Something to Keep
“You can easily judge the character of a man by how he treats those who can do nothing for him.”
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
A Second Look
Recently, I started thinking about the question of “how to live life well.” This is a difficult question because every major philosophy and religion has given a unique answer. Ultimately, I think it comes down to virtues. We could define virtues as qualities of character, and unlike values (which give you direction but don’t tell you how to achieve things), they affect everything you do.
You can change jobs, hobbies, or relationships, but if you want to become a person of character, those values will still serve you. The same goes for responsibility, compassion, and humility. See, the thing with values is that they change with age, but virtues always remain the same.
When I was in my 20s, I desperately wanted to play the guitar well. Underneath that desire, there was the need for attention. Now that I’m in my 30s, I like to build competence because I find joy in learning new things, and that has nothing to do with other people. You could pursue a value with the wrong intentions in mind. If virtues become your compass, though, they’ll serve not just you, but everyone around you. Values aren’t always permanent, but virtues are.
Which leads me to a weird paradox: in the same way that life is something you experience rather than something you optimize, you don’t have to figure out the optimal way to live. The best we can do is have enough wisdom to notice when you’re living life badly.
This is noticing when you pursue achievements because you think they’ll impress other people or when you act dishonestly because honesty leads to uncomfortable situations.
In the end, there’s no objective way to live life, but one of the best skills we can acquire is to experience enough things to deal with whatever happens to us.
Something I Liked
As I said, there are endless ways to improve yourself. I recently got a plant and realized I have no idea how to take care of one, so I was pleasantly surprised when I came across the video above. Yes, a video about plants was the most exciting I’ve been on YouTube for quite some time.
I know how all of this sounds, but if you’re remotely interested in plants, the video tells you pretty much everything you need to know about them. Also, I highly recommend their video on interior design as well. I tried reading several books on the topic, but everything clicked once I watched that.