Read

There is a saying: You are what you read. I subscribe to this philosophy. Past few years have been great, I have been reading in bulk.
I have also realized most of the new age writing: productivity, efficiency, and self-help writings are old wine in new bottle.
Some of these best sellers are personal experiences or summary of research papers. Nobody knows if they will work in real life.
I have decided to limit my reading this year. I will spend more time re-reading some of my favorites.

Wealth

Death is a great equalizer. It treats rich and poor equally. The materialistic wealth does not go anywhere with you.

Famous kings and pharaoh had their tombs built with all the amenities. What happened to those? The thieves are digging for that wealth and pigeons are shitting all over those tombs.

The famous Greek and Roman empires have fallen and their wealth has disappeared.

It took me 33 years to realize that true wealth is not money but the cherished moments of life. The company of friends and family.

I still miss my mass college bunks and hostel bunks for 11 am shows at PVR. We had no money, we would eat cheap burgers at McDonalds’s but I still have a memory of those.

I am not mad at my physical education teacher who beat the shit out of me for skipping early morning runs. I am reaping its benefits now.

Silo

After leaving my fulltime job, I have been living in my own world. I decide and plan my day in accordance with my nature.

When to surf the internet, whom to reply and whom to join for coffee is my decision.

This living in my own world, like Silo mode, has made me better. I am less distracted and not entitled to respond to anyone’s opinion.

The amount of learning I have had in past few years is more than what I had learned in any job or during my graduation.

I wish I could have done this much earlier in my life.

Delegate

Working with a small team has its own challenges. One has to wear multiple hats. While it makes you a multitasker and you end up learning many things, On the positive side, focus gets hit.

The best way of handling this situation is to delegate some of the responsibilities to other members. I understand it is a challenge and for a control freak. If you have hired best folks, you should believe in them.

Delegating will foster positivity and bring everyone closer.

Inequality

I am not a saint. I am part of this same construct where one section is celebrating while other working ass off.

Why is this world so unequal? Why some of us have everything in plenty while others nothing.

Why is that one part has the luxury to gain from all the benefits while paying taxes while another is deprived of essential services.

Expecting a better world with everyone is happy is no less than a Utopia.

Choice

I hate too many choices. It is a cognitive overload for me. I find confusing with too many options. But the life we are living in we is thrown with choices. It appears to me that marketers make the most money by confusing customers by throwing choices.

I know the new age consumerism proponents will paddle the mantra: more is good.

Visiting a coffee shop like Starbucks is a pain in the ass. You ask for a black coffee, you will be thrown with next 2-3 questions.

Visiting a nearby grocery store and checking for snacks/munchies is like a world in itself. The option from sugar-free to gluten-free to what not.

Wanting

We all have our own aspirations (most of us). We like to become better or achieve something in life. It can be money or acquiring some skills.

Some of us want to do this because have internal motivation for doing it. A few others do it out of survivorship bias. It requires meditation and absolute focus to achieve or build something.

“So you wish to conquer in the Olympic Games, my friend? And I, too… But first, mark the conditions and the consequences. You will have to put yourself under discipline; to eat by rule, to avoid cakes and sweetmeats; to take exercise at the appointed hour whether you like it or not, in cold and heat; to abstain from cold drinks and wine at your will. Then, in the conflict itself, you are likely enough to dislocate your wrist or twist your ankle, to swallow a great deal of dust, to be severely thrashed, and after all of these things, to be defeated.”
― Epictetus, The Discourses with the Enchiridion and Fragments

Wanting to become someone or achieve something out of external motivation is not a good idea.

2018: a recap

2018 has been a great year for me. I consider myself very lucky, I am breathing and all of the body parts are intact and functioning.

I made a few new friends and lost a few others. I live in Baswangudi now. It is closer to Lalbagh, my regular running track, closer to nature.

I have been closer to my quest of acquiring self-knowledge. I spent a good amount of my time reading. I have not traveled much this year and it is alright.

I have failed to find “Who am I?”, yet again this year. The work is still in progress, I hope I will get closer in the coming years.

I have been taking precaution on my food consumption and trying to limit my consumption of Meat, Milk, Wheat, and Sugar.

2018 made me learn about understanding project management, product development, doodling, conflict resolution, cognitive bias, and empathy.

My plan for 2019 is to learn the art and craft of sales. What all it takes to sell something to someone? Is sales more about psychology, empathy or capitalism’s construct?

My daily consumption of coffee needs a pause, let see if I can do this.

I have no advice for anyone about anything in 2019, I know nothing.

I wish 2019 brings more joy to our life, we become more rational and logical. We value virtue more than material wealth.

Happy New Year to you all.