7 Positive Pieces of Internet (January 2024)

I love passing along wisdom that I’ve found every once in a while! We spend too much time in the dark, mindless or divisive corners of the internet so here’s a couple of things I’ve picked up from the light side recently.

1. Life is hard, but fortunately, you get to choose your hard.

It's hard to build deep, meaningful relationships. It's also hard to live on the surface with everyone. It's hard to build the body you want. It's also hard to see your body atrophy from lack of use. It's hard to build a life of purpose. It's also hard to live without one. Choose your hard.

H/T - Sahil Bloom

2. Investor Warren Buffett on holding your temper:

"My good friend and hero, Tom Murphy, had an incredible generosity of spirit. Forty years ago, Tom gave me one of the best pieces of advice I've ever received. He said, "Warren, you can always tell someone to go to hell tomorrow." It's such an easy way of putting it. You haven't missed the opportunity. Just forget about it for a day. If you feel the same way tomorrow, tell them then — but don't spout off in a moment of anger."

H/T - James Clear

3. Incentives are powerful.

During the 1980’s, the government of Athens came up with an idea to limit pollution: Odd and even-numbered license plates. On dates with an odd number, the odd plates could drive. And vice versa.​The rich people bought another car. The streets got more jammed and the pollution got worse.

H/T - George Mack

4. Some of my recent favourite quotes:

“You have to be odd to be number one” ― Dr. Seuss

“Social media makes more sense when you view it as a place people go to perform rather than a place to communicate.” — Morgan Housel

"The future is already here — it's just not evenly distributed" — William Gibson

“Ambition is when you expect yourself to close the gap between what you have and what you want. Entitlement is when you expect others to close the gap between what you have and what you want.” — James Clear

5. Understanding your life’s path…

H/T - Tim Urban

6. The waiting room is always full.

Much like a doctor’s office, your "waiting room" of things to do, projects to tackle, opportunities to address, people to see, and ideas to pursue will always be full. You will never make a dent in it — and expecting otherwise will only serve to create anxiety.

Do your best, work on energy creating activities, and have faith in the process.

H/T - Sahil Bloom

7. Bonhoeffer's Theory of Stupidity:

Evil can be guarded against. Stupidity cannot. And the world's few evil people have little power without the help of the world's many stupid people. Therefore, stupidity is a far greater threat than evil.

H/T - Gurwinder Bhogal