General Principles:
Have your principles defined, with top priorities enumerated. When comes time to make a major decision, you'll already have the mental infrastructure in place
The negativity bias is strong. Don't let your fear of losing inhibit your ability to take (reasonable) risks
Compound interest is your friend. Invest in good habits and indexed ETFs
Your brain quickly adapts to new environments. Because of this, don't expect discrete "things" (accomplishments, goods, etc) to change your day-day mental state
Your brain can rationalize any behavior. Index yourself to a given standard, and regularly calibrate.
Stress-test your beliefs regularly.
Interacting with Others
To keep a relationship from becoming negative, you need ~5x positive interactions for every 1x negative interaction. Think carefully before allowing a negative interaction to occur
Speak with precision. What is heard is often different than intended
If somebody behaves in a bothersome way, use the following response template:
"When you do {thing}, it makes me feel {this way}."
This reduces the emotions involved, while giving feedback to other party on how their behavior affects you
If you want to complain about the way things are, you must first take ownership in the planning phase
Excepting short-term sprints, put on your own oxygen mask first.
Using Technology
Smartphone use dramatically reduces your ability to engage in delayed gratification.
If you need a brain break, don't watch TV. Rather take a nap or meditate. Your brain is more active when you sleep than when you watch TV, and yet more refreshed afterwards.
The algorithm constantly iterates to make the most addicting content for you. If you want autonomy, avoid giving it a foothold.
For me this manifests as:
Get >7hrs of sleep every night
Get outside for >45min total every day
For me, this generally manifests by bicycling to pick my son up from preschool
Eat healthy. Inspired by Michael Pollan's Food Rules, this means: