Stuff I've learned

Some things I would tell my younger self:

1. You are extremely sensitive to caffeine and should not consume coffee, tea, or even chocolate.

2. You don’t have an attention problem. Rather, you sense danger everywhere and can’t relax enough to focus.

3. It is far more pleasant to choose beliefs and thoughts for their practical utility than for their correctness. This is a change of axioms and not something that can be reached through reasoning.

4. To the extent that you can eliminate a sense of identity, do so. One’s mind is constantly changing, so identity simply ties you to an imperfect description of the past.

5. You’re trapped between your anger and people’s aversion to your anger. Ignore others, allow yourself to feel angry, and it will slowly dissipate.

6. You will never find people who are similar to you by looking superficially. You have always felt different from others, so the people who you can most relate to appear vastly different from you.

7. Travel slows the process of growth by disrupting the routines that are the foundation of your life and physical health.

8. You are not an archivist chronicling your life. You can erase and rewrite your history as necessary.

9. Peace can be attained through purely internal means.

10. Resisting and controlling your impulses prevents your mind from learning about their consequences. You would be better served if you abandoned discipline and simply did whatever you want all the time. With time, this yields a composure that is much more robust than any superimposed self-control.

11. Nearly every frustration with “society” or “other people” is in fact a frustration with a part of your own mind.

12. Your day-to-day happiness is degraded significantly by computer and phone use.

13. If you refuse to admit your needs to yourself, or if they conflict with your identity, your mind will find perverse, self-deceptive ways to satisfy those needs anyway. This generates a sense of hopelessness and confusion.

14. You have no obligation to use your abilities and intellect for anything at all, regardless of what anyone might say. They are a gift, not a curse.

15. It is impossible to waste your life.