Blog

Imposter syndrome isn’t reserved for a few. 

Almost everyone suffers from it, multiple times during their lifetime.
Thus, coming up with a process is the way to deal with it:

1. Helpful vs best. You cannot be the best in the world yet whatever you do know, use it to help people.
2. There will always be someone better than you. That automatically takes off a lot of load.
3. Try not to be the imposter that you were. Being a little better than yesterday is the best progress. You’re giving yourself time. That’s the best thing!

Compounding is less about mathematics.
It’s more about our temperament.

Do we get anxious when things don’t work out immediately?
Are we patient with life?
Do we believe in small things working out big miracles because of consistency?

The kind of person we are would end up deciding the kind of investor we become.
Money doesn’t change us. It just magnifies who we are.

There are 3 things that can help us gain confidence:

1. Seeking feedback from people who genuinely want us to progress.
   
2. Measuring progress because that helps us see ourselves moving forward.
   
3. Knowing ourselves.
   
   Knowing if we are the best.
   And knowing that if we are not, we will do everything in our capacity to become the best.

To get confident, we need something to be confident about.
It doesn’t need to be our strengths only. It can very well be our progress.

Often we are told that the most powerful people are the ones who never make mistakes.

We’re also told that making mistakes is a sign of weakness. That, if we make mistakes, we are not powerful. So what do we do?
We hide them.

But when we look at the most powerful people in the world, their strength isn’t in not making mistakes. Their strength lies in admitting that they made one.
It lies in making sure it never gets repeated.
And when another mistake comes their way, their strength lies in admitting it again!We can’t escape making mistakes.
It’s the courage to own up to these mistakes that makes us powerful.

If you often find people around you saying, “You’ve changed!”
“You were not like this.”
“You are not the same anymore!”

And if you are confused – Should you change? Should you not?
You think people will dislike you.
People will leave if you aren’t who they want you to be anymore!

Here is the truth:

We all change. We just don’t realize it.
But it’s the realisation of the conscious change that sets us apart.

When people say you’ve changed, they never think about how you’ve changed.
It’s about how they couldn’t.

You are a CA today.
You do not have to be a CA forever!

You are an engineer today.
You do not have to be an engineer forever!

You are a journalist today.
You do not have to be a journalist forever!

Do not define your future by who you are presently.

90% of what happened to me in my 20s was because of luck.

I am that guy who was at the right place at the right time and lucked out.
And as much as I am grateful for that, I wish I knew better.

Today I know, 20s should be used to discover yourself, as against stabilizing yourself.
Meet as many people as you can.
Do as many jobs as you can.
Explore as many streams as you can.

Find out what you are good at and what makes you happy.

And then spend your 30s doing that.

1. No notifications except calls.
   You can set a work mode, so only the notifications you have permitted will come through. 
2. No unread banners on any app.
   They can be a lot more distracting than we care to admit.
3. Time limits for all social media apps with passwords.
   This should be set by a family member and not you.

In case you REALLY need to check something out, they can open it for you and that won’t turn into you scrolling through the app for hours. 

In toxic cultures, you’re rewarded for staying busy.
In healthy cultures, you’re rewarded for being productive.

The best thing you can do to improve your health – Cut out refined sugar and soda.

The best thing you can do to improve your wealth – Stop buying things you don’t need.

The best thing you can do to improve your sleep – Stop staring at the phone right up until bed.

The best thing you can do to improve your relationships – Be someone you’d want to be around.

The best thing you can do to improve your mind – Meditate.

Each of these requires one to alter their life, their mindset, and their habits. 

Not easy. But necessary!