I used to think, the number of books I read or good podcasts I listen – every year is a yardstick of how much I am growing as a person intellectually. I now have a new yardstick . It is – how many closely held ideas i have changed my mind on. Everyday i keep an eye for things that contradict , what i know and believe to be true. The ability to look back, observe and unlearn is something that i had always struggled with throughout my life. And it is only in recent years that i am trying to get better at it. So here are 7 things I have changed my mind on, in recent years- straight from my diary :
1) I used to think carbohydrates are an impediment to getting lean and fit. I previously had lost a lot of weight on very low carbohydrate diet and was influenced by a lot of ketogenic diet influencers. Last year i had some of the best strength and muscle gains- where eating plenty of clean carbs played a pivotal role. Even during an aggressive fat-loss (aka ‘cutting’) i retained all my strength and lost weight in a very efficient pace , but my diet had decent amount of carbohydrate in it.
So, i no longer believe in zero/very low carb diets is optimal for health and fitness.
2) I had been a fan of intermittent fasting, as it has given me immense health benefits. It had made being lean and fit- yearlong, a very easy process for me. But, during my last years 6 month ‘bulk’ (a bodybuilding term, meaning a period where athlete eats at surplus to gain more strength and muscle size)- it was getting impossible to gain weight during intermittent fasting. So, i had to eat breakfast regularly to meat my calorie surplus goals.
This surplus resulted in, better stamina and much better strength and pump in the gym. I gained 6 kilos of lean mass in 6 month, where breakfast played a crucial role.
This made me think that, intermittent fasting is just a tool in the tool box- if it should be used when necessary, but there are a lot of cases where it is not at all optimal.
3) As an engineer in my early career i used to think that, the best product will always win. But, growing old i have seen a good product is necessary, but not at all sufficient for winning in the market. ‘Distribution’ is of equal or more importance than product quality. Specially in a matured market, distribution is king.
4) I used to think, AGI (humanlike ‘Artificial General Intelligence’) is impossible. But, upon seeing the recent astronomical progress in generative AI, i have changed my mind. I think AGI might be just around the corner , we might be just a decade or two away from it. When the best programmer of the world, John Carmack said – 60% chance of AGI within 2030- it really resonated with me.
5) Growing up as a debater and a stage magician- I used to admire charismatic individuals who knows how to speak well and I always wanted to emulate them and wanted to be one of them. Now that i have made somewhat progress on this, i feel the real deal is not in speaking, it is in shutting my mouth- and then listening and observing. My friend sirat or my wife zahin- they might not be the most charismatic speakers- but, their friend’s pour their heart when they talk to them. It is because both of them are top notch listeners.
6) I used to think that dishonesty is the main problem in government. Working deep in the trenches with the government in last several years- i have changed my mind. I think incompetence of officials is a way bigger problem than dishonesty. Most of the times dishonesty is an emergent phenomena of incompetence. And incompetence is an emergent phenomena of the systems and processes that does not incentivize competence .
7) I used to obsess over goals. I have had great results with goal oriented mindset. Now i do not obsess over goals. For things that I want to achieve, i try to form habits around that. I try to make systems and processes that makes that habit very easily doable everyday. Over the years , I have learnt that, when I form the right habits- time becomes my friend, all i need is patience. But, when i have bad habits time becomes my enemy- everyday i dig a hole a little bit deeper.
As in Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krishna said to Arjun “Do your works as a duty, but do not attach yourself with the results”
For last 4 years, I too have tried to not attach or obsess too much about goals and results. I only optimize around habits. This has made my life much easier. Surprisingly this has also made crushing goals easier :’)
NB: I would also love to know what is one thing that you have changed your mind on ?