How I'll survive 2024

Better late than never (and better than the alternative 🙃)

(3 min read)

Maybe this is a bit late to say since we’re more than halfway through 2024 already.

(In fact, this issue is #61, and if I keep at this pace for the whole calendar year, I’ll hit 105.)

But I was reflecting on the overall feeling or trend of the year.

For me personally, at least.

If I had to label a theme, I might call it:

Preventative maintenance

Think about your own life for a moment.

• How has your mood been in 2024?

• What are your relationships like?

• How do you feel physically?

• What opportunities have you noticed and felt able to take advantage of?

Because of the global effects of these huge forces, a lot of us have felt similar pressures in recent years:

• COVID¹ and other health issues and worries

• the weird economy

• artificial intelligence

• politics

• wars

I wish I could write a post about how great my life is and “How I'm thriving in 2024 and how you can too”.

(And my life is great in a lot of ways, so then I feel guilty for not being appreciative enough of all that I have, but that’s a separate point.)

In recent years I’ve noticed I keep saying to myself “I’m taking it day by day.”

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Sometimes you have a goal.

And a clear plan that will achieve the goal if you just execute it.

Apply more effort, and you’ll get there.

Other times, there is so much uncertainty that plans aren’t believable.

Moreover, it might even be hard to decide your goals!

In those cases, running faster isn’t a great idea.

Don’t try harder.

Explore. Play. Perceive.

And build habits that enable you to go on.

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To me, it seems like there is more uncertainty than ever before.

• Technology is accelerating, which will change our careers, our cities, our bodies, our relationships, our longevity expectations, and everything.

• There are severe political tensions, magnified by heavier usage of social media than ever before, and politicians feel incentivized to promise more drastic measures than before.

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On top of those broader changes, my own life (as a software engineer) feels its own short-term pressures.

The annual StackOverflow survey results came out and showed that only 20% of programmers are happy at work.

Watch this funny, snarky take on why so many software engineers are unhappy:

(42s video)

I definitely relate. 😆

I love programming.

And capitalism delivers numerous benefits.

But it sure imposes various costs too.

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~2011

Right now I’m thinking back to my surfing days in San Diego. 🏄‍♂️

Sometimes it was a brutal journey to even get out to where the good waves were.

I try to remind myself, when waves are choppy, sometimes it’s best to duck under for a bit.

You’ll get some great rides if you don’t exhaust yourself on the boring parts of getting out there.

Even once you’re out there in good position, you’ll need to deploy some patience as you wait for an attractive opportunity.

Be patient now, too, on your way.

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Here’s what I’m doing to ensure that I’m ready for great opportunities.

• daily fitness

  • Mon/Wed/Fri are most intense, but I have routines for all 7 days because I find that if I take a day off, I can too easily start slipping.

• diet

  • The healthiest of my life. Whole foods plant-based vegan, generally low fat. Not many desserts. No coffee or alcohol or sugary drinks. Aiming to stop all consumption long before bedtime.

• daily meditation

  • I’m on a ~90-day streak. Currently using Ten Percent Happier.

• daily walks

  • I love walking through our neighborhood with Katie. (As a psychologist, she calls our walks “positive health behaviors” or “healthy coping”. We try to get out multiple times per day.)

• sports

  • Once or twice a week I play pickup basketball or pickleball.

• therapy

  • I wouldn’t want my partner to be subject to ALL of my nonsense.

  • With my therapist, I talk about all the topics I’ve talked about with you, which include trippy concepts like living in a simulation, achieving longevity escape velocity, energy eventually costing $0, whether Katie and I want to have a kid, etc.

  • I feel lucky to have found a therapist who can discuss those tricky topics.

• abstaining from social media

• reading a weekly post about good news and optimism

• weekly tidying ritual

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In other words:

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💬 Question for you

What basic routines do you have that keep you feeling good even when you’re not pushing hard towards a certain aim?

How is your 2024 going?

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🕙 Recent posts:

🟢 Unforgettable car ride

🟢 Quick tip that increased my IQ and made me more compassionate

🟢 Can’t stop me from playing

🟢 The 9 best diets (2 are so weird!)

🟢 [See all posts]

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👀 Caught my eye this week:

I’ve known some people who can do this (and who seem very happy with their lives), and it’s a goal of mine:

60s video from Tony Robbins

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Free no-agenda curiosity conversation with me

I’ve set aside some time to meet you and go where the wind blows us.

Sample topics I've enjoyed talking with people about:

🟢 Their relationship with work

🟢 Taking leaps / reinventing one's career

🟢 Solopreneurship

🟢 Their predictions for the future (longevity, AI, universal basic income, post-money society, etc)

🟢 Other topics I've mentioned at WorkLessProfitMore.com.

(What are YOU excited to talk about?)

Book a no-agenda curiosity conversation with me! 😊

Schedule at https://cal.com/ryan-walsh/30min (free):

Just for fun. (I have nothing to sell you.)

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1. By the way, do you know anyone who hasn’t had COVID yet?

I still have never had COVID, even when I felt sure I was going to get it one Christmas when I was staying in a house full of people who had it.

I’ve only heard of one other person who has made it this long without getting it.

I wonder what factors (other than being someone who works from home and who took masking seriously) have helped.