It started innocently – I wanted to write down my philosophy of life, to become more aware of the foundations of my decision making, thinking and maybe even feeling. This year, I’m going through a housing search, a job reassessment, as well as changes in relationships. I wanted to produce at least a few signposts for these life milestones as I decide which way to go; and to better navigate myself so I don’t beat around the bush.
How did it turn out? Discussions with effective altruists yielded a list of 120 questions (for other ways to evaluate annually, see here or here, for example), only one of which relates to life philosophy, accompanied by a subtle inquiry about my values, and capped by the question: „Am I living in alignment with my life philosophy and core values?“ In answering it, I zigzag between my cognitive biases and other biases, who am I trying to keep my face from? No one will see it, it will only torture me on AGI in the future.
I took the questions on a month-long tour of Europe, which has paid off in the past. I don’t want to share my answers with you, but tools and tips on how I try to answer the hard questions. It makes the whole process of self-discovery easier. I don’t know if my approach is a good one, but the process itself gives me stability and makes me happy. I hope you find something useful as well.
Values and Purpose
Do I have meaning and direction in my life? What is my philosophy of life? What do I want from life? What are my core values? Am I living in accordance with my life philosophy and core values?
I’ll start with the simplest: values. On the Clearer Thinking website, you’ll find tools for improving your decision-making or making positive changes in your life. Among other things, there is an intrinsic values test. Honestly, what I find most interesting about it is the reasoning behind why it is important to know your intrinsic values:
Meaning is a big topic. Frustrating and fun. What is my purpose in life, the purpose of humanity, the purpose of planet earth, the purpose of the universe. Does everyone have an individual purpose, or is there an overarching one? Does it exist at all, only I don’t know it, or does it emerge only in the course of life, or does it not exist? Will we discover the meaning of humanity and the universe in our lifetime, or does it at least make sense to strive for the survival of future generations who can discover the meaning? It is hard to say. At the very least, for individual meaning in life, it is relieving to read the book by psychologist and Holocaust survivor Viktor Frankl, Man’s Search for Meaning: An Introduction to Logotherapy.
When it comes to my expectations from life, Petr Ludwig’s book, The End of Procrastination, helped me a lot. Especially the creation of a personal vision. It brightened my day two years ago. It also contributes to a reflection on life philosophy, which I think it makes sense to return to after completing the whole questionnaire.
Contribution and Impact
A chapter specific to effective altruists, but long before I knew them, for me too. By having nine more sections, the questionnaire makes it stand out more clearly that overlap is (just) one important item to consider in life. At least if you want to act altruistically. It can be a scourge in itself. See:
What changes do I want to see in the world? Am I helping to shape the world in that direction? How? Do I have a clear strategy to make a significant impact? What has been my contribution to the world in recent years? How much have I given directly and in total (in absolute terms and as a % of income) in the past year? Has there been any progress? Which causes do I support and why? Am I focusing on important areas? What is preventing me from making a bigger impact? Am I living responsibly towards the environment?
Perhaps that’s why Nate Soares wrote a book called Replacing Guilt (I’ve only read his blog) about guilt, and not just among altruists. To think about overlap, I recommend getting to know the effective altruism movement, either through the books of its founder William MacAskill (Doing Good Better or What We Owe the Future) or perhaps through my article (in Czech, available in German), where you can find more links. Interesting is also the book The Precipice by Toby Ord on existential risk.
Possessions and Location
Do I have material sufficiency? Any big purchases in the last year? What material things do I want? Why? Do I have too many material goods? Should I get rid of anything? Am I easily mobile, or am I tied to one place (either physically by possessions or by other ties such as work or people)? Where do I live? With whom? What is my living situation? Do I like the neighborhood/city/country I inhabit? Do I want to change any of this?
For me, as a minimalist, fairly simple questions, the most interesting of which I find is the one about sufficiency. People in the no-growth movement (Degrowth) ask it too. I don’t have the answer yet.
