Happiness 2025-12-23

Reframing stress as a signal, not a threat

Making one micro-decision daily with confidence

Building your support system with intention

Creating a ‘done’ list instead of a to-do list

Noticing and savoring one good moment every day

Practicing honesty in your closest relationships

Helping someone else, before you need help

Asking yourself, ‘What’s the worst that could happen?’

Practicing these habits in low-stakes moments

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Investment

Source: https://www.cnbc.com/2025/01/13/why-knowing-the-future-doesnt-help-short-term-traders-study.html?&qsearchterm=know+news+in+advance+game&fbclid=IwY2xjawH1I8JleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHaMZ2qD0XbLuh3RoNq5nX5hjTNfwFpYcQkQh0XXH0-y-gSU5Tot2aBX05w_aem_kFukQCHBsG-fXV6VfK_Agw

… getting things right as an investor over the short term is a tricky game.
…  the traders in the experiment were unsure how to size their bets
… Instead, rely on the long, upward historical trend of the broad stock market to help you build wealth over time…. The challenge is, they’re often boring.
… Short-term investing is merely a form of entertainment
….What’s right for most retail investors is, participate in the market for the long term by being a passive investor, keeping your costs low and controlling your emotions when things get wild

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8 ways to stay happier

source: https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20241231-eight-ways-to-stay-happier-this-year-according-to-science

Embrace Friendship
(as we get older), our personalities mature, we gain more social skills, our outlook becomes more joy-oriented and we tend to become more agreeable

Practice “confelicity”
Enthusiastically supporting a friend’s good news – and asking questions about it – is a basis of being a good friend.

Do some volunteering
studies have found that volunteering can even help with series conditions like chronic pain and depression.  Other studies have shown that looking after animals can improve our health and taking care of houseplants can help us thrive, especially in old age.

Connect with your ancestors

Write a list
Counting your blessings. Good news jar.

Look forward to fun activities
Could the expectation of fun be as rewarding as the activity itself? In another experiment, the scientists trained some rats to wait for rewards – while others were given them immediately. Later, they assessed the rats for optimism and found that those who had been trained to wait for rewards were more optimistic.

Do nothing

Don’t drink too much caffeine
But timing is key when it comes to caffeine as it can take a while to kick in and a long time to wear off. Scientists recommend having your last caffeine dose eight hours and 48 minutes before you go to bed. We also shouldn’t consume too much caffeine – no more than 400mg or around two to three cups of coffee, depending on the strength – to avoid disrupted sleep, headaches, nausea and anxiety.

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Gina申請到那個學校?

最近最常聽到問候語是問小孩申請到那個大學。每次聽到這個,我覺得有點慚愧,我(或我們)沒有花非常多的時間幫Gina找學校,寫essay, 問她要不要花錢請counselor(像台灣的代辦),她都說不要浪費錢。整個過程大部分是她自己搞定,我只幫他看了一篇essay和填一些獎學金的申請表,因為我覺得大學只要好就可以,不一定要最好,名校,因為人生有太多的因素會影一個人的成就,與其她(和我)很多時間在申請到名校,不如把一些時間花在交朋友,建立人際網路,或作一些她有熱情的東西。我覺得一個人的其他特質比那個大學畢業更重要。

二月時,她申請的州立大學,除了一家以外,全都上,剩下U Penn和Stanford,還不錯,算達標。Stanford是她最想去的,因為它的課程非常實用,且在矽谷灣區。

現在是四月,那兩家私立的都拒收。說不覺得可惜是不可能的,會想假如當初花錢請counselor,說不定她就可以上Stanford. 假如我們當初多花點時間,多花點錢(請counselor), 她會不會就能去Ivy League的名校?

看來我的信仰並沒那麼堅定。剛好今天老婆傳了一個最近火紅的黃仁勳的YT,我去查了他大學唸Oregon State University(美國排名142)。順便隨機找幾個名人來查一查:

Elon Musk,Queen’s University唸了二年,世界排名209.

Steve Jobs, Reed College. (要不是因為Steev Jobs, 我也不知道這學校是什麼東東)

Bill Gates, Harvard, 退學

Mark Zuckerberg, Harvard, 退學(看起來Harvard退學的更有成就)

Morris Chang(張忠謀),Harvard, 又沒唸完就轉到MIT。(真的唸Harvard就是要退學)

Jeff Bezos, Princeton University, 名校。

Jack Ma, 中國的Jeff Bezos, “高中畢業後,參加第一次高考,數學考了9分…”, 考了三次,”終於考上了杭州師範學院外語系外語外貿專業的專科” — 馬雲的Wiki.

大數據時代,需要多一點樣本,但這8個例子,大概可以看出,成就和唸名校,沒有絕對的關係。

而且成功的定義很多,最多人用是收入或個人資產,我看看我大學同學,我可以想到的個人資產可能到上億的,有二個,他們大學時成績普通,絕對不會被認為成績好的那種。大前研一用一個很有趣的方式來看成就。他的一次大學同學會後,要去喝酒續喝,結果能去的,大部份都是在學校成績普普的,這些人大部份自己有生意,也比較有自己的時間,反而以前成績好的同學都因為要上班不能去。當然,大前研一自己的學歷算不錯,最高到MIT博士。

成功的其他定義也可以是快樂,對社會有貢獻,快樂的家庭生活,或做到很高的職位。。。

講這麼多廢話,不是說成績,學校不重要,只是說它只是其中的一個因素,但覺對不是絕對因素。但什麼東西對一個人的成就影最多?真的有人去研究。Outlier這本書提到,成功人士是對一件事可以做上10,000小時. Mindset書中提到一個研究發現,成功的人在面對困難時,可以堅持下去,甚至享受挑戰。我大學畢業出來,找第一分工作時,到一家公司面試,一進去會議室,來了二個經理,因為我投了二個部門,一個是我想去的資訊工程部,一個是化學沉積部門,我想去的是資工部,不要我,我不想去的化學部門經理要用我,面試結束離開時,化學經理跟我講的話,快30年我還記得,他說:”劉先生,工作總是有高潮,有低潮,最後是你的熱情能帶你走過低潮。你有興趣來化學沉積的話,隨時給我個電話。”

這讓我想到Steve Jobs 2005年在Stanford的的畢業演說中,講的一句話。就用這句話送給我自己,Gina和願意看完這篇的你:

You’ve got to find what you love

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rob Peter to pay Paul 中文

我們有一個軟體的release, 時間很緊,主要是測試嚴重落後,我和專案經理Luis在看怎樣可以加快release時程. 他說Tony建議叫幾個工程師去幫忙測試, 我說這會加快測試沒錯,但減緩開發,對加快release date不會在太大的幫助,Luis說, “Yah, right. We are just robbing Peter to pay Paul”. 這只是挖東牆補西牆

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