How I think about life (and living)

Another attempt, to clarify my thinking, here I shall attempt to write down my main ideas around the ways of living life. A lot of the ideas are different in my head and I find my actions often are not exactly the same, which I think is okay. I sometimes tend to let emotions dictate my state of being, which again I think is okay, as long as my return to baseline goofy-make-fun-of-everything-as-a-coping-mechanism is fast enough.

These ideas have and are intended to make me live life in the present, to live life with a sense of gratefulness where I live with a “this too shall pass” mindset, for good and for bad. These ideas come and go, some I agree with more than others, and some I live through more than others. Let us see how these ideas, and thoughts evolve and how experiences change my perspectives over time.

Be unapologetically you. There’s no point in living life, than to spend every moment being you (whoever you chose to be), otherwise what’s the point? Of course, depending on the situation, you can decide to show a part of who you are instead of the whole, but never try to be someone else just to fit in.

Go into anything and everything with love in your heart. Sounds super cliched, but I really think that the world/people need more love. We often have preconceived notions of people and situations even before we encounter them, and I’ve found that the only valid notion to have while going into anything is to have love to give and cheers to spread.

Focus on the few. I try to eliminate as many variables as possible from my life where I have no control. This allows me to focus my energy and mental bandwidth on things that I really care about; friends, family, and work. Everything else that I feel is not worth my time, I actively look for ways to eliminate (with often uncomfortable conversations).

Be kind to yourself and then to others. This is everyone’s first time learning to be human, people make mistakes – just learn to first be kind to yourself, and then to others. You, your family, your friends, the people who hurt you, all of them are as new to this as you.

Let go (of control, resentment, others) A lot of where I am, and who I am has been a consequence of things that I have not had a lot of control over. Of course, I have tried my best to nudge myself in certain directions that I thought were meaningful, but a lot of who I am is a consequence of things that in reality have been beyond what I could have imagined or controlled. The perspective of not holding on to things, and having a learn and move on mindset does wonders. I have gotten better at returning to baseline when I have a hard time with things, but I still think I could get better at this.

Health is everything. I realize this every time I have a cold lol, and then forget it as quickly as it goes away. Taking care of my physical health, for me going to the gym, has been a game changer for my physical health and mental health. As someone who’d been skinny his whole life, it has given me more than I thought it would.

People matter (and don’t). I love the analogies one of my dear friends gave me. Your life is like a train, where some people will come and get off at different stations, and some will stay on till the end. It’s worth finding the people that are your people, but most importantly realize that this life is your journey and yours alone.

The more I think about what I’ve written, I understand there are a lot of contradictions, and that’s fair, but more importantly, that’s perfectly okay, being a contradiction is not as bad as people claim.

8 Jan 2025

Embrace discomfort. Go out of your comfort zone. If you spend all your time in situations that are predictable, with the same people, in the same location, having the same conversations, you will miss out on perspectives. Discomfort and failure directly leads to growth.