Knowledge and ignorance

“The greater our knowledge increases the more our ignorance unfolds.” John F. Kennedy

You don’t know what you don’t know. I used to think I was relatively smart, then I began reading more and realized that there is so much I don’t know.

We will never know everything. We can’t even know everything that we think we know, let alone use science, math, and other information/data to break through to understand new answers and technologies.

As long as you remain humble, keep an open mind, and always try to learn something new, you’ll be in a good spot. Don’t talk down to others because you think your idea of “the truth” is more complete than theirs. Over time, you’ll come to realize that your truth today is only a partial truth. It’s your truth, but then there is also the other person’s truth (their perspective of the same event/situation) and the objective truth (what happened, with no thoughts/opinions of why something was said/done, without assigning intent or judgment, etc). And what really plays with your mind is when you realize that your truth today gets twisted/altered so that when you look back at the event in five, ten, or twenty years, you have yet another version of the truth.

Lifestyle creep, material possessions, and happiness

“People who live far below their means enjoy a freedom that people busy upgrading their lifestyles can’t fathom.” – Naval Ravikandt

Don’t fall victim to lifestyle creep. If you were happy living on “X” salary per year, as you make more money, you can still be happy living on that same salary. Buying more expensive things doesn’t make you happier, not in the long run. But sharing meaningful experiences with people you care about will bring you lasting happiness. Happiness is a state of mind, not a state on the map. If you’re not happy where you are, moving will not make it better. You must change your mindset to change your life. Choose to be happy. Life is too short to choose anything else.