If life is a game then I'm placing my bets
Reflections on an airplane
I was on a flight with my headphones, listening to music and writing an article that I will probably never publish. Then, "My Favourite Song", from Thundamentals, started to play and one phrase stuck to me: " If life is a game then I'm placing my bets".
Perhaps the airplane mode made me feel reflective, but I went deep on my personal and professional bets. And then, I thought: Our life choices are bets, and we are gamblers/investors. We don't know the output, but we devote time, sweat, and blood as inputs hoping to have a great return (output) in the future. Given this eureka moment, I tried to create questions to reflect my bets on different dimensions of my life, which I will share in this article. I hope it brings you tools to reflect on your bets.
The most important bets are divided into 5 areas.
• Work
• Relationships
• Physical and Mental health
• Financial choices
• Knowledge
Our time is scarce, so we must learn how to analyze if a bet is worth it and I will present some questions to reflect on:
Work bets
Work is the most demanding activity of our routine. You will probably spend more time working than having fun and enjoying with your family.
The currency exchange is time. The tradeoff is Money or Equity for it.
We need to be diligent in analyzing if the bet is worth it
The best questions to think about work bets are:
a) Does the work make me happy?
b) Is work related to my purpose?
c) How much have I been learning?
d) Do I earn enough to be comfortable?
e) The work can make me rich?
f) Am I excited to be a partner with my co-workers?
Relationships
Our social connections are most important thing for our well-being. This is proved by the most extended study about human happiness conducted by Harvard since 1930.
Not fame, not fortune, but relationships!
Our time is scarce. You need to choose the relationships you invest more time in
Dimension to think about relationship bets :
a) Do I feel good and happy around this person?
b) Am I evolving as a person in this relationship?
c) Does I feel respected?
d) Do I feel gratitude for this relationship?
e) Is this person a "darkest hour" friend/partner?
Mental and Physical Health
Nothing affects more well-being than health.
Without physical and mental health, it is effectively impossible to experience and enjoy the benefits of almost anything.
People don't realize you have to invest in your health, which pays off.
Physical health bets
As Sahil Bloom says, Physical health is built through the long-term compounding of daily actions.
There are 3 broad buckets that you should bet:
• Exercise—daily movement
• Nutrition—mostly real foods
• Sleep—good sleep habits
It's never too late to start building—or restoring—physical health.
Mental Health bets
Mental Health is the basis for all evolution. You need to have a strong mind to pursue your dreams.
Meditation, therapy, spirituality, social life, gratitude, and many other aspects help anyone go through life.
Both Physical and Mental Health should think about these dimensions:
a) Does this habit leads me to more vitality?
b) Do I become healthier?
c) Do I become stronger with this habit?
d) In the long term, the sum game is positive?
Health is wealth.
Financial bets
Does money lead to happiness? No.
But it can help you and your family live great experiences and feel comfortable in times of scarcity.
In terms of financial bets, you should think through:
a) Are the risk rewards reasonable?
b) Is the risk fit with my profile?
c) Is this a compounding investment?
d) Can you buy twice with your available cash? if not, you can't buy it (jay-z rule)
e) Are you getting equity stakes?
Knowledge bets
If you want to know everything, you won't know anything for real. In the world of content abundance, you have to choose what you want to learn
There are 2 buckets:
(i) Knowledge that interests personally (nonrelated to work)
(ii) The ones that help with work development
Before going deep into a new rabbit hole, I do ask myself:
a) This knowledge really interests me?
b) This knowledge makes me better?
b) This knowledge helps me to be better at my work?
Of course, you don't need to be strict. I am passionate about sports, and this interest is unrelated to work, but it makes me happy.
Curiosity is divine and fluid: you should go for it. But nowadays, we have so much information that becomes really important to filter
There are many other questions you can ask yourself in these dimensions. I don't want to sound too strict or that I am someone that puts everything inside mental models. I don't. But, it was important for me to reflect on these questions and I hope it helps me through my journey.
Remember that we trade our time, our life for bets. Let's treat with respect our most precious currency: time.
Life is a game, so be careful with your bets.
Last article of the semester.
This was a really intense semester for me, and I think it was for everyone.
I hope that in the second semester to return to a more regular schedule of posts. For those who don't know, I used to post on weekends - my Sunday “drops” series has 50 editions. Feedback, Ideas, and Suggestions are welcomed.
"DMs are open”.
Well, hope you have a phenomenal second semester.
Best,
Lucas
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