Discovering more of myself. 🔍
Welcome back to the next edition of Aditya's Advances!!!! Here, I talk about mindsets, tech projects, and just update you guys on my progress throughout life!
January was WILD!
Unlike other months, this month wasn’t just pure execution. I found myself doing a lot more reflecting on my goals, aspirations, and mindsets - something that helped me 10x my mindset and thought processes.
So, let’s jump into what went on this month, things I’ve learned, and my future objectives for 2021.
The Hackathon 💻
Just this weekend, my team and I completed a 28-hour hackathon. Basically, our objective was to find a problem related to our various fields, and then come up with a solution that was 10x better than the current one + was feasible.
Our idea? Predicting solar flares with an MLP - both cheaply, and accurately. As we looked over existing solutions, it was those last two points that were commonly overlooked.
Overall, it was a pretty crazy experience - we got a chance to bond over the stress, and it really tested the limits of our capabilities.
And, it also highlighted probably the single most important (but also the most overlooked) skill - how to come up with good ideas.
Really - execution is definitely important. But, if what you’re executing on isn’t meaningful…what’s the point?
That’s why this skill is so important - it’s all about learning how to think, how to optimize for those breakthrough ideas rather than just hoping they’ll occur. I know that, at least for me, one of my main focuses in February will be to 10x this skill and take it to new heights!
Mindsets 🧠
This month was a blast in mindset terms. I explored 3 main themes in January:
Compounding 💵
Familiar with the difference between simple and compound interest? This mindset is similar to that - making small choices every single day that compound into HUGE results.
I’m currently applying this to my craft (AI) - with a goal of working on learning new concepts + doing more projects every single day. Over time, these small learnings compound, increasing your skill level drastically over a period of time.
Action Items:
Stick through compounding actions - even if it feels like no results are present in the short term.
Take large “forest” goals, and break them down into trees and branches you can do daily. Use these daily branches as a subset of your larger goals!
Stoicism 💭
This is a mindset that resonated with me the most - the act of developing an internal locus of control, with no desire for favourable nor unfavourable circumstances. While it sounds a bit depressing at first, adopting the stoic mindset actually increased my happiness levels.
The mindset in itself isn’t trying to say “don’t try.” Rather, it tries to help us play at our best with the cards that we’ve been dealt. It’s about putting in 110% and staying true to yourself, regardless of circumstances.
Action Items:
Stop using words like “I have to”, or “I wish” - reactive language. Focus instead on taking ownership, with words like “I want to” or “I am”.
Begin with the end in mind - the principle of memento mori, or reflecting upon one’s death.
Bias towards action✏
Pretty straightforward - think less, do more. Humans have a tendency to become paralyzed by thinking repeatedly about what could go wrong, rather than what could go right.
It’s this tendency that prevents us from starting things - whether it’s a new company, book, or applying for that internship.
Action Items:
If there’s something you want to do, make sure it makes sense to you - and then, just do i.
Rather than learning from courses/lessons, immediately start doing - this way, you’ll learn 80% of the information in 30% of the time.
Goals 🎯
Alright, I’m going to be 100% honest here - this month, I didn’t make as much progress on my goals as I’d like to. This month, the intention is to grind on my goals without attaching myself to the end outcome.
Goals for February:
Getting the autonomous vehicles project’s video done and uploaded!
This is going to be hard, but worth it - earning an AI internship within two weeks.
Starting (and potentially finishing) my second replicate project.
Re-establishing my reading habit by finishing “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People”.
And that, brings an end to this month’s newsletter!
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Thanks for reading!