Hi guys! I hope you're all doing well during this coronavirus shelter-in-place. I'm over in the Bay Area, and on this side of the States, we are pretty much still under strict orders to stay at home until the beginning of June. I've been cooped up for 8, almost 9 weeks now, and it's been a great time to search inward.
An interesting 2005 research article, titled Retrospective Birth Dating of Cells in Humans, suggests that the majority of your cells are either renewed or reformed in 7 years ago. That would suggest that the person I was in 2013 is vastly different, on a cellular level, from who I am today. Now, this got me thinking about where I was in life 7 years ago, which was right in the middle of my undergrad life at MIT. And it got me thinking…. There were about seven key lessons that I learned while I went to MIT. One of my biggest self-commitments this year, has been to communicate more, and share more of my knowledge and life lessons with the world and for people who might be walking on a similar path. After all, as human species, we're much stronger together, aren't we?
So here are the 5 lessons that I've picked up along the way.
1. Setting insane and lofty goals, and then taking action towards them, will inevitably force you to grow.
I took 6–7 courses at one point in my undergraduate career, where all but 1 were technical. Did I pass them? Yes. Did I do super well in all of them? Hell no. Why did I do it? Well, at least in the United States, undergrad is expensive and one of the awesome things about MIT is that you don't have to pay more to take more credits if you're already a full-time student. At least when I was there, the tuition was the same if I took 4 classes, or if I took 7 to 8 classes. This personal challenge taught me the magical art of aggressive time management, and looking back over half a decade later, it's made pretty much any course or challenge feel like a breeze in comparison to that experience. Sometimes, the hardest moments in our academic life are actually hidden crucibles that transform us into a person that's ultimately more ready and more able to handle adversity.
2. When you give yourself enough time to learn, then you're guaranteed results over a steadier burn.
Ok, I know that this probably contradicts what I just wrote earlier. But in a grand turn of events, when I decided to take just 3 technical classes, and 1 normal class, which is the recommendation for "normal" students at MIT… I slayed it. I mean, that was easily the most relaxing, easiest, and most academically successful semester I had. Everything I learned from that fateful semester, was so lucid, so clear. Maybe it was because I was actually getting rest, so I actually consolidated my memories from that time. Where am I getting at with this? It's all about balance. If you absolutely and desperately need to smash 7 to 8 classes into one semester like I did ( because you needed to save $50K), then go for it. At the same time, if you want to give yourself enough time flexibility and space to focus on hard problems, then you need to account for that.
3. Have a clear target and know your reason. Otherwise, your interest will only last a season.
How many of you guys have tried to self-study or self-learn outside of university, only to have it totally get forgotten? How about half-started projects? Or who in general, felt like life was just way easier when you were in school? Well, part of that reason comes from the fact that when you're in school, your goals are clear. You need to get a degree. You need to pass. You need to get X on some exam. Those targets sustain you, and give you a target. You get some certificate. You get a door opened in your life.
However, seven years later, looking back, what makes the real world arguably more fun, is that you get to define your own targets. You graduate from the playground of a sandbox into the actual world, where you've got your own end-game, and you're interacting with millions of other endgames. So if you want to improve this, then the first step is to really bunker down and get clear on what target is, and WHY you're doing something. Otherwise, your interest will only last for a season.
4. Get out of your own way!
Oh my god. One of my the worst things (and arguably best) things about MIT is that everybody around you is brilliant in their own regard. It's horrible when you're still stuck in a mindset that involves comparing yourself to other people. And of course, that's always going to happen to some degree. Meditation, and looking beyond myself has worked wonders for that, tips below. But that aside, I'm being real. It's so easy to compare yourself to brilliant people around you and think, "Well F***, why am I even trying?" I mean, one of my best friends was an International chemistry olympiad star who would down a box of Franzia and easily Aced one of MIT's hardest algorithms courses. My roommate was an international biology olympiad whiz kid who's now off in the world of biotech VC. And one of them was so brilliant at cancer biology, she got into this program that sent her off to Oxford in the UK before she came back for an MD/Ph.D. at Harvard full time.
I was surrounded by amazing people. And when that happens, or when you find yourself around your friend's successes, you should always let it fuel you and inspire you. It's easy to think, "ugh, why am I not that great at yeast genetics? Or why didn't I spend high school prepping for the biology olympiad? Or why can't I effortlessly solve algorithms without the math background? Just stop. As long as you've grown, learned, or evolved somehow, within yourself, then you're good.
5. Discipline isn't gained by watching a video or reading a how-to book. It's found in the habits that you form and norm over time.
It's 2020 and we live in a society where quick fixes are desired. The fact of the matter is, no matter how much self-help content you digest, there is no replacement for building a habit that will lead you to your outcome. Especially for particularly brilliant people, it might be easy to just cram knowledge right away. I had a nasty habit of always doing this. Did I get by with cramming? Totally. But what happened when I did it the old fashioned way? When I set aside 30, 45 minutes of regular study? The results were INSANE. The brain's a funny thing — it turns out that you become what you do. You are your habits. So to form the discipline required to follow through on your actions, turn them into habits. The ingredients are simple:
- Time box the task. Chunk time to do finish 1 task. This means writing down both a start and end date. No never-ending stories.
- Build the ritual. Chain that task to something that you already do. Chaining is a key hack to making a new habit "stick" more easily.
- Make sure you have the internal energy to focus and do only that one task. It'll feel like forever. And then you'll look back and be like, wtf?
Pro tip hack: This is very extra but it's how I built my practice of 30 minutes of mediation a day. Just start with 30 seconds. Then every day, add 10 seconds. Keep adding 10 seconds each day. Soon, you'll be blown away.
Alright, guys, I hope this video found all of you well and healthy in the middle of this coronavirus pandemic, and gave you some food for thought as you look for lessons and tips that could help you in your journey to learn more or direct your own self-study journey while we're bound to our homes. Thanks again, and look forward to seeing you guys next time.
