- not realizing earlier that discomfort is closely correlated with learning
- assuming the worst in people
- pride
- avoiding difficult conversations
- too much self reliance
- believing too much in power of will
- jealousy
- overcommitment
- not making enough time for personal relationships
- hesitating, even if briefly, to spend money on friends
- discomfort with not knowing everything
- tardiness
Present
- Climate change + energy (including water, food, natural disasters, global warming, secure and sustainable energy sources)
- Education (including K12 quality, higher ed cost, adult re-education)
- Inequality (including racism, immigration, diversity)
- Centralization of data and power in opaque or dysfunctional systems (including security)
- Media's uncertain future (as a tool for democracy)
- Future of work (aging population, automation)
- Healthcare (cost, quality, drug development)
- Funding and making basic science more efficient
- Personal finance (in an increasingly insecure world)
- Housing (cost) and transportation
- Food security (nutrition + cost)
Future
- Artificial intelligence
- Synthetic biology
- travel is almost always worth it, even if it feels like a hassle and uncomfortable
- judgment is one of the heaviest burdens we can carry with us and many of us do so so frequently -- judgment of others, of the situation, of ourselves. it's so liberating to be able to step away from that even briefly and just exist in the moment...for example, when we look at a rainbow, do we judge it? do we say...oh, if only it were a little to the left, then it would be perfect? how can we take that mentality to everything else in life? (/edit - meditation)
- though I think it's a myth that we have limitless ability to make ourselves happy, I do think we have limitless ability to make ourselves miserable. often, most things at the borderline of happy and unhappy is one way or the other just by our thinking it so
- why don't I spend as much time strategizing, planning, thinking about, and optimizing my time and relationships with my friends and family as I do my career? how different would my life be if I did?
- ethical breaches are NEVER worth it, even seemingly small lies that are often just acts of pride
- I might not require a lot of financial stability to be happy but there is a minimum amount I need to not worry and that amount of worry is not insignificant
- morale doesn't go down as quickly if you're continually learning and not making the same mistake over and over again
- communicate often and early, before the worry becomes a fear becomes a phobia. this will help morale
- morale comes in limited supply