How to make life suck less (a thread)

Most people spend most of their time doing things that suck. How do I know? I was one of them  The problem is that when you start doing things that suck, your soul begins to die, and it might never come back. And that sucks…

So let’s get started.

Tip #1: stop getting offended Only people who think they’re important get offended. And there are a lot of important people on twitter 🙂 If you find yourself getting easily offending, that might be something worth thinking about

Tip #2: stop trying to rationalize everything. The world is a wild place that no one fully understands. Spiritually it’s called “the great mystery”. Thinking you understand it all leads to great suffering  Your mind can be your worst enemy if you let it.

Accept what you don’t know. Do your best. Play your role. And have some faith that things will be just fine.

Ok, so what if my role sucks? Well that does suck. Are ready for the answer? …. Find one that doesn’t. This may actually not be an entirely different role.

It may be only slightly different. At Bolt, I realized external work (sales fundraising) was way more energizing than internal work. So I made a switch. You can too

Can you make the switch tomorrow? If you can, f*cking SEND IT

But my process took years.

Tip #3: Start the process. Step 1 is a conversation with yourself. What gives you the greatest joy? It might not be immediately obvious, but asking the question is half the battle.

A practical strategy that works well  At the end of every day write down things you did that day and rate your enjoyment 1-10. Key a spreadsheet. You’ll notice patterns. These will inform future decisions and guide you away from the things that suck.

You’ve now officially begun your personal journey! Congrats  This is no easy task. Now, what next?

Tip #5: don’t expect it to go perfectly. Nothing ever does. Expectations, above all else, lead to suffering.

Tip #6: Understand everyone is on a journey and that no one is perfect. Absolutely everyone is flawed. The key is to see the good in them and try to work with that good  Accept their imperfections. But also not blind yourself to the bad.

And sometimes someone just isn’t a match for you. That’s fine. You can only hold a certain # of relationships at a time. Free the space they occupy and fill it with others who make life great  Relationships make life rich.

Tip #7: kindly wind down relations that suck

Tip #8: make instinctual decisions and be ok being wrong This is a pretty deep secret: 80% of the time your instincts are right. Instead of trying to be right 100% of the time & spinning your wheels worrying, make more gut calls, and be ok w/ 20% wrong (a Bolt company value )

This takes us to tip #9 which is one and the same with #8: be kind to yourself. We are our own worst critics. You’re perfect exactly the way you are. You have flaws. Try to work on them as best you can, but in the meantime accept who you are. Give yourself a big hug

Tip #10: just say NO! Ahh, the relief  Say NO! Constantly. For a month. To your friends, your parents, your annoying coworker, society. To vices, addictions, unhealthy habits if you can.

If you’re stuck in a hole of regularly doing things that suck, I suggest this: a full pendulum swing. Say no to everything that sucks for a full month. Be 100% selfish and free yourself from the chains  After, start to reintroduce things slowly but surely.

Bonus tip  If you absolutely have to do something that sucks and there’s no way out, Find a way to make it fun. Just decide that you love it. Visualize it as fun. Even if you never do it again. You have no other choice!

Ok that’s all folks! We really crushed this one  Just say no. Do the things that serve you. Find your flow. You have one life: live it to the fullest. Ok, now back to building…