if i've learned to enjoy one thing this past year, it's going for a run in the evening.
the obvious side effect is better fitness in general and also better endurance.
but what i've vastly underestimated is the effect this habit has on my mental health.
on being happy.
don't postpone your happiness.
don't wait until all your problems are solved and your todo list is empty to become happy.
enjoy the present moment.
enjoy the journey, not the destination.
while doing the #tweet100 challenge, i'm also gonna continue building in public. here's what i'll be up to the next couple of weeks 👇
⬜️ design & build the new @lineadotstudio site
⬜️ launch zeitgeist. (a little side project)
⬜️ update my personal website/start a blog
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Show thread (3 posts)
hi fellow #tweet100 hundies 👋
i'm dominik, a 20 year old designer/coder/[i sometimes don't really know] from switzerland.
i tweet mostly about:
what about you? introduce yourself below :)
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let's do this!
i've joined #tweet100 by @jayclouse in order to tweet more consistently.
here are my goals for the challenge:
💯 write one tweet every day for 100 days
🧵 write at least 10 in-depth threads
🤗 expand my network and make some twitter frens :)
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currently going through @Wattenberger's “fullstack data visualization with d3” – here's my first scatterplot 🙌
i especially like the color scale in the plot. it was really impressive to see, how easy you can map numbers to a color range in d3.
Show thread (2 posts)
just stumbled upon this great video from @AliAbdaal again, where he talks about 5 principles of stoicism.
it's where i first learned about this ancient (but still relevant) philosophy. if you've never heard of it, i highly recommend watching the video 👇
just wanted to upload zeitgeist. to the chrome web store, but there was an issue with setting up the developer account.
reached out to support – now i hope the issue gets resolved soon, so that i can finally launch the extension here on twitter.
keep your fingers crossed 🤞
done is better than perfect.
i'm constantly struggling with this myself. but it's definitely something we should tell ourselves more often.
just finishing something is way better than trying to perfect and then never publishing it.
i've visualized an idea from the book “the art of the good life” every day for 52 days straight.
here are my 10 favorites of the “52 surprising shortcuts to happiness, wealth, and success”.
👇
Show thread (14 posts)
stop being a consumer. start being a creator. https://xcancel.com/IAmAndrewKirby/status/1466348045759500296
internal success.
true success comes from within. to reach it, focus on what you can influence and ignore the rest.
input instead of output. the latter is – in the end – a total coincidence.
the end :)
ego.
it sounds harsh, but you aren't as important as you think you are. that's why you should always stay humble.
not letting your ego dictate your actions and thoughts is one of the most important measures to live a good life.
sturgeon's law.
“ninety percent of everything is crap.”
– theodore sturgeon
this applies to almost anything in life. also to your own thoughts and feelings.
try to differentiate between ideas and good ideas, investments and good investments.
a great reminder. https://xcancel.com/aaraalto/status/1465391235028369416
expectations.
high expectations are a big source of unhappiness. differentiate them from your wants & needs.
then, rank your expectations on a scale from 0 → 10. now, subtract two points.
this way, you're managing your expectations more consciously.
sampling.
we tend to make important decisions too early. without trying out enough options.
especially when you're young, you should increase your “sample size”. this is the only way to find out, what you really like – without settling too soon.
bit late to the party, but the new @gumroad branding looks real nice! although i mostly prefer minimal designs, these bold colors and graphics really have something.
i especially like the illustration below 🔁
outsiders.
outsiders have some benefits – like generally a more critical view of established systems or more unconventional ideas.
it's good to have some of them in your circle. but don't try to be one yourself. be the connection.
arms race.
if you find yourself in a position, where you constantly have to exceed yourself just to keep up with others, you're trapped in an arms race. try to avoid them.
every single step seems to be an improvement. but overall, you're standing still.
specialization.
until 10'000 years ago, humans had to be generalists. today, however, we live in a world of specialists.
in order to make a good career, you need to find your niche. and then niche down even further. try to become the best at what you do.
cargo cult.
many people try to imitate their role models by behaving just like them.
unfortunately, this is a very bad way to try to replicate their success. because it's difficult to understand, what really makes them successful.
don't try it either.
just-world fallacy.
the world isn't fair. in order to live a good life, you have to just accept that.
fate's strokes happen, no matter if you're a good or a bad person. accept your failures stoically. but also your successes.
«changing the world» pt. II.
most scientific/economic/… breakthroughs are person-independent. they are a product of the circumstances they were created in.
the only place where you really are irreplaceable is your personal life, your environment.