Money and Finances
What is my current annual income? Where does my income come from? Am I happy with my income at this stage of my life? What is my net worth? What does my net worth consist of? What is my investment strategy/philosophy? Do I have any debts? Where? How much? Do I have quick access to cash for emergencies (think 3 months expenses)? Do I keep track of how I spend my money? Do I have a budget in place? What is it? Do I stick to it? How do I spend my money? What takes the biggest piece of the pie? What might be unnecessary? Am I saving/investing/donating according to plan? What is my situation when it comes to financial independence?
I have been writing down exactly my expenses and income and where it comes from every month for several years. This way I know exactly what I spend my money on and what type of activities I can do to earn money. If I’m in a pinch, I’ll know what area to save in. I know what my average expenses and income are for the year. Clear numbers instead of assumptions.
Thanks to a lecture on financial literacy, I put this knowledge to great use. I calculated how much money I should keep available on the side as a financial reserve (4-6 times more of my monthly income), how much money I’ll need in retirement if I want to live it in a similar lifestyle as today (taking inflation into account), and why it therefore makes sense to invest money rather than put it away (time interest, ethical dilemma). Also, by having a clear idea of my average monthly expenses, I could calculate how many months I could spend thinking about my life philosophy, my future job and my search for it, or my own projects without putting myself in financial danger. This gave me the peace of mind that I was noticeably lacking when it came to money. It is for that peace of mind that I recommend keeping track. However, I don’t have a budget.
Career and Work
What do I do? What is my position? What is my motivation for this work? What is my career plan? Will this job bring me closer to my long-term goals? What progress have I made in the last year? Will my job skills be useful beyond this position? Am I committed? Is this job meaningful to me? Do I have a good position and contacts within my industry? How stressful is my job? What are the main disadvantages of my job? Am I working too much (work-life balance)? Do I like my co-workers and work environment? Is my work consistent with my ethical beliefs and core values? Does my work give me meaning?
Work, in the sense of a job that earns me money, has been a lively topic for me for a long time. I don’t see it as a sacrifice, something to be overcome sooner or later, but an activity through which I can contribute to society, nature and myself. The more areas that make me happy it encompasses, the better. I think about it constantly, evaluate it during my time and am willing to leave my job despite the uncertainty, which gives me a sense of independence and freedom. I’m only responsible for myself, I don’t have a mortgage, just a small loan, others may have it much more challenging.
I have summarized my insights about finding a job with overlap in an article of the same name (in Czech and also available in German), the results of which I will not repeat here, I recommend reading it.
I highly recommend the eight-week 80,000 Hours course (the number of hours one devotes to full-time work over a lifetime) created by people in the effective altruism movement, but many parts or approaches are also relevant for those not necessarily looking for a job with overlap. For example, the course will help you create an overview of your strengths, how encouraging! They will also advise you on how to look for a job that fits you, because according to them, Just “going with your gut” is particularly unreliable, and it turns out career tests don’t work very well either. (…) These approaches assume you can easily work out what you’re going to be good at ahead of time. But in fact, you can’t.“ See also the article Don’t go with your gut (but check with it).
The course will also give you an overview of skills that are flexible and transferable, and it makes sense to focus on them if you don’t want to be stuck in one industry or position. I also found the third chapter encouraging, where I thought through my long-term vision with an open mind and a broad mind, nothing restrictive. I think that knowing a graspable direction for the future will help me to better navigate not only job offers, but also courses or volunteering and internships. I suspect I missed that a lot. I often turned down work in which I didn’t see an immediate impact, even if it could have taught me a necessary skill to achieve a longer-term goal. I didn’t think that way.
It also helped me to reflect on what activities I felt flow in my past jobs, and what was taking my energy away (if you’re still working, you can check the calendar two weeks back). As I haven’t worked since the end of February, the feedback from colleagues and the annual development interviews I kept, and the work diary I kept after moving from part-time to full-time, were also helpful in my reflection, so that I could assess without hindsight bias what fulfils me, what stresses me and where I have doubts, even in a more demanding and responsible role. My obsession with reflection has finally paid off! I have connected all of this to my inner values (see test above) and life philosophy and week by week, where I want to go is becoming more and more visible.
Finally, I am adding a listing of perhaps all the positions that exist. You will learn what you would be responsible for and what skills, interests, values, education, etc. are needed for that area. Plus, you’ll get an overview of other similar positions (just click on the plus sign at the beginning of the line), which opens up other possibilities that you might not think of but might be a better fit.
