| Every year I share some life lessons that I experienced over the year. From last year: 2023 2022 2021 2020 Walking has lots of benefits. Wherever you go, walk as much as you can. You’ll know what experiences it will give you.
This year, I walked an average of 94k steps (~3k per day) every month (Fortunately, in the last few months - I crossed 1.2L steps every month). Eat super-foods
Seeds: Char Maghaz. Alsi.
Dry Fruits: Kaaju-badam-kishmish.
Fruits: Amla. Kiwi. Blueberries. Apple. Pomegranates.
Khajoor. Makhane. Kaale Chane. There are a lot of superfoods everywhere. Try to include some of them in your daily diet. It will be beneficial in the long run. Sickness will obstruct you from doing a lot of things. Handle what’s attacking you:
The first few months were obnoxious for me due to chest congestion. I can’t sleep, can’t breathe properly, and have a serious allergy. I started taking meds and an inhaler to relieve the sudden shortness of breath. Although I continued going to the gym, this is frustrating. A few years ago, this was the same scenario with viral. I cope for months with viral, and once in 15-20 days, I fall sick. prepared me well and got rid of it. Just like avoiding losses when investing is a sign of healthy finance, avoiding regular sickness is a sign of a healthy body. Focus on recovery once you get into it. and work towards a long-term fix. For example, I get allergies easily, and I avoid going to dusty spaces. pull up the mask. Prepare extra in winter.
Marathons
I took two 5-6 km marathons this year. I realised it’s quite easy; the real marathon happens on 10/21 km. I would go for 10 km while signing up for next time. Sugar Use
We already know the harm refined sugar causes to our bodies. although I don’t have a sweet tooth, I make calculations for my overall sugar intake and plan to optimise it to sustainable levels. I make sure to cut down on junk foods, including those with higher sugar intake. I don’t know but it starts reflecting on your skin.
Financial freedom is achievable:
A few years ago, I started thinking about financial freedom and how it can be a sustainable financial model. This year, I made close to 50k per month from passive income (sources other than my salary), and my average expense is close to 52k per month. (The Actual difference is less than 12k.) The goal is to be patient with money, avoid losses, find opportunities to enter and exit and maintain a sustainable lifestyle. SWP:
Instead of liquidating my whole Mutual Fund amount post-maturity, I tend to do SWP(Systematic Withdrawal Plan), which is the reverse of SIP. Every month, I get something from a matured SIP, and the existing amount still tends to grow. This way, I can still get something from the fund and liquidate at any time if required, and the lump sum money keeps growing. Don’t buy something just because it’s cheap; Don’t create unnecessary necessities. In this age of advertisement overload and over-consumption. Things are easily accessible and can even be delivered in a minute. Avoid everything you don’t need; psychologically when something is sold at high discounts, you start developing a sense of necessity and social status but in reality, it’s not required, the happiness it will provide is temporary. Do not over-diversify your portfolio:
In 2017-19, I made all sorts of investments and planted some seeds here and there. It turned out to be great, but I realised the need for further simplifying it for tracking and maintenance. I made some de-clutters and didn’t invest just to avoid FOMO. Don’t micro-manage your expenses
In 2023, I used to micro-manage my expenses a lot which will eventually help me in saving bucks. But I try to change the habits and categorise the expenses in fewer buckets like: Groceries and Misc Medical(Doc/Medicines) Shopping Food/Outing/Food Orders Personal(Gym/Haircut/Movies/Home repair) Petrol/Toll/Transport/Bike Insurance Trips/Vacation Cash Withdrawal
At the end of the month, I put all my monthly spending around these buckets. This will help me understand the overall expense arc. At the end of the sheet, I tend to write a summary of expenses - what took overboard or leaking my financials and what went under the surface. I would hardly take 20-30 minutes to go through this exercise once a month.
Tip: I did most of my transactions online/UPI and mentioned these categories while making payments. Emergency Fund in case of job loss is derivative of Survival expenses, not current expenses: An emergency fund is the fund you maintain in case of any emergency like losing your job or medical conditions. The amount depends upon the context. For example, if you lose your job and your assumed expense is 70k per month. You shorten your finances in such conditions. You won’t travel much. You won’t order food online. Stop all your investments. Cut yourself from luxuries or shopping except for groceries. The expenses will reduce from 70k to 35-40k.
Survival Expenses: Groceries, Food. Rent. Electricity, Wifi, Water bills. Insurance, medical bills and school fees. Cross-question if you need to buy something.
Not getting distracted is a superpower. Planning Paralysis
When I try to over-write or plan a lot of things in depth. I assume that most of the work is done, and I avoid taking action. The best strategy is to prepare to act. Execute. Plan. Improve. Iterate. Planning paralysis is hard to fight and you end up exhausting yourself to many complications that don’t exist. The real-life problem might be entirely different. As Nike says - “Just do it”. Hard work is the best way to get recognised.
If you do hard work, it will be recognised. Hard work can further lead to smart work. Making efforts for becoming effortless. There is no alternative to hard work. It’s the definitive truth to achieve something. You can develop skills with hard work. See technology or solution from the lens of the customer-product gap
When I initially approach the task, it will be based on the portion of work that needs to be done, not how it will seen in real time and how real-time users will use it. I changed my mindset to ease the gap between users or customer pain areas to be filled with product enhancement. Product managers are not concerned with how many lines of code you write, the tech stack used or the complexity of the product. Having a vision is a leadership quality that I started developing
Seeing the unseen and long-term consequences of something makes you wise. Developing an understanding to see further beyond and start acting upon it in your daily life.
Creating boundaries is hard. Especially if you’re living in dense social circles. Things go on and on, and you keep yourself adjusted to it. Adjusting boundaries based on priorities is helpful for more sustainable relationships. Understanding leisure:
I realised that I couldn’t relax. I can’t enjoy leisure. I am overburdened with thoughts and have a fidgety mindset. Leisure is either you enjoy it hedonistically, or think life is suffering and chaos. The leisure we need in our lives is somewhere in between. I started thinking more about it. I need to unburden myself and play around instead of being rigid. Lighten up the moods and get rid of thoughts. Get out of yourself. Enjoying your taste of humour. Taking risks for adventures and memories. Not consuming short-form content and avoiding scroll addiction is a superpower in these times. Grief and Guilt are deep emotional states. It takes time and emotional reset to get out of it. Always have something to offer to people
I started to offer something to people: gifts, help, advice, a compliment, a story or a shared laugh. I started being vulnerable to people who could understand me well. Do not try to define yourself in your mind, especially with negative self-talk. Stop taking yourself and your life seriously. There’s no rule book to life. Irrespective of wherever you are and whatever you do. you might end up doing things that you’ve avoided. Chaos is the only order in life. Enjoy the imperfections and chaos of life. You’re not as “samajhdaar” as you think - laugh it off on your wrongdoings. If you want to do something, do it. If it doesn’t end well, it’s fine. Leave aside what people will think and expect from you. focus on what you’re good at and enjoy doing. Even if you didn’t succeed, that is fine too. Frustration, bottled up and anxiety is due to improper communication. One of the pain areas of my life is not communicating properly (or what Gen-z call it - Ghosting). I keep things to myself: gulping my anger, thoughts and expression. It sometimes makes me feel frustrated and anxious. I need to get out of this state. Express what you feel - without indulging in further arguments or bottlenecks. Clearly say how you feel. Stay in touch with people, old or new. Randomly message, express, or appreciate them. Plan something with them. Vent out your life stories. You need to get out of your mind & pledge yourself to be calm and satisfied in whatever situation life throws at you. Do not hesitate. hesitation will close a lot of doors for you.
That’s all for the day!
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