Mindset

This page lists my principles and attitudes in life.

Self Awareness

I am ambitious to invent the future that pioneers of the last century were trying to build but was not feasible in their time.
I am ignorant. Hence, it's important to never stop learning.
I am grateful for everything I'm experiencing in life, especially after seeing how much worse things could be.
I am selfish. To avoid causing harm to others, I will only play positive-sum games.
Good mental health is based on good physical health.

I don't do things to become someone. I don't write code to become a software engineer. I don't study science to become a researcher. I don't learn philosophy to become a philosopher. I don't start a startup to become an entrepreneur. I don't create art to become an artist.
I do things for two main reasons. One is for fun, and the other is for achieving my goal. What really matters is not what I've done, but how much I enjoy them and how well I can utilize them to achieve my goal.
My value is in how much I can give to the world, not in how much I can get from the world.

If the cost of failure is tolerable, but the reward for success large, then the decision is worth making. Conversely, if the loss of a decision failure is unbearable, no matter how low the probability of failure, don't do it.
Don't make any important decisions when I'm in a bad emotional state.
For every painful failure, reflect on and sum up what I learned from it, and translate it into principles. The next time I'm in a similar situation, follow these principles and avoid making the same mistake twice. Reducing mistakes is much more effective than pursuing perfect.
For small, everyday decisions, speed is more important than quality. For big decisions that are hard to reverse, gather enough information to get them right.

Think big, start small, iterate.
My next twenty years are unknowable because it depends on my next five years. My next five years are unknowable because it depends on my next year. My next year is unknowable because it depends on my next two months. I have the next two months under control, make the best of it.
Don't assume that I can't do something until I know it well enough.
Always look for the best tools to augment execution.

Effective learning is primarily driven by curiosity, not discipline.
Practice makes perfect. Make concrete progress every day.
Keep a beginner's mind. Don't let past achievements become barriers to trying new things I'm not good at.

Be radically open-minded and avoid judging others through preconceived labels.
When facing conflicts, follow the four steps of nonviolent communication.
Meet people with potential and let them impress me.
Only spend time on people who value my time.
Never debate with angry people, even when I think they are wrong.

Purely factual premises can not infer ought-judgments.
Humans invented words like "why," "meaning," "good," "success," which represent abstract ideas that we imagine they exist, but will never get a clear definition. With these words in hands, we can't stop our urge to ask questions like "Why do we live?", "What is the meaning of our life?" These words are like hammers. With a hammer in your hand, everything looks like a nail. But not everything is a nail. And many philosophical questions, such as "What is the meaning of our life?" might not be as important as we thought.
Thoughts and feelings are not "me" or "reality," they are just events in the mind. Memory is memory and planning is planning.