You should pay close attention to two pillars in life to lay the foundation for a glorious life. This is regardless of the things you intend to pursue. And it is often prioritized away or easily forgotten until it is too late to remedy.
The internet is full of tips on how to get rich and build wealth, index funds here, fake until you make it there, and grind those late nights on repeat. But if you forgo these two, you might not be in such a good place when you've climbed your ambitious ladder.
Mind & Body
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You get only one body. Treat it well
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Many of us, myself included, get so quickly sucked into work and chores that we fail to see the body deteriorating right before us. We do the late nights and extra hours to be successful at work, and with the few hours left of the day, we are too exhausted to do much of anything.
It is so easy to skip an exercise, I need to finish this, and tomorrow I'll head to the gym. But tomorrow never arrives, and tomorrow is filled with even more work. Days turn into weeks, weeks into years.
Don't wait for tomorrow to start exercising, don't wait for the body to ache. Be proactive and strengthen your body, and it'll serve you better. One day at a time, little by little. This will give you more energy and make you last longer, which is suitable for whatever goal you want to achieve.
A healthy person has a thousand wishes, a sick person only one.
The mind is the other half you must also pay close attention to. Practicing a few minutes of mindfulness or meditation early in the morning will tremendously impact your mind, for instance. Others practice gratitude or stress management. We are all different. Find out what suits you and run with it. Sometimes, more time with friends and family is all we need. This leads us to the next section.
Relationships
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After reading too many memoirs, one thing I've found to be a common denominator for many is that relationships are what matter. Whoever you are, it's all about relationships.
Relationships flourish the more you exercise them and dwindle if you do not. Don't take your friends or family for granted. Be there for them, and they'll be there for you. Set out to meet new people and embark on new adventures.
Shared joy is a double joy; shared sorrow is half a sorrow.
When building your professional career, spending too little time with your family and succumbing to work is easy—working harder for a greater return later in life. Be careful of working for a living you want to have ten years from now. If you don't live in the moment and cherish your relationships today, you might find that when you reach that peak career moment later in life, you might not have someone to share it with.
Take care of yourself and your relationships, and you are in an excellent position to live a glorious life. A life where you can, together with friends and family, build your chapter in history with lasting, joyful memories.
- Companies forcing in-office only... tough luck.. move to another company.
- Environmentally, enabling remote is a huge win to minimize travelling
- Productivity-wise, it's a huge win
- Some companies are built around working closely together, and people craving this
- Some people need the closeness, let them have it
The debate has become unnecessarily polarized. Different people thrive in different environments, and different types of work benefit from different setups. The key is flexibility and matching the work style to the individual and the task at hand.