I’ve spent a lot of time recently thinking about the type of person I aspire to be and the type of life I want to live. I came up with a bunch of ideals I want to adhere to and wanted to share a few of them. I’ve always found social norms confusing and often logically incoherent. It’s a big part of my anxiety, being confused by how to exist in a world that often doesn’t make sense 😂. Studying philosophy has helped me wrestle with those thoughts and heavily influenced these musings, which I’ve found myself calling on a lot in recent times as I navigating a very transient and (dare I say) turbulent period in my life. A lot of them are things I’ve found myself saying in conversation or interviews and as such clearly feel an affinity with. Refining these thoughts is an ongoing process (this list is by no means final). We’re living through a time of such rapid social change, which is leading to extreme polarity around so many pertinent issues. It can be exhausting trying to keep up with what culture tells us is right and wrong, good and bad, what we should do and how we should think. Creating your own set of life-rules, which are driven in part by your values but also honour your desires and account for our flawed nature as human beings, allows us to better orient ourselves in the world. Especially in times of personal crisis. For years I’ve found myself so overwhelmed by the vortex of opinions online. It’s maddening. So, over time, I’ve sat with myself. Regularly. I’ve read the works of authors I loved and some who challenged my beliefs. I’ve listened to podcasts and lectures and talks. I’ve thought. And I came up with my list. I’ve shared 10 of my favourites in this post (of about 20). I’d love to share the rest and expand on them, as I’m sure some are open to misinterpretation. But I figured I would share them as they are, incase any of them strike a chord.