10 uncomfortable truths about life


warikoo Wanderings

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UNCOMFORTABLE TRUTHS ABOUT LIFE

Uncomfortable Truth 1: Life has no purpose.
We came from nothing.
And once we are gone there will be nothing.
No one will remember us beyond a few years or decades.
And yet we will spend every second of our life wondering what people think of us!

Uncomfortable Truth 2: Reading books will not make you smart.
Watching motivational videos will not make you driven.
Writing will not make your thoughts clearer.
We are not shaped by these things.
We are shaped by the stories we tell ourselves.

Uncomfortable Truth 3: Whatever you are feeling today, will fade away.
No matter how happy you are, how sad you are, you are not going to remember how happy or sad you were.
Our emotions and feelings are temporary. We think of them as permanent.

Uncomfortable Truth 4: We struggle to love ourselves because we attach our self worth to what others think of us.
But we don’t control what others think of us.

Uncomfortable Truth 5: We spend so much time thinking what they are thinking about us.
But they are not thinking about us.
They are just thinking what you are thinking about them.

Uncomfortable Truth 6: The purpose of college is to explore yourself.
Most of us get lost instead.

Uncomfortable Truth 7: It takes effort to find love.
It takes effort to feel fulfilled.
It takes effort to be fit.
It takes effort to be happy.
Which is why most of us do not have love, fulfillment, happiness or fitness in our life.

Uncomfortable Truth 8: We always have choices.
No one is ever stuck.
We are just scared to make those choices.

Uncomfortable Truth 9: We nod to show that we are listening.
But we are not listening to the opposite person.
Instead, we are listening to our mind telling us what to say.

Uncomfortable Truth 10: Every parent learns on the job.
And most of them don’t do a good job.

The ironical thing about truth is that there is no truth in this world.
There are facts. And everything else is an opinion.
We build our lives around our opinions and those of others. Which become our truths.

You can’t change facts. But you can change truths. And that becomes the true joy of life.
How many truths were you able to challenge and change?

BOOK I AM READING THIS WEEK

Finished American Kingpin: Catching the Billion-Dollar Baron of the Dark Web
I think this has been my fastest long read. The book is quite long and yet I was so gripped that I finished it in 3 days. Incredible fast-paced and what a joy to read.
Read this if you like thrillers, but also real life :)

Started reading and finished Azim Premji: The Man Beyond the Billions
The story is fascinating - that of building Wipro to the giant that it is today, from where it was when Azim Premji had to take over the reins of his dad's business at age 23.
The story-telling is average, at best. I didn't think it did justice to the life of Premji. Pick it up only because there isn't any other biography of this great individual!

And if you are looking for a book to rekindle your habit of reading, or get started on it, I recommend DO EPIC SHIT written by some random dude who isn't important.
You can buy an original copy of DO EPIC SHIT here.

QUOTES TO SHARE

Most relationships go bad when you help the other person without their permission, and are disappointed in them if they don't acknowledge.
​(Share on Twitter)​

Cheers to that night where we couldn't sleep at all, because it made us feel alive!
​(Share on Twitter)​

We are in a hurry to win life.
So we postpone living it.
(Share on Twitter)

RESPONSES TO LAST WEEK'S QUESTION

Last week I asked you:

Where is your dream travel destination?

  1. India
  2. Asia
  3. North/South America
  4. Europe
  5. Australia/NZ
  6. Africa
  7. Rest of the World/Universe

Here are the responses:

  • Europe wins hands down - the favorite across ages and rightfully so. It is a mesmerizing continent with so much beauty, diversity, history. Pretty much like India :)
  • Notice how Africa gains with age. Most likely because all the best national parks are there.
  • AU/NZ also increase with age, because it is expensive to get there, I assume
  • Surprisingly, the Americas lose sheen as people age. Maybe because people think there isn't much beyond the US.
  • What stood out was that 23% of less than 18yr old wanted to travel the rest of the world. I dug in and figured most of them were like "I want to travel the entire world and not just one place" haha! :)

Here is the wordcloud of all destinations people mentioned
PS: Paris is the most frequent. 10% of you want to visit there. Followed by New York.

My response:
Dream destination is surely Mars.
One day :)

PICTURE OF THE WEEK

With my best friends :))

QUESTION OF THE WEEK

What type of company would you want to work at?

  1. Small company (less than 50 people)
  2. Mid-sized company (50-200 people)
  3. Large company (200-1000 people)
  4. Really large company (1000+ people)

​Click here to let me know your answer (anonymously)​​​​

CONTENT I SHARED THIS WEEK

Podcast:
Title of episode: It is OK to be ordinary
Spotify, Amazon Music, Google Podcast, Apple Podcast, JioSaavn, Gaana or YouTube.

YouTube:
Become a millionaire with Rs. 50k/month salary
You can watch it here.

Instagram:
STOP saying these 3 things
You can watch it here.

Twitter:
STOP saying these things to yourself, in your 20s
You can read it here.

You can, of course, always write to me by simply replying to this newsletter.

I love reading all your emails, even though I may not be able to reply to them all.
Yes! I READ ALL MY EMAILS. ALL OF THEM.
​​(Garmiyon mein thandi thandi meethi lassi ki kasam)

You can share this newsletter on WhatsApp, Twitter, LinkedIn, or view it on the web.

warikoo Wanderings

Entrepreneur, Author, Content Creator with 15M+ followers across platforms. I share this newsletter every Friday around personal growth, books, quotes, pictures - it is the most personal version of me online.

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