Paradoxes, Life Concepts, and The Laws

The following is a compilation of Paradoxes, Life Concepts and Laws that are first principle driven. These were originally shared by thinkers and philosophers over centuries. They have resurfaced on the grid recently, specifically on Twitter. It’s a handy list as an input to decision making.

Paradox

1.       The Looking Paradox: Stop looking in order to find what you're looking for. Ever notice that when you're looking for something, you rarely find it? Stop looking - what you’re looking for may just find you. Applies to love, business, happiness, and life.
2.       The Boredom Paradox: The most creative captivating ideas stem directly from periods of intense boredom. You're bored, your mind wanders, your thoughts mingle, and creative insight strikes. Boredom sparks creativity, schedule boredom into your weeks.
3.       The Failure Paradox: You must fail more to succeed more. Our transformative moments of growth often stem directly from our toughest moments of failure. Don't fear failure. Learn to fail smart and fast, never fail the same way twice. Always put yourself in the arena.
4.       The Social Media Paradox: More connectedness, less connected. Social media has created more connectedness than ever before, a constant dopamine drip. We have more connectedness, but we feel less connected to those around us. Schedule time to disconnect, feel the connection.
5.       The Opportunity Paradox: Take on less, accomplish more. Success doesn't come from taking on everything that comes your way. It comes from focus-deep focus on the tasks that really matter. Say yes to what matters, say no to what doesn't. Your time is an asset to be cherished.
6.       The Wisdom Paradox: The more you learn, the less you know. More knowledge creates more exposure to the immense unknown. "The more I learn, the more realize how much I don't know." - Albert Einstein. This is empowering, not frightening. Embrace lifelong learning.
7.       The Advice Paradox: Taking more advice can leave you less well- prepared. Most advice sucks. It's well-intentioned, but it's dangerous to use someone else's map of reality to navigate yours. Winners develop filters and selectively implement advice-take signal, skip noise.
8.       The Productivity Paradox: Work longer, get less done. Parkinson's Law says that work expands to fill the time available for its completion. When you establish fixed hours to your work, you find unproductive ways to fill it. Work like a lion instead-sprint, rest, repeat.

Life Concepts

1.       Oubaitori: Never compare yourself. Everyone blossoms in their own time in different ways. Don't judge yourself by someone else’s path.
2.       Kaizen: Continuously improve. Constantly strive to improve across all areas of your life. Small changes accumulate and make all the difference.
3.      Wabi-Sabi: Embrace imperfection. Nothing lasts, nothing is complete. Accept your own flaws and those of others. Find beauty in imperfection.
4.      Gaman: Have dignity during duress. Hard times need to be met with emotional maturity and self-control. We need patience perseverance and tolerance.

The Law

1.       The Law of Responsibility: Take personal responsibility for your life. Look inward - not outward. We are all responsible for how we respond to the circumstances and situations that we encounter. That should be empowering, not frightening-no one can take that away from you. Own your responsibilities, own your future. You're not responsible for your trauma but you are responsible for breaking the cycle and not hurting more people because of what happened to you. You will never control your future if you let your present be controlled by your past. What happened yesterday may not be your responsibility, but how you behave today is.
2.       The Law of Growth: The shift in our internal reality through progress, growth, and change creates a shift in our external reality. We only control our own daily actions, not those of the external actors in our lives. Focus internally to see progress externally.
3.       The Law of Creation: Life and progress require active participation. People who actively create for themselves and the others around them are more likely to receive in return. Aligns with my golden rule: Create value, receive value.
4.       The Law of Cause & Effect: Whatever you put out, you receive back. You reap what you sow. This is also called "The Great Law", as it is the guiding law of karma and what most people think about when they think of the term.
5.       Never let rejection lead to self -rejection: A person who has experienced rejection fears rejection, and a person that fears rejection tends to push or run away before they can be rejected. In their subconscious mind they have avoided rejection. In reality, they've been rejected again- this time by themselves.
6.       You have to let people down to be happy: You and your mental health are more important than your career, more money, other people's opinions, that event you said you would attend, your partner's mood and your family's wishes. If taking care of yourself means letting someone down, then let someone down. Your self-love must always be stronger than your desire to be loved by others.
7.       Your diet isn't just what you eat: As you get older you realise that your diet isn't just what you eat, it's what you watch, what you read, who you follow and who you spend your time with. So if your goal is to have a healthier mind, you have to start by removing all the junk from your diet.
8.       Important people come and go, and that's okay: Unfortunately, the most important people in your life can become strangers overnight. Fortunately, total strangers can become the most important people in your life overnight. This process hurts, but if accepted, it serves to improve the quality and suitability of the people in your life.
9.       Fun is yours: If you want to enjoy your life, don't subscribe to other people's definition of "fun". Fun doesn't have to mean drinking, partying and socialising. Fun can be a night in alone, getting lost in a book, a deep conversation, a walk, creating art, playing music or doing work that you love. Your fun belongs to you, make sure you define it.
10.   Fairy tales will make you unhappy: Obsessing over the things that society said you're "supposed to do" will kill your happiness. Don't listen to the fake fairy tales of how your life is supposed to be going. You don't have to go to university at 18, or get a job at 21, or buy a house at 25, or get married at 30, or have kids at 35. Everyone is different, and your path to happiness will be too.
11.   Quality over quantity: Life is about quality, not quantity. One quality friend gives you more than 100 acquaintances. One quality relationship gives you more than 100 flings. One quality experience gives you more than 100 drunken nights.

