friend Arpit said, give yourself a “nice guy discount” and be a little more selfish.