After close to a quarter century of being, I don’t yet fully understand how my mind and body work. And I hope to get to know them better day-by-day, my mind and body are the two assets in this universe I have in my complete control after all.
As usual, I seek to borrow knowledge from people who have trodden this path before. This path has a name - philosophy and has many varieties to pick form. I choose stoicism and I will use my own flavor which will continue to evolve as I grow older (and wiser, hopefully), for change is the only permanent thing in this world.
I perceive stoicism as a philosophy that rests on three simple tenets :
- The past has happened, live in the present and focus on the future.
- Seek to understand, in every situation, what is in your control and what isn’t.
- In any event in your life, you control the perception and understanding of information.
1 → Tells me to understand that time is fleeting, so I must enjoy and make the best of the present and live life without regrets, and at the same time love my future self and act accordingly. I will honor my promises to my future self, and not procrastinate in any action.
2 → Tells me to look at any situation as a 3rd person RPG. I only have my mind, my body and my knowledge in my control; I can only influence everything else, to some degree with my mind, body and knowledge.
3 → Tells me to apply a growth & positive-sum mindset to any situation in life. I get to learn from every minute, every interaction and every happening, and that will make me a better person, and bring happiness to my future self.
As easy as it is to write about this, following the tenets lies on how deeply I love my future self. The more I do, better I internalize this and the happier I become. I believe Happiness is the ultimate manifestation of entropy, there is no limit.