41–50 of 178 posts
Good things that happened to me:
I travelled in all the region to diversify my pictures.
I bought the books of master photographs to learn their technics, so I can now "read" a picture.
And of course I watched a lot of photos on the internet to diversify my tastes.
Now that I have reached a level that I am proud of, I praise that hobby very much.
As a young adult - LessWrong Sequences. A lot of the topics covered were something I was thinking about myself, so I kind of got halfway to the same answers independently, but beyond that, they helped me clarify and sharpen my thinking about the world.
Beyond that, I had lots of smaller influences. "Getting Things Done" shaped my thinking about productivity. Writings of Joel Spolsky and Paul Graham made me discover Lisp and Emacs, which subsequently reshaped a lot about how I approach programming. Helping set up and then run a Hackerspace taught me much about interacting with (and trying to coordinate) a group of smart and skilled people. And then HN contributed a lot to broadening my worldview too.
Living abroad for extended period(s) of time.
Can you elaborate? For pleasure or for work? How long?
I kind of consider that experience the beginning of my conscious development of my own personality. Completely changing your point of view and starting off as an outsider in almost every situation (language barriers + cultural norms) really makes you reconsider so many details of things you always took for granted. I'd say you learn more about your own culture and country than about the host country. After that you will just naturally acknowledge that lots of things are arbitrary rather than god-given. This in turn I believe leads to the next step of realization that you can design and shape things rather than having to accept the status-quo as is.
After that I first got involved as a volunteer in my exchange organization, and later lived abroad two more times (in university and for work) while also naturally surrounding myself with people who had similar 'changes of perspective' in my social life. I find that those people are generally extremely curious, open, driven and generally inspiring.
Knowing about the Conspicupus Signalling Theory (Geoffrey Miller's book). Understanding how flirting really works with Dan Bacon's The Flow. Meditation and going beyond materialism by experiencing many lucid OBEs. Jordan Peterson in general and self authoring in special. Understanding how poisonus Postmodernism is (Stephen Hicks book). Understanding how the Cultural War works (a global issue). Becoming a socratic met…
Losing that ego-based view of the world and realizing the interconnectedness of all things, and feeling that connection at the deepest levels of your psyche, does wonders for eliminating the adversarial individualism that I feel generates a lot of issues when enacted in all participants of society. Before, I had (and admittedly still have) some aspects of my self that, when acting through them, generate much undue stress in interpersonal relationships. I've never been particularly social and psychedelics have helped me simultaneously empathize with my fellow participants and remove the stupid anxieties related to others' view of you. "L'enfer, c'est les autres" is still very much a part of my outlook but approaching this mentality from both sides (ego-centric and ego-dissolved) has made abundantly clear how to manage these anxieties, even if I still get caught up in them sometimes, leading to destructive behavior.
All interactions are social, and embedded in the expectations and habits of human participants. At work, in romance, in family, and between friends, understanding what is meaningful and mutually beneficial interaction is essential for long-term happiness as a part of society.
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A second thing that has helped a lot has been living abroad in very colorful and international communities. The vast array of perspectives and norms gives you a wider understanding and a deep empathy for how people can grow up in flawed societies and how to approach the fostering of your own to overcome those flaws.
Sleep: I think we undervalue the importance of sleep. This is the time when your body gets to improve itself. Without good sleep, your diet and exercise will be much less effective.
Diet: Your mental and physical well being is a rolling average of the things you eat. Cheat days are fine; cheat weeks are not. As long as your diet is always trending in the right direction, you'll find life becomes a little easier to manage at an increasing rate.
Exercise: I hardly do it for physical reasons (though they are very positive), but instead for chemical reasons. Exercise is very important for your brain, and to flush toxins. I play soccer and lift weights, but you might find something else that you enjoy. The important thing—for me—is that it's something you can get into a "flow" with, that feels almost meditative.
Reflect: Whether you do a 5-minute journal, transcendental meditation, 'Getting Thing Done', or whatever system is popular today... it's important to find where your next 2% improvement will come from. Life is just a series of these steps that push you forward, 2% at a time.
Don't forget to play, either. That's half the human experience (and the source of a lot of creativity).