Health and Fitness
What does my diet usually consist of? Do I eat junk food regularly, or rather healthy home-cooked meals? Do I drink too much alcohol? What can I improve in my diet? Am I generally tired or alert? How often do I get sick? Have I experienced any serious injury/illness in the past year? Do I currently have any health problems that need to be addressed? How often do I exercise? How? Am I happy with my body shape? Am I getting enough quality sleep? What is my weight? What is my resting heart rate and blood pressure?
In the German final exam I got the most difficult area: sports. It wasn’t the vocabulary that was missing, but the very idea of how people actually play sports. At the Miss Rosice children’s pageant, the moderator asked me about healthy lifestyle in the „intellectual“ part (unprepared question). Um, eating fruits and vegetables? Sports and relaxation are my weak points.
That’s also why I was pleased with the National Health Service’s guide to basic exercise recommendations. My favourite, namely lazy stretching, is not there, unfortunately.
Education and Skills Development
Do I regularly spend time learning new things and developing my mind? What talents and skills have I developed over the past year? Why these? Have I earned any official certifications (degree, course, exam) in the past year or have I been studying for one? Am I focusing on hard/soft/mental skills? How many books have I read in the past year?
By living in the city, I have ample opportunities for further education offline, which includes socializing and often yummy food. From apps, I like DuoCards for learning English and German vocabulary, and every now and then I discover a good course on Coursera (Google Project Management, for example; project management is a flexible and transferable skill). It’s great if your employer can pay for your continuing education, just ask! Literally life-changing for me was a course on Nonviolent Communication. I’m doing an eight-week Careers course with 80,000 Hours, and the Animal Advocacy Careers course is free. Right now it makes sense to me to learn with AI tools.
Social Life and Relationships
Am I in a romantic relationship? What is it? Am I happy? Is it a net positive for both parties? Am I a phenomenal partner? Are my partner and I aware of each other’s needs and desires? How is my relationship with members of my immediate and extended family? Who are my key friends? Do I care enough about them and show interest in them? What are my social circles? How big are they? What clubs, organizations or communities am I a member of? Do others care about, like and respect me? Do I communicate effectively with people in different circles?
According to social psychologist Jonathan Haidt, good relationships are an important part of human satisfaction. In his book The Happiness Hypothesis, he writes: „No man, woman, or child is an island. We are ultrasocial creatures, and we can´t be happy without having friends and secure attachments to other people.“ (p. 219). I encounter the important role of friendship at every turn.
My grasp of relationships was strongly influenced by my grandmother’s dying process. She was suffering from lung cancer, and during her last months she was visited by both extended family, on whom one probably relies most often, and friends. Not only that, they went on traditional hikes with her, only slower, arriving just before her death to pick her up and drive her, weakened, to the cottage she loved and where her ashes were eventually interred. Fifty or more people attended the funeral, for my grandmother was a fixture of the tramp subculture. My dad and uncle lit the ceremonial fire, Grandma’s favourite song was played, accompanied on guitar, and then there was celebrating, drinking, and playing of tramp songs (unfortunately a decade older than the Czech red, yellow and green songbook, so I didn’t know them). Friends made her life fuller and cared for her until death. This is also why I love the question of whether I care enough for my friends.
My friends reflect that the older one gets, the more difficult it is to find friends or relationships. I was intrigued by a networking tip from an article on 80,000 Hours: „When you meet a new person, a useful habit is the “five-minute favour.” Think of what you can do in just five minutes that would help this person, and do it. Two of the best five-minute favours are to make an introduction, or tell someone about a book or another resource. The right introduction can change someone’s life, and costs you almost nothing.“
I find it useful for making new contacts to attend long-term seminars on a topic of interest, attend regular meetings of effective altruists, literature clubs, go on volunteer trips, etc. In romantic relationships, I have found it helpful to practice and read together the book The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work by John Gottman.
