Every time I'm not reading, I'm thinking about reading.
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Originally read on 10/17/2025. Revising to add more thoughts and notes.
Without self-reflection, we ride the momentum of whatever we're already doing and whatever we stumble across. That's dangerous, because it stops us from self-reflecting on how we've changed and whether we should be doing something new.
Familiarity is a crisis. This is one that I theorize has come from an overload of dopamine levels that crave short-term gratification.
These are the main values in Shapiro's essay that he evaluates to determine if he should pursue a new project or not:
- Knowledge: Do you become more knowledgeable and skilled from it?
- Adventure: Do you accrue novel, memorable experiences?
- Fame: Do you build an audience you can later leverage?
- Power: Do you acquire resources and connections?
- Money: Do you increase your financial wealth?
- Exercising Talent: Do you leverage your skill and creativity?
- Human Connection: Do you bond with others?
The idea of regret minimization:
What choices can you make today that minimize the regret you'll feel as an 80-year-old looking back on your life? When you minimize future regret, you sleep well knowing you're maximizing fulfillment.