I feel it's becoming harder and harder for people to understand that playing the long game is in itself the cheat code, it's half of the work. Thanks for the reminder!
your ideas and useful principles, aiming to help (everyone open minded) learn how to enjoy the life they have. And to make it even meaningfull and happier
Great post, and I’m happy that you included “Challenge yourself and do hard things” on the list because I also truly believe it’s something that makes life better. The funny thing is that since I’m training hard for a marathon and going to the gym twice a week, I do sports every day. People’s first question is always: David, don’t you have rest days? I don’t have rest days at the moment.
But there are things I’ve noticed since this new training started. There are two sessions that have a particularly positive effect on me. They are the two hardest ones. Thanks to those challenges, I’ve become extremely resilient to external stress factors. I monitor my daily stress level and it has dropped completely. At work, I usually had a moderate level of stress, but now I don’t.
Another thing is that after the hard sessions, everything else in my life feels very easy. The task I need to finish? Easy. Dealing with finances and taxes? Easy. And the feeling after those sessions? The sense of accomplishment shows itself when I go home tired but with a big smile on my face.
@Brad Stulberg There’s a grounded simplicity in this that cuts through so much of the noise. What stood out is how often excellence here is framed as returning, to basics, to consistency, to values, rather than constantly adding more. It feels less like optimization and more like alignment. Also appreciated the emphasis on the long game and “just getting started”… two things that sound obvious but are hardest to live. If you had to pick one rule people consistently underestimate, which would it be?
As someone who loves writing lists of 30, this was a solid list! Huge proponent of just getting started and instead of doing things every day, just not missing two days in a row.
I feel it's becoming harder and harder for people to understand that playing the long game is in itself the cheat code, it's half of the work. Thanks for the reminder!
Thank you for sharing. A timely list to reflect on 2025 and set goals for 2026 💪🏻
Practical and insightful, thanks for sharing!
So many good tips in here. Love the ones on a balance, opinions and doing hard things.
I wish kids would see this modeled more in today’s world: “Caring is one of the coolest things there is” ❤️
26. Stop looking outside of yourself for the answers. Look inward and listen, for all the answers lie within.
this was an excellent read. all 25 rules are spot on. especially loved #11. be the best at getting better. thanks as always brad!
A beautiful article!
Thank you for sharing with your readers
your ideas and useful principles, aiming to help (everyone open minded) learn how to enjoy the life they have. And to make it even meaningfull and happier
Just disconnect from your phone and go for a walk.
Great post, and I’m happy that you included “Challenge yourself and do hard things” on the list because I also truly believe it’s something that makes life better. The funny thing is that since I’m training hard for a marathon and going to the gym twice a week, I do sports every day. People’s first question is always: David, don’t you have rest days? I don’t have rest days at the moment.
But there are things I’ve noticed since this new training started. There are two sessions that have a particularly positive effect on me. They are the two hardest ones. Thanks to those challenges, I’ve become extremely resilient to external stress factors. I monitor my daily stress level and it has dropped completely. At work, I usually had a moderate level of stress, but now I don’t.
Another thing is that after the hard sessions, everything else in my life feels very easy. The task I need to finish? Easy. Dealing with finances and taxes? Easy. And the feeling after those sessions? The sense of accomplishment shows itself when I go home tired but with a big smile on my face.
@Brad Stulberg There’s a grounded simplicity in this that cuts through so much of the noise. What stood out is how often excellence here is framed as returning, to basics, to consistency, to values, rather than constantly adding more. It feels less like optimization and more like alignment. Also appreciated the emphasis on the long game and “just getting started”… two things that sound obvious but are hardest to live. If you had to pick one rule people consistently underestimate, which would it be?
As someone who loves writing lists of 30, this was a solid list! Huge proponent of just getting started and instead of doing things every day, just not missing two days in a row.