My Values / Guiding Principles
This is my attempt to write down the principles/ideas that I use to navigate life. These ideas govern how I act / behave in a given situation (including work). This is a Personal Guide if you will.
This is heavily inspired by this code
The way I like to imagine this is
There is the ideal-self. This is the code that the ideal-self follows.
Every decision where I have to exercise these rules is an opportunity to get closer to that ideal-self
Honesty and Integrity
I aim to be completely honest in every part of my existence. This includes how I interact with myself and others.
However, this is not a license to be rude and/or un-kind. I firmly believe that you can be both at the same time.
Being honest without integrity does not make sense to me. They both go hand in hand.
Curiosity
I am endlessly curious. I wish to learn as much as possible about as many things / people as possible.
I wish to be that old uncle who knows a lot of random things. I wish to be a collection of random seemingly useless facts.
I want to know the truth of things. The world around us is infinitely interesting. We just need to look and ask questions.
Kindness / Empathy
I have been bullied. I have also been the guy who was left out (of different things/activities) a lot (sometimes by choice).
These two experiences have shaped a lot of who I am. I hate bullies. I hate to see people being excluded from things. I also suffer from intense FOMO. I am working on the last part.
I am kind by default.
Working in tech, it is quite common to come across people who are bullies. More often than not, these people are also talented (sometimes more than the average person). I refuse to work with these people; mainly because I do not work well in an environment where I have to be aggressive. I do not care for talent if it comes at the cost of kindness.
I believe that being kind should not come with any strings attached. The world would be a better place if everyone were a little bit kinder.
Leaving things for the better
There is a saying in the hiking community. It goes like a good hiker, leaves the trail better than they found it.
I wish to imbibe this in all parts of my being. Every interaction with the world around me is governed by this.
I am a part of this place, not a visitor
This place is mine to take care of, mine to tend-to.
this place is not a place in the physical sense. It is a collective made up of all the things and people that make up my world.
Minimalism / Simplicity
I gravitate towards minimalism. I aim to live a simple life. I realised soon enough that more things does not mean more happiness. Furthermore, trekking that taught (and continues to teach me) about the limits of ownership. I do not need a LOT to live a happy life.
I find luxury to be a distraction from what is really important. I like to call these the problems of abundance
I aim to be deliberate in what I purchase / own. I also take care of what I own. I've found that things last if you take care of them.
I mend / repair / take care
Following from the above point, if you are focused on owning less things, then you ought to make sure that the things you do own, are in a proper order.
In this "replace-things-as-soon-as-possible" world, I tend to repair and reuse the things I own. A bit of DIY and I often end up doing a shoddy job of repairing my things. However, it works and it is fun. With practise, I will get better.
This also translates into my personal relationships as well. I follow-up with my old friends and I try to maintain friendships.
The things I use, last. The pen i bought 6 years back, I still have them today. My daily-driver backpack is the same one since the last 6 years. I have hand-sewn my synthetic down-jacket and so on and so on.
I would go so far so to say that I enjoy maintaining things, more than I enjoy building new things.
He Tangata, he tangata, he tangata
This is a Maori proverb that I learnt from a Youtube Vlog by an austrlian hiker. I do not remember the video, it was a long time back.
All the remember that this phrase is the answer to a question. The question being
He aha te mea nui o te ao
What is the most important thing in this world ?
and the answer is...
he tangata, he tangata, he tangata
It is people, it is people, it is people
Kant's Categorical Imperative
The first time I learn't about this was on the Philosophise This! podcast. There is also a very concise video on this topic from Crash Course, that I highly recommend.
I find this idea very compelling and I urge you to read up on this. This was paraphrased by someone on twitter as
Do not do things that would not work if everyone did it.
Other way of saying it is,
Your actions should be such that you would want to live in a world where your actions are the norm