Life lessons from 2023

2023 was an interesting year for me. I learnt a lot from books, from talking to people, and from my own experiences. Below are some key lessons that I have learnt. I hope they are of benefit to you too.

1.Balance between consumption and creation

When I unwind during weekends, I find that spending the entire day consuming entertainment such as movies, TV shows or social media is almost as exhausting as working the entire day. However, if I spend some time in between creating something, my brain is more energetic. This creation could be playing music, journalling, contributing to collaborative articles on LinkedIn, mentoring or any activity that gives a break to my brain from consuming new information rapidly.

Below are some possible reasons for this phenomenon. Note that these are guesses based on my reflections and that I could be wrong.

• The brain sometimes loves challenges. We are not challenging ourselves when we continuously consume information.
• The section of the brain that takes in information when we consume media might get fatigued if left to work for a long time.
• The brain just likes variety. Hence, juggling between consumption and creation makes it interesting for the brain.

2. Awareness about the lack of information across groups

In the book ‘This will make you smarter’, there is an astounding statistic that, as late as 2010, 92 percent of participants in a poll in Afghanistan did not know about the 9/11 attacks. This was an attack that had garnered worldwide attention and was the reason for the war in Afghanistan where this poll was administered.

This is a beautiful reminder for us not to judge others for their decisions. After all, everyone might not have access to the same information.

3. Many things in life do not have a linear relationship.

In the book ‘How not to be wrong’, Jordan Ellenberg explains the relationship between tax and government revenue with an inverted U-curve. Up to a point, an increase in tax rate results in more government revenue. Then, the revenue slides down because people burdened with heavy taxes are not motivated to work. He also uses the U-curve to explain other interesting Economics and life concepts.

Aren’t many things in life like that?

Eating makes us healthy and energetic. Over-eating makes us drowsy and causes serious health problems.

Exercise stimulates the body and has various health benefits. Over-exercising causes muscle fatigue.

A little stress builds resilience. Lots of stress has negative psychological effects.

In all these cases, the inverted U-curve is at work. So, in many situations in life, it is beneficial to strike a balance, instead of always striving for more.

I hope that these learnings are of benefit to you too. Please let me know what your learnings from 2023 have been.

About the author: Anirudh Murali is a data scientist based out of India. He likes to learn from everyone he meets and read about diverse topics.