The Paradoxes of Life

This podcast discusses various paradoxes that we encounter in life. These paradoxes include the growth paradox, where growth happens gradually and then suddenly; the persuasion paradox, where the most persuasive people observe, listen, and ask questions instead of arguing; the effort paradox, where putting in more effort makes things appear effortless; the wisdom paradox, where the more we learn, the more we realize how much we don't know; the productivity paradox, where working longer doesn't necessarily result in more productivity; the speed paradox, where slowing down can actually help us speed up; the money paradox, where sometimes we have to lose money to make money; the news paradox, where consuming more news actually makes us less informed; the Icarus paradox, where what makes us successful can also lead to our downfall; the failure paradox, where our greatest moments of growth come from our failures; the shrinking paradox, where sometimes we need to let go of things to grow; th Namaskar, hello and welcome to this edition of We Think India Mornings and today we would be bringing to you some of the most powerful paradoxes which we all witness in our lives and knowing about these paradoxes would perhaps help us in winning over them and leading and living our lives towards fulfillment. So the first paradox we would like to discuss is the growth paradox. Growth takes a much longer time coming than you think and then it happens much faster than we ever would have thought. Growth happens gradually, then suddenly. When we realize this, we start to do things differently. The persuasion paradox, the most persuasive people don't argue, they observe, listen and ask questions. We have to argue less and persuade more. The third paradox you would like to present today is the effort paradox. We have to put in a lot more efforts to make something appear effortless. Effortless, elegant performances are often the result of a large volume of effortful, gritty practice. Small things become big things. Simple is after all not that simple. The wisdom paradox, the more I learn, the more I realize how much I don't know, said the genius in Albert Einstein. The more we learn, the more we are exposed to the immediate unknown and this should be empowering, not frightening. Let's embrace our own ignorance. Let's embrace a mode of lifelong learning. The next paradox we would like to talk about is the productivity paradox. Work longer and get less done. Parkinson's law says that the work expands to fill the time available for its completion. When you establish fixed hours to your work, we will find that unproductive ways to fill it in. So we work like a lion, instead sprint, rest and repeat. The speed paradox. We have to slow down to speed up. Slowing down gives us the time to be deliberate with our actions. We can focus, gather energy and deploy our resources more efficiently. It allows us to focus on leverage and ROI, not on the effort alone. The money paradox. We have to lose money at times in order to make money. Every successful investor and builder has stories of the invaluable lessons learned from a terrible loss in their career. Sometimes we have to pay to learn. Let's put our skin in the game. Scared money doesn't make money. The news paradox. The more news we consume, the less well informed we are. The Nassim Taleb noise bottleneck says that more data leads to a higher noise to signal ratio. So we end up knowing less about what is actually going on. The Icarus paradox. Icarus crafted wings but flew too close to the sun. So they melted and he fell to his death. What makes us successful can lead to our very own downfall. An incumbent achieves success with one thing, but overconfidence blinds them to the coming disruption. We have to feel more to succeed more. This is the failure paradox. We have to feel more to succeed more. Our greatest moments of growth often stem directly from our greatest failures. So don't fear failure. Just learn to fail smart and fast. Getting punched in the face builds a very strong jaw. The shrinking paradox. In order to grow, sometimes we need to shrink. Growth is never linear. Shedding dead weight may feel like a step back. But it is a necessity for long term growth. One step back, two steps forward is a recipe for consistent long term success. The Tony Robinson's paradox, it says that in investing, the willingness to admit that we have no competitive advantage can be the ultimate competitive advantage. Strong self awareness breeds high quality decision making. Foolish self confidence breeds nothing of use. Be self aware and act accordingly. The death paradox says, know your death in order to truly live your life. Memento Mori is a stoic reminder of the certainty and instability of death. It is not intended to be morbid, rather to clarify, illuminate and inspire. Death is inevitable. Life live while you are alive. The say no paradox, take on less, accomplish more. Success doesn't come from taking on everything that comes your way. It comes from focus, deep focus on the tasks that really matter. Say less to what matters. Say no to what doesn't. So protect your time as a gift to be cherished. The talking paradox. We have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak, said Epictetus. If you want your words and ideas to be heard, start by talking less and listening more. You will find more power in your words. Talk less to be heard more. The connectedness paradox. More connectedness, less connected. We are constantly connected, bombarded by notifications and dopamine hits. But while we have more connectedness, we feel less connected. Put down the phone, look someone in the eye, have a conversation. And most importantly, breathe. The Talib surgeon paradox. Looking the part is sometimes the worst indicator of competency. The one who doesn't look the part has had to overcome much more to achieve its status than the one from central casting. If forced to choose, choose the one that doesn't look the part. The 18th paradox we would like to discuss today is the looking paradox. You may have to stop looking in order to find what you are looking for. Have you noticed that when you are looking for something, you rarely find it? Stop looking what you are looking for may just find you. Applies to love, business, investing, all life. The fear paradox. The thing we fear the most is often the thing you most need to do. Fears when avoided become limiters on our growth and life. Make a habit of getting closer to your fears. Then take the leap. You may just find growth on the other side. And last paradox we would like to discuss is the constant change paradox. When you're finished changing, you are finished said Benjamin Franklin. The only constant in life is change. It is the one thing you can always count on the only constant, embrace it, be dynamic and be adaptable. We hope that this podcast would come handy to you in handling some of the finest, I would say some of the most intertwined and convoluted paradox of our life. It equips us to handle them well. Namaskar.