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Today marks the four year anniversary of The Weekly Wisdom Newsletter!
In honour of this milestone, I want to summarize my top four short-form and long-form blog posts of the year. I gained joy and insight by reviewing past wisdoms, and I hope you do too!
The short-form ones are quick-reads to inspire and arouse our thinking:
We can all use more laughter in our lives, and I accumulated a list of jokes that are both funny and respectful, so they can be used safely at work or with children.
A short story to help us shift our perspective towards hardship and challenges.
A short anecdote about a decision I made and how I almost got really upset at the results.
A story within a story about Socrates and a donkey.
The long-from posts are in-depth and used to solve major problems in life, and I picked
Below are some more details on the long-form posts.
Being angry is like holding onto a ball of fire; we get burned first. For people who are prone to anger, annoyance, and complaints, treating this problem will bring such a big boost to our quality of life.
Although I don't get angry per se, I do get annoyed pretty easily, and annoyance is a milder form of anger. I also argue with my mother about small things. I spent many months this past year to reduce my arrogance and annoyance, and I summarized my learnings in this article.
Essentially, we need to reduce our arrogance, entitlement, and self-centeredness, and improve our humility, appreciation, and kindness.
Before learning about the Middle Way, I often viewed things as either good or bad. I tried to get more of the good things and rid the bad things. The Middle Way states that things are not good or bad inherently. They are only bad if we have too much or too little, or if we use them incorrectly. Things are good if we use the right amount and in the right manner. This was a big perspective change for me.
In my blog post, I applied The Middle Way to emotions, desire, challenges, personality traits, speech, health, wealth, and time management.
Another big learning for me in the past year is that when I encounter problems and difficulties in life, I shouldn't just focus on finding a "solution" to the problem. Why? Because finding a "solution" usually means trying to change the outside circumstances, but outside circumstances are outside my control, which will only lead to more frustration. Wise people focus on changing their mind and thinking first. Then their actions will naturally change, and the outside world will respond accordingly.
In the blog post, I explain five aspects of The Enlightened Mind: sincerity, purity, equality, wisdom, compassion. When our thoughts and emotions are aligned with these five aspects, we can solve any problem, and our actions will naturally attract a better and happier future.
Of all the books I have read in my life, this one is probably the one that has had the biggest impact. It is short, simple, and sweet. After all, it was written for children. But its simple instructions and teachings have deep wisdom, and practicing them in our daily lives will improve our happiness, relationships, productivity, and success.
In the blog post, I summarize five virtues taught in the book: filial piety (respect parents), carefulness, trustworthiness, benevolence, and humility.
For each virtue, the book gives many daily actions to practice, which then cultivates those virtues. It really is like a training manual. I have been practicing this book for over a year now, and my happiness levels and relationships with my family have improved significantly.
I also taught this book to students in a high school leadership course, and they also told me many great stories about the positive impact that these teachings had for them. If you have not read it yet, I highly recommend it!
Conclusion
Whether you are a long-time reader or a new visitor, I appreciate you, and I commend you on seeking wisdom to improve your life and the lives of others. We are not alone in our mission to improve the world, and I will continue doing my small part. Cheers to another wonderful and wise year to come!
Weekly Wisdom Newsletter #208