30 Lessons At 30
As I turn 30, I reflect on the life lessons I’ve learned along the way. Here are 30 lessons that have helped shape who I am today.
- Fix the fundamentals
The foundation of a healthy and fulfilling life is taking care of the basics — getting enough sleep, eating a balanced diet, and staying physically active.
2. Keep your needs to a minimum
It gives you the courage under all circumstances to do what you feel is right. You cannot be held hostage by the world if you are not afraid of what can be taken from you.
3. Function of money: prioritise independence over abundance
You can have little and still have enough. Or you can have a lot and never have enough.
4. Pause before making big decisions
There is enough time. Wait for the emotional storm to pass.
5. Learn to handle rejection as early as possible
Fail faster. The rest of your life will be easier and you’ll be better equipped to deal with the vicissitudes of life.
6. Have goals but don’t be rigid
Allow life to unfold. Lose the idea that you know best. It’s arrogant.
7. Focus on building and maintaining meaningful relationships
This is the primary driver of happiness — having people in your life with whom you have a deep sense of connection.
8. Test your support system
It helps you identify who you can turn to when things go wrong.
9. Learn to be happy alone
To the extent possible, retain the power to regulate your emotions. Do not outsource it.
10. Read the myths
If it’s too long or dense then learn the broad storyline and the key conflicts in the characters’ lives. They encapsulate the struggle to be human with tremendous accuracy and precision.
11. Use envy to your advantage
Make a plan. Get better. Do not resent.
12. Always be in a position to offer help
Strength stems from the ability to provide.
13. Focus on winning people over, not defeating them
Conquest is futile. It won’t breed devotion, only anger. It’s a ticking bomb.
14. Deep breathing is magical
Get high on your breath. If forced to pick only one superpower, it would be this. You can face anything and everything through your breath.
15. Build a morning yoga routine
Devote 15–20 minutes every morning to basic maintenance for the body. It pays off in the long run.
16. Bridge the gap between ideal and popular morality
One isn’t achievable, the other isn’t satisfying.
17. Face your fears in a systematic manner
Voluntary, gradual and consistent exposure to your fears is the way to overcome them.
18. Have 1–2 friends before whom you can think aloud
Being able to speak without censoring yourself will make you feel lighter and freer.
19. Do not be daunted by what appears unattainable
Try your luck. Do not shut the door in your face.
20. Ground your confidence in values, not objects
If your confidence depends heavily on wearing good clothes then it’s time to shun them.
21. Keep a monthly budget for networking
Money spent on others is money invested. And the returns, in the long run, will be mind-bogglingly high.
22. Buy an AI-powered electric toothbrush
Ignore it at your peril (and only if you enjoy going to the dentist).
23. Learn about the illnesses that run in the family — take preemptive action
That is the function of history. Not to predict but to help you prevent.
24. Adopt new technology
Adapt or be left behind. A supple mind, open to new ways of doing old things will grow faster.
25. Strike a balance between individualism and collectivism
Comfort is to be found in individualism while meaning is to be found in collectivism. Be of use to your community without losing yourself to it.
26. Know that the universe is large enough to drown your sorrows
You’re too small and too irrelevant in the grand scheme of things. Take it easy. Relax.
27. Invest for the long-term — harness the power of compound interest
Practice being patient. Keep doing what you’re doing and stay still. It’s that simple.
28. Neither dismiss tradition nor decry modernity
Retain what’s best, reject the rest.
29. Do not feel embarrassed to ask for help
Time is precious. Do not fight your battles alone. Build an army.
30. Help those who you can and don’t feel obliged to help everyone
Compassion is like a battery. It needs recharging after a while. Do not kill the battery.
