Thread by @RyanHoliday

100 (very) short rules for a better life:

1/ Wake up early
2/ Ask: Am I using this technology, or is it using me?
3/ Forget about outcomes — focus on making a little progress every day
4/ Say no (a lot)
5/ Read something every day
6/ Don’t watch TV news
7/ Comparison leads to unhappiness
8/ Journal

9/ Strenuous exercise every single day
10/ Character is fate
11/ Practice the law of action, not attraction. Instead of envisioning the future you want, create it
12/ Get up when you fall/fail
13/ Prove your life’s philosophy with actions over words (and that’s not easy)

14/ Don’t argue with facts just because you don’t like them
15/ It’s not about routine but about practice
16/ Forget credit. Do the work
17/ Do a kindness each day
18/ Grab the "smooth handle"
19/ Success = autonomy
20/ Pick up trash when you see it

21/ If you want to be good and feel good, you have to do good
22/ Deliberately think about death (every day)
23/ “Trust the process"
24/ Do your job well, whatever it is. Because how you do anything is how you do everything
25/ Always choose alive time

26/ “What book has changed your life?” is a question you should ask people you admire if you want to change your own life
27/ There’s no such thing as “quality time”
28. Instead of trying to be the noun, do the verb

29/ The best thing you can do for your work is take a walk
30/ The present is enough
31/ You are what you repeatedly do
32/ Have a philosophy
33/ Make time for philosophy
33/ Don’t just read — you must read to lead

34/ Keep a commonplace book, a collection of little sayings about how to live
35/ Stop looking for shortcuts... do the work
36/ Build an “inner citadel,” what the Stoics called that fortress inside all of us that no external adversity can ever break down

37/ Let it go — those who wrong you wrong themselves
38/ Spend time with old people
39/ When evaluating an opportunity, ask yourself: What will teach me the most?
40/ Think purpose, not passion. (one is about you, the other about something bigger than you)

41/ Have kids—or just talk to kids—they can teach you something if you really pay attention
42/ But don’t use your kids as props for validation
43. Biographies are the best way to study the lives of the greats

44/ Don’t try to beat other people—try to be the only one doing exactly what you’re doing
45/ Know why you do what you do
46/ Be strict with yourself and forgiving of others
47/ Practice the art of negative visualization
48/ Cut toxic people out of your life

49/ Before starting any project, have a “draw-down period,” that phase when you step back, look at your idea, and ask: “What is this really going to be?”
50/ As the late coach and business executive Bill Campbell said: “If you’ve been blessed, be a blessing"

51/ Don’t wait until later... do it now
52/ Never go a day without some deep work
53/ Examine how you spend your time and how you’re living up to your values
54. Ask yourself: How does this action I’m about to take affect other people?

55/ Don’t take the money if it means sacrificing your autonomy
56/ Stay a student
57/ Break things down to see what they really are
58/ “If you see fraud and do not say fraud, you are a fraud.” — Nassim Taleb
59/ Undersell and overdeliver
60/ You must tame your temper

61/ Never recline your seat on an airplane (see also: “How do my actions affect others?”)
62/ Belief in yourself is overrated... generate evidence.
63/ Don’t overthink the price on a book... buy it if you think you’ll read it, and the purchase will pay you back

64/ Good things happen in bookstores
65/ See what you can learn from every person you meet — even people you don’t like
66/ Set a bedtime
67/ A successful marriage is worth more than a successful career
68/ “Go straight to the seat of intelligence.” — Marcus Aurelius

69/ It’s human being, not human doing
70/ Amor fati (love your fate)
71/ Go the f*ck to sleep
72/ “Always say less than necessary.” — Robert Greene
73/ Never take a phone call sitting down... go outside and go for a walk

74/ Champion other people’s work (see my annual reading list)
75/ Make commitments: short, regular deadlines that you have to meet
76/ Animals make life better
77/ “Associate with people who are likely to improve you. Welcome those who you are capable of improving.” — Seneca

78/ See the beauty in the mundane
79/ Print out good advice and put it right in front of your desk, or wherever you work every day
80/ Remember: Nobody is thinking about you... they’re too busy thinking about themselves
81/ Don’t just read books, reread books

82/ Make haste, slowly
83/ Don’t talk about projects until you’re finished
84/ To build resilience, go into the wilderness
85/ Try to see opportunities where others see obstacles
86/ Focus on your inner scorecard rather than your outer scorecard

87/ Have hobbies unrelated to your job
88/ You don’t solve problems by running away
89/ Seek out challenges
90/ “Whenever you are offended, understand that you are complicit in taking offense.” — Epictetus
91/ Think progress, not perfection

92/ “Ask yourself at every moment, ‘Is this necessary?’” — Marcus Aurelius
93/ Relax... whatever it is, you’re probably taking it too seriously
94/ Focus on what you can control
95/ Wrap up each day as if it were the end of your life
96/ Strive to live an interesting life

97/ Value the four Stoic virtues: wisdom, justice, courage, and moderation
98/ The obstacle is the way
99/ Ego is the enemy
100/ Stillness is the key

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