Three Small Things That Make People Happy
I took a month and a half off recently — three weeks in the Bay Area, two weeks in New York. Because I'd put down almost all work, I was in a state of "all senses open" every day, which showed up in a marked increase in my daily Google usage. On the highway, for instance, I'd run into all kinds of signs — "PED," "XING," "JCT," "Yield," "Park & Ride" — that I'd seen countless times before, but
- Curiosity
I took a month and a half off recently — three weeks in the Bay Area, two in New York. With almost all work set aside, I found myself in a state of heightened sensory awareness, which manifested as a noticeable spike in my daily Google usage. On the highway, I'd encounter signs like "PED," "XING," "JCT," "Yield," "Park & Ride" — seen countless times before but never really registered — and feel an urgent compulsion to look each one up. Every unfamiliar neighborhood, city, street, restaurant, or landmark sent me to Wikipedia for history and geography, turning up all kinds of fascinating little facts. I also fell into the habit, half-deliberately and half-organically, of checking Product Hunt and BuzzFeed News each day to see what was happening, what was being created. Reconnecting with my curiosity about the world made me genuinely happy.
- Freedom
I've been listening to Hillary Clinton's Hard Choices on audiobook during drives lately — her memoir from her time as Secretary of State. For years, I'd auto-filter anything involving the Middle East, Afghanistan, or Islam as "none of my business." But the book, combined with this renewed curiosity, led me to follow up on regions and events with deep dives on Zhihu and Wikipedia. The things that have happened in the world these past few years left me stunned. I felt a twinge of frustration at my own selective blindness, and also began re-examining the government I complain about daily. The environment, congestion, wealth inequality, speech controls — there's plenty to dissatisfy. Yet this era is the best China has seen in a century, and far better than most countries and regions worldwide. At minimum, this age grants us an enormous degree of freedom: to choose whom to love, what to do, where to go, what future to hope for and work toward. That's already a rare and precious gift worth cherishing. Recognizing this made me happy too.
- Sense of Mission
The day after returning to Beijing, I threw myself into new work. This startup feels far more deliberate than Jiepang. Back then, I more or less stumbled into it; only after a month or two did it hit me — "holy shit, I'm starting a company." This time, there was a clear internal voice: "Alright, let's start a company." I've also felt something unprecedented: the call of mission. I realize I've been fortunate to absorb more information, perspective, and experience than most, and that this era has endowed me with far more opportunity, room, and capital than my parents' generation had. Sensing that I've been "chosen" breeds mission — an urge to convert what's been given into output, to create valuable knowledge, insight, and understanding. Recognizing this convinces me I'll have genuine motivation to work hard for a long time to come. That makes me happy as well.
The photos show the view from my new office window. On clear days, standing here, I think: Beijing is good, this era is good. Need to work harder, to make the world even a little better.
P.S. I've been using Zhihu Dudu Daily frequently to log all my fragmented mobile reading. Follow and chat if you're interested — the daily is called "Startups, Life, and Distant Horizons."