Emotions and Mental Well-being
How do I feel about my life? Do I feel joy? What is my relationship with myself? Do I like/dislike/my inner self? What have I subtracted from my life to make me happier/satisfied this year? What have I added? What is my strategy towards mental wellbeing? Am I emotionally balanced? Am I working towards peace of mind? Do I recognize my emotions and work with them, or do they often control me? Am I meditating? How? Am I generally optimistic or pessimistic? Who and what brings positive and negative energy into my life? What am I most looking forward to in the short term (1 year), medium term (3-5 years) and long term (7-10 years)? What am I most worried about in the short (1 year), medium (3-5 years) and long term (7-10 years)?
Psychologist Jonathan Haidt and 80,000 Hours both recommend practicing not only meditation but also cognitive psychotherapy (CBT) for mental well-being, see arguments and other links in the second part of this article. Unfortunately, I have no experience with CBT, but the therapy itself has had a beneficial effect on me. I recommend patience when looking for psychologists or therapists, not everyone will be a good fit.
I’m just trying meditation, as a first step it helps me to relax, to fully relax my muscles and whole body, to let my thoughts flow but not cling to them. To help you with this can well-reviewed podcast called Waking Up: A Guide to Spirituality Without Religion with Sam Harris. I also have a good experience with autogenic training, which almost always helps me fall asleep. Marshall Rosenberg’s Nonviolent Communication helps me tremendously with navigating myself, my needs and emotions, and I recommend taking a longer course (I have a 36-hour course).
I tend to be hard on myself and fall into cycles of emotions tied to different thoughts quite easily. The Czech book Všímavost a soucit se sebou (Mindfulness and Self-Compassion) by psychologist Jan Benda helped me with this in part. When I experience the more challenging emotions of sadness, disappointment or anger, I try to acknowledge and name them, but not identify with them. Instead of falling into a cycle of „I’m sad!“, I just tell myself „Hey, sadness.“ Benda tells: „An emotion that runs through me like thoughts in meditation, there is no need to grasp it, only to notice it. If we force ourselves to observe these feelings with interest and openness, we find that they arise and disappear in brief moments. And believe it or not, they cease to be a problem.“
In The Happiness Hypothesis, Jonathan Haidt describes on pages 92-94 what is guaranteed to disrupt our sense of happiness: noise (especially irregular noise increases stress, for example, when we live on the high street), commuting (daily stress), lack of control, shame (the daily burden of shame about one’s own body, for example) and relationship problems (daily conflicts with colleagues, partners…).
Productivity and Organization
Am I organized? What systems do I have at work and at home? Do I waste a lot of time doing things that don’t make much sense to me? What are my positive and negative routines/habits? Have I formed any new habits? Is there too much complexity in my life? Do I need to simplify anything?
In theory, I don’t care about productivity because I don’t have a problem with procrastination, bad habits, or using my time in a meaningless way. On the contrary, relaxation is a bigger issue for me. However, if you’d like some tools on productivity and how to think about it, you might like the article How to be Successfu at 80,000 Hours. What bothers me personally about it is the framing of our efforts in terms of productivity and successful career paths, but the tips themselves may be helpful. Just don’t get overwhelmed by it!
Martin, who shared these 120 questions of the annual life assessment with me, recommended the pillar method for making decisions. Based on my inner values, life philosophy and what research shows leads people to be satisfied (all of which see above), I created six pillars that an activity should meet in order to pursue it. With the understanding that it often requires compromise anyway. Mine are these:
Adventure, Fun, and Leisure
Am I experiencing what I want in life? What are my hobbies? Do I often visit new places and experience new cultures? Do I have fun in general? How? Is my leisure time more active or passive? How do I relax? Is my life exciting or boring?
Personally, I have a strong need for adventure, which I fill with longer journeys, walking, sleeping outdoors, I am curious and I like to explore, I enjoy suggestions from people from different circles than where I usually move. This chapter is still a challenge for me though, how to relax in the evenings for example, when I don’t want to sit at my computer anymore and I don’t have an appointment, that’s a tough one.
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I’m still on the road and some of the direction signs don’t have the time or the number of kilometers to the destination on them, just in case. I know some of you are looking. If you have your own tips for nice places to see along the way, shortcuts or dead ends and detours, I’d be glad to share.