2022: Lessons & Reflections
On setting infinite goals, slowing down & more
2022 just got over! Year-end is a great time for capturing past learnings. And the last year was filled with learnings for me. Partly because it is the keystone year of my MBA and partly because I have started a new habit of journaling every day. I recommend journaling to anyone who desires to observe and introspect their life. I will probably talk about journaling some other time and use this post to revisit 2022 through my learnings. I hope you find some of them useful.
Lessons learned in 2022
# Set Forever Goals
We can accomplish much more than we can imagine over a long time if we stay focused. Therefore rather than obsessing over immediate results, we can direct ourselves towards super long-term objectives or infinite goals. I first heard about forever goals from Charlie Munger and then in a podcast featuring Tobi Lutke.
Near-term goals create agony and suck all the joy from our lives if we can’t achieve them in time. Since we can pursue infinite goals forever, they alter our mindset to find happiness in pursuit. Read this book to learn more about how finite and infinite objectives differ.
My goal is to ‘be useful’ beyond the limits of space, time, and scale limits — something I find intellectually, emotionally, and financially rewarding.
# Do hard things
Interestingly, hard things are often relatively easy to do once. What makes them terribly hard is that we need to do them over and over again. Meditating in silence or going for a run once is not hard, but doing these daily for years is quite challenging. The key to doing hard things lies in endured consistency.
# Do not rush
When enjoying something, there is no need to rush to the finish. Deadlines are helpful for short, straightforward tasks, but not everything needs a deadline. Forcing timelines may rush us into making wrong decisions. If you are chasing infinite goals, time is immaterial. Warren Buffet once waited for 30 years to buy a stock at the right price — I was shocked to hear this too. Remember this, do not rush uselessly, and don’t let others rush us.
# Engage Authentically
We are social creatures — we hate being alone or left out. We will do stupid things just to fit in. Changing ourselves to find a company is not a good idea. Our company catalyzes your habits. If we choose to be unreal to fit in, we will be forced to be unreal to stay in. Be patient and find people who let us engage authentically.
# Free ourselves
Fear, anger, and guilt drive many of our actions. Such actions further generate negative emotions creating a downward spiral. Beware of the intent of our efforts. We may not free ourselves from negative emotions but rid ourselves of actions motivated by negative drives. Freedom of self from the tyranny of negative motivators is true freedom.
# Discover thy strength
Finding what we do best is a skill that needs work. Only by discovering what we do well can we find a way to be useful. If we regularly do something that we don’t do well, we are all better off letting someone else do it. It is especially true for knowledge workers, where anyone can access the best talent. Unless we find something we are best at, we should keep redefining what we do.
# Take leap of faith
We never feel ready for big things. Often we feel under-prepared and overwhelmed. But the truth is we can accomplish more than we think. We can learn by trying. We can seek help. We can take breaks. We can also quit if needed. When in doubt, take a leap of faith and ride the current. See what happens.
# Know your imperfections
We have flaws, many flaws! We will never be perfect. We don’t need to be as long as we accept our imperfections. We don’t have to be too invested in our beliefs. Therefore, it is crucial to have loosely held convictions that facts can update. Overbearing need to be right is ineffective. Sometimes, the best way to be effective is to be silent.
# Love yourself now
We must love ourselves now. Love who we are and what we have. Yes, we can improve a lot and be so much better. But we will only do so if we care enough about ourselves to invest in our growth. If we do not love us, we will let us wither.
# Live in Bliss
Experience the joy in living. It is possible. It is there. It doesn’t cost anything. Happiness is there for those who choose it. You don’t need anything to be happy. Be in bliss, please!
It is easy to be lost in this life chasing goals, rushing to outcomes, and mindlessly pushing. In 2022, I discovered a new way of making slow, conscious progress. I hope you find it useful.
I am closing with a poem I discovered this year and came to love:
SERENE, I fold my hands and wait,
Nor care for wind, nor tide, nor sea;
I rave no more ‘gainst time or fate,
For, lo! my own shall come to me.
I stay my haste, I make delays,
For what avails this eager pace?
I stand amid the eternal ways,
And what is mine shall know my face.
Asleep, awake, by night or day,
The friends I seek are seeking me;
No wind can drive my bark astray,
Nor change the tide of destiny.
What matter if I stand alone?
I wait with joy the coming years;
My heart shall reap where it hath sown,
And garner up its fruit of tears.
The waters know their own and draw
The brook that springs in yonder height;
So flows the good with equal law
Unto the soul of pure delight.
The stars come nightly to the sky;
The tidal wave unto the sea;
Nor time, nor space, nor deep, nor high,
Can keep my own away from me.“Waiting” is reprinted from The Little Book of American Poets: 1787–1900. Ed. Jessie B. Rittenhouse. Cambridge: Riverside Press, 1915.