«changing the world» pt. I.
big changes in history have a random part in them. this means that the people behind them were mostly just in the right place at the right time.
you should worship them just as little as you hope to become one yourself.
role swap.
in order to truly understand someone (customer, partner, …), you have to wear their shoes. and actually walk in them e.g. do the things they would do.
a tip to train this behavior: read more fiction. and try to empathize with the characters.
it always amazes me, how @css has an article on even the most trivial things.
was looking for a solution to a very specific flexbox problem aaand 👇
https://css-tricks.com/flexbox-truncated-text/
thinking vs doing.
thinking about and planing something is great in the beginning. but it only takes you so far.
by actually doing things, you have a risk to fail. but you'll also gain experience. and that's all that matters. in every aspect of life.
mental subtraction.
instead of thinking about the things you don't own or can't do, imagine how life would be without the things you do have/can do.
imagine how it would feel to not be able to see. to hear. to not have your family/friends/partner.
the knowledge illusion.
we tend to overestimate the amount of things we know about something. often, we simply rely on the opinion of others and adopt it.
this can be especially dangerous for ideologies. avoid them. they just narrow your world view.
reading wrong.
if you're an avid reader, you're probably reading wrong. talking about reading too many or the wrong books.
when it comes to books, quality beats quantity. if you've read a good book in the past, read it again. you'll remember more.
attention.
attention is one of our most important resources. but we tend to waste it.
you always live, where your current focus is. choose it wisely.
be especially careful with the consumption of information. like you would be with the food you eat.
state of the world.
a big % of people around the globe suffer from wars, illnesses, or other things. a very depressing thought.
the harsh truth: you yourself can't do much about it. apart from donating money to charities. the rest isn't in your control.
prevention.
no matter what life throws at you – it's always easier to prevent something rather than solve it later.
although success through prevention is invisible to the outsider and thus doesn't get the same recognition – it's the better choice.
envy.
to feel envy is one of the biggest sources of unhappiness. you feel it most towards people, who are similar to you (age, job, lifestyle, …).
a possible solution: don't compare yourself to others. neither on social media nor in real life.
the mental fortress.
4 simple rules of life to remember:
opinions.
we tend to have opinions about everything. and we form them quickly.
that's not bad per se but falls short for complex topics.
create a mental «too complicated»-bucket. put questions in there for which you don't need to have an opinion.
worries.
90% of all your concerns are superfluous.
ask yourself: «what is actually in my control?»
you don't have to worry about things that aren't in your control – you can't influence them anyway.
focus on your priorities instead.
circle of dignity pt. III.
as already stated, the things inside your circle of dignity are non-negotiable.
this also means that you wouldn't give them up, no matter how much money is offered to you. they don't have a price.
this article came just at the right time, as asynchronous javascript was always some kind of a black box for me.
so, if you are also struggling to get the concept of async await, go give this article from @sarah_edo a read. it's really good and explains the concept very well 💡 https://xcancel.com/sarah_edo/status/1456638810343677952
circle of dignity pt. II.
you can set up your circle of dignity however you want. you can define which ideals you represent.
but – only if you have to defend them, if you must stand firm, your circle of dignity shows its true value and solidifies.
circle of dignity pt. I.
the circle of dignity is similar to your circle of competence.
it is a vow about where your boundaries lie. which principles you stand for and which you are willing to give up.
what things in your life are non-negotiable?
hedonism & eudaemonia.
happiness consists of two things:
hedonistic component = enjoyment
eudaemonic component = meaningfulness
the overall ratio between these two parts of your life should always be as balanced as possible.
self-pity.
sometimes you end up in a vortex of self-pity. you should definitely fight against this. because complaining all the time is counterproductive. it only makes your situation worse.
«if you find yourself in a hole, stop digging.»
life and death.
most of us won't die at the peak of life. but even if you've had a few difficult years before death, your life was probably still good.
it's better to live a good life than to die a good death. thinking about the latter isn't worth it.
stories & lies.
the stories we tell us about ourselves are often wrong. this leads to a distorted self-image.
you'll get the best image of yourself from someone who knows you very well and can be 100% honest. it's always good to know, who you truly are.
experience > memory.
humans are concerned with 3 time layers: past, present & future.
once you have a long-term plan, focus on the now. don't try to maximize future memories. maximize your present.
after death, your «memory account» is deleted anyways.
the two mes.
the experiencing me: it focuses on the present moment. one moment only lasts 3 seconds.
the remembering me: it collects the memories, that «survive» the first me.
We tend to overrate the remembering me, but it is really error-prone.
