An incredibly useful perspective in some half-baked notes to a friend. I’ll develop them more in future posts. Feedback and criticism appreciated. — You wrote about lying as an example of a “bad trait”. I’d like to suggest another perspective (generalizable from just lying to other aspects of apparent lack of empathy): that the reason people communicate is not to convey truths. Evaluating people according to truths and lies holds[…] Keep reading →

One of the great lessons I learned from my father was that when people talk about how they spend their time, they’re talking about priorities. As he put it, “When people say they don’t have time to do something, they mean they prioritized something else higher. People have time to do anything. The question is if what they put aside to do something.” Internalized over the years, the perspective seems[…] Keep reading →

Urban Dictionary has the best definitions for my name. I’m too lazy to look up if they make up awesome definitions for everyone, but check out yours in case they do to brighten your day. Here are the first few definitions of Josh: Josh – He is a fun loving guy really funny and can make anyone laugh.He is very quiet at first and seems shy but when you get[…] Keep reading →

Many people are quick to say they don’t judge. People seem to value not judging others. Come to think of it, I do. People all too commonly say they aren’t judgmental when someone else is judgmental about something they aren’t. For example, when one person says “Americans are too fat,” the other may say “Don’t be so judgmental” or, more mildly, “I’m not so judgmental.” It’s all too common because[…] Keep reading →

Some people like to give advice. Maybe everyone does, despite knowing how annoying it can be. Sometimes we think we can help so much or don’t think of the other person’s perspective enough that it feels worth it. We’re all used to our thoughts preparing the advice: hoping to avoid stepping on toes, to avoid insulting, and so on. The other person’s annoyance is often justified. That is, our advice[…] Keep reading →

The Tao Te Ching has influenced and resonates with me more than any other book. This translation is my favorite so far for its accessibility. The translator in this interview said a number of perspectives like I would: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4. Most other perspectives I have follow from those life-level perspectives.