What can I learn/know right now in 10 minutes that will be useful for the rest of my life?
1. Mindfulness meditation
Focus on your breath, on sensations or on sounds. Notice when you have a thought, observe it and let it go. Get back to the breath/sensations/sounds. Don't think you "can't do it" just because it's hard. Just keep doing it.
2. Loving kindness meditation
Wish love, happiness and tons of other good stuff onto yourself, a loved one, a stranger, someone you don't like, and then the entire human race as well as all living beings.
Repeat phrases in your head like "May I be happy", "May you be free from suffering", etc.
3. How to write a joke
Look for things that are related, make as many connections as possible between two things. See if there is a combination that "makes sense but not really", something that is comprehensible by the human mind while at the same time doesn't adhere to expectations. The stronger the contrast between two things, the better. Use surprise.
4. There is only now
The past isn't real anymore, and the future is imaginary. Be careful to not constantly move the goalpost.
5. Social skills: Listen carefully, ask questions and don't wait for your turn to speak
6. Well-being: Turn your life toward others, don't obsess about yourself
7. How to be a freelancer
Pick a niche, maybe combine two or three skills, spend a lot of time on Upwork and maybe Fiverr until it starts working out.
8. Gratitude
Once per week, write down at least five things you're grateful for and be specific ("I'm grateful for this banana because...")
You can also write things down on pieces of paper and put them in a little pouch that you carry with you at all times, but research shows that gratitude practice is less efficient when you do it every day.
9. Use honesty (without being a jerk) to make people laugh and make them trust you
Give your honest opinion about things in a blunt and surprising way. Use honest self-deprecation. Acknowledge things about a situation. People like honesty, and they don't expect it, which often makes it funny.
This is NOT the same as saying hurtful things and justifying it with "I'm just being honest".
10. Memento Mori
Regularly think about death to live a better life. When you're having a beautiful moment and you find yourself not fully appreciating it, think to yourself: What if I died right now, and I suddenly got the chance to get back to this very moment? How grateful would I be?
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