Wisdom

2023-02-19T12:31:00.034+05:30

These are some of the things that I've learnt in the course of my life. They are for my reference and would be kept updated. They're in no particular order, i.e., nothing is more important than anything else. Some are grouped under certain sections for easier categorization.

I've found somewhat similar stuff written by other people, such as https://perell.com/essay/50-ideas-that-changed-my-life/

General:

"Luck is what happens when preparedness meets opportunity." - Seneca
"Know your limits, but never stop trying to break them." - Kyle Maynard
"The greatest wealth is health." - Virgil

https://anandmiitm.blogspot.com/2022/12/improving-health.html
Use activity trackers and believe its assessment! For example, if it says you're leading a sedentary lifestyle then increase you activities instead of denying it.

"Be willing to lose a battle in order to win the war." - H. Jackson Brown Jr.
"He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps perpetrate it. He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it." - MLK
"Courage isn't the absence of fear, but doing the right thing regardless of it." - Carly Fiorina

Similarly, confidence isn't the absence of insecurity, but knowing that you have real worth despite it.
Also, goodness isn't the absence of bad thoughts or impulses, but the conscious choice to behave according to your moral ideals in spite of them.

"The weak are dominated by their ego, the wise dominate their ego, and the intelligent are in a constant struggle against their ego." - Hamza Yusuf
"God freedom, and immortality are untenable in the light of pure reason." Immanuel Kant

Happy:

"When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrore down 'happy'. They told me I didn't understand the assignment and I told them they didn't understand life." - John Lennon
"Be thankful for what you have; you'll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don't have, you will never, ever have enough." - Oprah
"Always try to represent yourself as happy. Initially, it becomes your look, gradually it becomes your habit and finally it becomes your personality." - Swami Vivekananda

People:

There are 3 pillars of a person's network: Social, Career and Family. Try to maintain balance across all of them throughout your life.
Around 95% of the people are good. There are 5% who are evil. Learn to identify and build your network accordingly.
"Never argue with an idiot. They will only bring you down to their level and beat you with experience." - George Carlin
"Better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak and remove all doubt." - Abraham Lincoln
"Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek." - Barack Obama
"Be less curious about people and more curious about ideas." - Marie Curie
"Nobody is perfect. Find the good in people and ignore bad in them. Don't judge anyone on the mistakes they make, rather help them not make the same mistake again." - Evanescence
"Birds of a feather flock together." - Welsh Proverb
"Relate only to people who can help you advance in your life purpose. Stay away from those who will keep you from it, even if it's at their unconscious level." - Roxana Jones

Communication:

"Great minds discuss ideas, average minds discuss events, small minds discuss people." - Eleanor Roosevelt

Try to steer the conversations to be about ideas. If that's not possible, then at least discuss about events. Avoid mindless gossip about people.

"A question is a polite way of demanding something." - Edward De Bono
"Speak when you are angry and you will make the best speech you will ever regret." - Ambrose Bierce
Go through http://nohello.com before pinging someone on any chat.
The common causes of conflict are:

Scarcity of resources, e.g., money.
Different attitudes, values, or perceptions.
Disagreements about needs, goals, priorities, and interests .
Poor communication.
Lack of teamwork.
Lack of clarity in roles and responsibilities.

Career:

"The only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle." - Steve Jobs
"People don't leave bad jobs; they leave toxic work cultures." - Dr Amina Aitsi-Selmi
"Success is no accident. It is hard work, perseverance, learning, studying, sacrifice and most of all, love of what you are doing." - Pele
"Climbing to the top demands strength, whether it is to the top of Mount Everest or to the top of your career." - A.P.J. Abdul Kalam
"If someone offers you an opportunity but you are not sure you can do it, say yes, then learn how to do it later." - Richard Branson
"When a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure." - Goodhart's Law
"The key is not to prioritize what's on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities." - Stephen R. Covey
100 Things You Should Know as a Software Engineer: https://hkandala.dev/100-things-you-should-know

Learning:

"There is no learning without remembering." - Socrates
"Be curious. Be constantly, consistently, indiscriminately curious." - Maria Popova
"The best teachers are those who show you where to look, but don't tell you what to see." - Alexandra K. Trenfor
"All genuine learning comes through experience." - John Dewey
"Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm." - Ralph Waldo Emerson
"Keep challenging yourself to think better, do better, and be better." - Robin S. Sharma
"When you repeat a mistake, it is not a mistake anymore: it's a decision." - Paulo Coelho
Learn to dive a vehicle and actively go around on your own, even if it's a bicycle. Traveling helps! https://anandmiitm.blogspot.com/2022/09/how-to-enjoy-trip.html
"By three methods we may learn wisdom. By reflection, which is noblest. By imitation, which is easiest. By experience, which is bitterest." - Confucious
"Hope for the best, expect the worst, and take what comes." - Hamilton Crane
"Live as if you were to die tomorrow; learn as if you were to live forever." - Mahatma Gandhi
"Share your knowledge. It is a way to achieve immortality." - Dalai Lama XIV

Time/Money:

"Spend your money on the things money can buy. Spend your time on the things money can't buy." - Haruki Murakami
"Time is more valuable than money. You can get more money, but you cannot get more time." - Jim Rohn
"Money can't buy happiness." - Howard Hughes

It means "The mindless accumulation of excess wealth ultimately leads to diminishing returns of happiness".
It doe not mean "Poor people should learn to be content without basic necessities and financial security".

"If stock market experts were so expert, they would be buying stock, not selling advice." - Norman Ralph Augustine
"One ought not to encourage beggars, and yes, you are right, it is far better to donate to charities that address the causes of poverty rather than to him, a creature who is merely its symptom." - Mohsin Hamid

"The most basic of conservative principles is that if you reward bad behavior you get more of it." - Mark Steyn

"If you don't find a way to make money while you sleep, you will work until you die." - Warren Buffet
"Wealth is not about having a lot of money, it's about having a lot of options." - Chris Rock
"If you are born poor it's not your mistake, but if you die poor it's your mistake." - Bill Gates

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Wisdom