Philosophical Foundations for Personal Growth
Learn how to apply first principles thinking, stoicism, and Descartes' method of doubt to build a meaningful life and master your mind.
The First Thing You Need
A Philosophical Inquiry into Foundations
The Trap of Accumulation
We often believe the first step is external: acquiring resources, buying tools, or gathering knowledge. But building on a cluttered foundation leads to collapse.
Starting from Zero: Descartes
If you would be a real seeker after truth, it is necessary that at least once in your life you doubt, as far as possible, all things.
First Principles Thinking
Break down complex problems into basic elements.
Reassemble them from the ground up.
The Dichotomy of Control
We are not disturbed by things, but by the views we take of them. To be free is not to change the world, but to master your own mind.
"He who has a why to live can bear almost any how."
— Friedrich Nietzsche
Ordo Amoris: The Order of Loves
My weight is my love; by it I am borne wherever I am borne. Disorder of the soul is its own punishment. Only when you order your loves correctly can you truly be free.
Subtract
Remove noise and distractions before adding new commitments.
Define
Articulate your non-negotiable first principles.
Act
Align every subsequent action with those principles.
An unexamined life is not worth living. The first thing you need is the courage to ask why.
- philosophy
- self-improvement
- stoicism
- first-principles
- personal-growth
- mental-models
- descartes
- nietzsche