This manifesto is a compilation/notes on many philosophies and lifestyles I have adopted during life.
This is not and never will be finished as I’m subject to the human condition of striving to change and be better. So when you read this, you may perceive it as a current state of my beliefs.
Minimalism
I’ve been a minimalist for a long time now. I’m a minimalist in both the real and the digital world, striving to minimize my footprint and consumerism, without losing quality of life. In the real world, that translates to owning the least amount of non-essential objects and tools. In the digital world, I try to self-host and maintain control of every piece of software and data I can, have as few accounts on third-party tools as possible, and monthly organize my content (mostly files with text or media) and data across the web and my computer.
Social Interactions
My most prized moments with friends and family usually happen when there is a one-to-one moment, where I give undivided attention, therefore allowing myself and the person to truly give care to conversation, thoughts, and enjoy it. That does not mean that I’m only ever spending time with one friend or family member at a time, only that I prefer to spend my time with a single person instead of groups.
I’m also a huge fan of meeting new people outside, when at an event or party, instead of on the internet (where I don’t own any socials). I love seeing and understanding different people with all sorts of tastes and feelings.
Programming
I love programming. It is my favorite thing to do. I love programming as a hobby, as a utilitarian tool to solve my problems (when a problem can only be solved with tech, that is) and as professional work.
I’ve been programming for the last 10 years, with 8 of that being professional work. In that time, I’ve gathered and learned some important lessons as well as some mannerisms. Some of my most important takes on it are:
- Keep it simple. Focus on the main problem I’m solving while writing beautiful, simple code.
- Don’t fall into other people’s traps. What others view as productivity tools, DX, or a must-have is often just a combination of FOMO and imposter syndrome.
- That being said, DX is extremely important, and it comes in many different shapes and ways for many types of developers. If something makes me, a person that writes code a lot, happier when coding, then I integrate it into my tools.
- Be very good at one thing, but also constantly learn the essentials of everything else. As a solo developer who works both alone at work and on personal projects, being aware of many fields and what is important for them is non-negotiable.
- Write consistent code. Adopt a style that makes you happy and comfortable, standardize your code style. Your different selves from the future across codebases will thank you later. But don’t let that get in your way when developing for fun or hobby.
- Find your favorite language and field of development. It’s okay if it takes long, or if you don’t find one at all. But having a favorite language where you can just hop on it and write code that solves your problems quickly is a very powerful power to have.
Simple
Be full of life, full of thoughts, full of art, of love, be detailed, involved, layered, intricate, but not complex, be simple, be kind.
Love
Love is unconditional to proximity, interaction, or appearances. Love is being happy with the existence of something independent of your relationship with it. Love is the thing that makes your life better when knowing that you feel love for it. Love comes for many things, but its essence is the same.
Principles
- Be selective about the people around you. Allow only those who are kind and make you a better person to enter your life meaningfully.
- Choose the right words when speaking complex matters. Don’t rush to say something just for the sake of opening your mouth.
- Don’t ignore politics. Understand your local matters.
- Don’t make a single thing you like define you or make your whole personality around it.
Self
Love yourself. Allow yourself to laugh, to feel happy, to be happy. Allow yourself to have constant solitude. Iterate and reflect on previous and future philosophies. Remember who you were, talk about who you want to be. Write down every meaningful thing that speeds across your brain. Listen to music, play video games, consume media that conceives passion into art. Take a sunbath for 5 minutes once every day. Give love to your pets. Find time to spend with your loved ones. Sleep as much as you need. Listen to your inner guts. Eat what you like the most once in a while. Find your sense of fashion and wear clothes that boost your self-esteem. Learn new words. Take care of your body.
Comfort
Being comfortable is often an understated feeling or underrated quality of life. If something makes you constantly uncomfortable, make your best efforts to solve this. That can be manifested in a number of ways: It can be the way you dress yourself, the way you feel about your principles, the way your life is turning. If you feel uncomfortable, that’s both your mind and body speaking.
Art
To make art is an easy task. To make good art is subjective.
Most people are gifted with some kind of artistic feature they do not even know of. Being an artist is painting, is dancing, is acting. Being an artist is also being really good at your job, at your passion, at your hobby, or even at mundane stuff. Art is a byproduct of being human, therefore it’s everywhere we look at and we step into.
FOMO
Avoid.
Money
From my monthly revenue, spend what I need with essential goods, split the remaining in two parts: most in investments, and the rest with leisure.