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Leadership, Life, CreativityAfrros M HudliFebruary 18, 2023#Love, #LifeStyle, #Leadership, #Life, #Strategy, #SpiritualityComment

Paradoxes, Life Concepts, and The Laws

Paradox

1. The Looking Paradox: Stop looking in order to find what you're looking for. Ever notice that when you're looking for something, you rarely find it? Stop looking - what you’re looking for may just find you. Applies to love, business, happiness, and life.

2. The Boredom Paradox: The most creative captivating ideas stem directly from periods of intense boredom. You're bored, your mind wanders, your thoughts mingle, and creative insight strikes. Boredom sparks creativity, schedule boredom into your weeks.

3. The Failure Paradox: You must fail more to succeed more. Our transformative moments of growth often stem directly from our toughest moments of failure. Don't fear failure. Learn to fail smart and fast, never fail the same way twice. Always put yourself in the arena.

4. The Social Media Paradox: More connectedness, less connected. Social media has created more connectedness than ever before, a constant dopamine drip. We have more connectedness, but we feel less connected to those around us. Schedule time to disconnect, feel the connection.

5. The Opportunity Paradox: Take on less, accomplish more. Success doesn't come from taking on everything that comes your way. It comes from focus-deep focus on the tasks that really matter. Say yes to what matters, say no to what doesn't. Your time is an asset to be cherished.

6. The Wisdom Paradox: The more you learn, the less you know. More knowledge creates more exposure to the immense unknown. "The more I learn, the more realize how much I don't know." - Albert Einstein. This is empowering, not frightening. Embrace lifelong learning.

7. The Advice Paradox: Taking more advice can leave you less well- prepared. Most advice sucks. It's well-intentioned, but it's dangerous to use someone else's map of reality to navigate yours. Winners develop filters and selectively implement advice-take signal, skip noise.

8. The Productivity Paradox: Work longer, get less done. Parkinson's Law says that work expands to fill the time available for its completion. When you establish fixed hours to your work, you find unproductive ways to fill it. Work like a lion instead-sprint, rest, repeat.

Life Concepts

1. Oubaitori: Never compare yourself. Everyone blossoms in their own time in different ways. Don't judge yourself by someone else’s path.

2. Kaizen: Continuously improve. Constantly strive to improve across all areas of your life. Small changes accumulate and make all the difference.

3. Wabi-Sabi: Embrace imperfection. Nothing lasts, nothing is complete. Accept your own flaws and those of others. Find beauty in imperfection.

4. Gaman: Have dignity during duress. Hard times need to be met with emotional maturity and self-control. We need patience perseverance and tolerance.

The Law

2. The Law of Growth: The shift in our internal reality through progress, growth, and change creates a shift in our external reality. We only control our own daily actions, not those of the external actors in our lives. Focus internally to see progress externally.

3. The Law of Creation: Life and progress require active participation. People who actively create for themselves and the others around them are more likely to receive in return. Aligns with my golden rule: Create value, receive value.

4. The Law of Cause & Effect: Whatever you put out, you receive back. You reap what you sow. This is also called "The Great Law", as it is the guiding law of karma and what most people think about when they think of the term.

7. Your diet isn't just what you eat: As you get older you realise that your diet isn't just what you eat, it's what you watch, what you read, who you follow and who you spend your time with. So if your goal is to have a healthier mind, you have to start by removing all the junk from your diet.

11. Quality over quantity: Life is about quality, not quantity. One quality friend gives you more than 100 acquaintances. One quality relationship gives you more than 100 flings. One quality experience gives you more than 100 drunken nights.

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