Life's little reminder

Remember you will die. Maybe even today. Don’t forget that. Don’t forget to be thankful for your health. For the ability to walk. For the time you get to spend with the person you love. For your siblings. For whatever it is that you have today. It is not yours; it can be stolen away at any moment. So while you have it on loan, cherish it

Exercise, almost every day.  Regular exercise resets mind and body


To know what you think, write it down. It gives clarity to your thought process


You end up being the average of the people you spend your life with. You become a reflection of your environment. Choose your people wisely. Don’t hesitate to move or change if you know things aren’t right


Most people never ask for what they want. A lot of good happens if you ask for what you want


Always take the stairs. There will be plenty of days where you can’t, so accept the opportunity to take the stairs as a gift and make a deposit into your Future Health account


Put yourself in places that make you nervous. Nerves are really the only way to know that you’re being stretched. If there hasn’t been a moment of nerves in your life for a month, it might be worthwhile asking if you’re pushing hard enough


Talk it out. When it comes to humans, there’s no other way. You have to talk things out. Sometimes it will take years. For the right people, that time is worthwhile. The unsaid will go unsolved


Don't be precious. It is ok to be passionate about great coffee or great chocolates but don't be the person who is above a glass of cask wine


The greatest reflection of your priorities is your time. The true test of your life's priorities is  where you place your time. So if you say your priorities are your partner or family, that statement will only be true if your calendar reflects it


Everything is mediocre. Most jobs are mediocre. Most people’s work is mediocre. Most life drift to mediocre. When you rise above the mediocrity, people will notice


It’s really, really hard to make something great. The inertia of mediocrity makes it hard to do great work. Most people want most things to stay the same. To do great things, you have to go unrecognized, be under-appreciated and push to unreasonable lengths


Don’t get disheartened. If you get disheartened, it’s over. Don’t ever underestimate the value of enthusiasm. Sometimes it’ll be all you have


Perception is reality. What’s ‘true’ often doesn’t matter because of what’s ‘perceived’


Understand the value of time. Life ends up being really short, no matter how long you live. You can recover money, you can rebuild houses, you can re-buy glassware — but you can’t get back time


Self-control is a finite resource. You can only ask so much of yourself each day. You’ll snap if you ask too much. You have a limited capacity to direct yourself a certain way. It’s worth considering where that directive capacity goes every day


Listen to your body. You might feel like you’ve found a loophole, but if you’re not honest, your body will catch up with you soon enough


Control your inputs. Not just what you eat and drink (though this will have a profound impact), control what you read, what you watch, what you listen to, what notifications you allow on your phone, where you spend your time, who you spend it with. Guard your gates with care


Everyone has a vice. To err is human. Everyone has a fault-line. Don’t spend too much time searching for it, but know it will be there and don’t be disappointed when you find it


Listen. On average, are you doing more listening or talking? If the balance isn’t wildly in the favour of listening, or if you had to think about that question for second, it’s a sign you’re not listening enough


Be genuinely curious. You can’t artificially generate curiosity, so you have to follow where yours actually leads. Curiosity ends up being the driving force behind the most interesting people


Pay close attention to what you do when you’re alone. When no one’s looking, when the house is empty, when the afternoon is yours alone — what you choose to do says a lot about you

Get outside. You’re a collection of atoms, in a poorly understood universe that’s probably infinite. Go look at a tree, or think about a cloud or a star. Whatever you’re going through is probably pretty insignificant in the context of all of that


Never talk about how busy you are or how drunk you were. Seriously. Stop it. Enough already


Almost everything normalises. Grief, wealth, loves. Eventually it will all feel normal. Don’t let the feeling of ‘normal’ hide the value of what’s in front of you


People care 10% as much as you think they do. So long as you’re making an effort to be a good person, you can assume most people care much less than you think they do. Just chalk up any negative interactions to circumstance. People always have a million things going on and you’re generally one of the least important


You never know where you are on history’s big wheel. You never know what’s coming for you. You have to have some faith. Your moment is coming.

# Balqesh Abdullah