Dear Younger Me,

I know you’re looking for a checklist or guidance of some sort from the future you for a better approach to life.

Please find below a checklist of 5 traits that you have to evaluate yourself against periodically so that you’ll know when you’re going off track.

Give yourself 1 point for each of these traits you followed and 0 for the rest.

A score of 3 and above means you’re doing ok, If its <3 then its time to change your course.

1. Compound Daily – Don’t Waste Time

Time is your most valuable asset and it’s a limited resource. You will not get back a second of it.

Will you give Rs 1000 to a random stranger? No Right? Then why would you give hours of your time to random things that are created by professionals to rob you off of your time (viral videos, video games etc anything that doesn’t improve you).

So use time to your advantage, get better everyday without excuses.

Be at least 1% better than what you were yesterday in anything and as a result you’ll see significant improvements.

In conclusion, Let Compounding work in your favor.

Learn, Exercise, Work, Read more everyday.

2. Be Humble – Don’t take yourself too seriously

Remember that you are just 1 out of around 7.5 billion population right now and around 108 billion people over Earth’s History.

No matter how significant you are or what you have become, keep in mind that there are millions of others who are better than you in different areas of life.

So don’t take yourself too seriously, be Humble.

3. Keep an open mind – Don’t attach emotions to ideas

It’s ok not to have an opinion. Be open to the other side’s argument in any field.

Know that you’ll always miss something in your perceptions (The Rashomon Effect) , so constantly challenge your belief systems.

Your personal experiences make up maybe 0.00000001% of what’s happened in the world but maybe 80% of how you think the world works. We’re all biased to our own personal history. ~ morganhousel

“When the Facts Change, I Change My Mind. What Do You Do, Sir?”-John Maynard Keynes

Don’t get emotionally attached to ideas. It’ll cloud your judgment and you’ll be blind to other’s perspective.

4.  Consistent Discipline – No shortcuts

Don’t look for shortcuts.

Know what you’re supposed to do and do it.

Don’t think about it, don’t rely on just your willpower or motivation, they wont be around everyday.

Do you think about brushing your teeth or wearing footwear everyday? No

You just do it because its a habit.

Similarly, Design a system and make it a habit it in your daily schedule rather than doing it only when you feel inspired or motivated

“The more struggles you choose for yourself,the less struggles life throws at you”-Joe Rogan

5. Don’t compare, Don’t complain

Don’t compare

Compete only against yourself, you don’t have to do better than anyone else.

Would you swap your life 100% for someone else’s? No.

Everybody is unique. So don’t compare other’s highlight reel to your daily grind.

“We compete purely on multi-player games. The reality is life is a single-player game – Naval Ravikant”

Don’t complain

If you don’t like something, do what you can to change it.

If you can’t change or control it, then accept it. Thats all there is to it!!!

Still having a bad time? Say “GOOD” – Jocko Willink style.

I scored a borderline 3

What’s yours? Let me know in the comments below.

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