How to implement first-principles thinking in long-term life planning?

Buddy, that's an excellent question, because most of us, when planning our lives, are essentially "copying homework." We look at what others are doing, what's popular in society, and then we just follow along. Few people truly stop to ask themselves what they really want. First Principles Thinking, simply put, teaches you how to "write your own homework, instead of copying it."

Let me try to break it down for you in plain language, on how to put this into practice.

Step One: Deconstruct Your "Ideal Life"

Don't start with vague goals like "I want to be successful," "I want to be rich," or "I want a good job." These are pre-packaged concepts from others, not truly yours.

What First Principles Thinking does is strip away these layers to see what's truly underneath.

How to do it? Grab a piece of paper, or open a memo app, and start relentlessly asking yourself "why."

• Example 1: I want to be "successful."

  • Why? -> Because success earns respect from others.
  • Why do I need respect from others? -> Because it gives me a sense of security and self-worth.
  • Okay, stop! "Security" and "sense of worth" are the more fundamental things. So, besides "success," what else can bring you security and a sense of worth? It could be a healthy body, intimate relationships, a commendable hobby, etc. See? The path immediately broadens.

• Example 2: I want to be "rich."

  • Why? -> Because being rich means I can buy whatever I want without looking at the price tag.
  • Dig a little deeper, why? -> Because it represents "freedom," the freedom to choose the life I want to live.
  • Dig even further! -> What exactly does this freedom entail? Is it "the confidence to quit my job anytime"? Is it "traveling abroad twice a year"? Is it "being able to provide a good life for my parents"?
  • See, the concept of "being rich" has been broken down into several specific, tangible "mini-goals." "Being rich" is a bottomless pit, but "traveling twice a year" is something quantifiable and plannable.

This way, you break down a vague, possibly imposed goal from society (like "success") into fundamental needs that are truly yours (like "security," "freedom of choice," "spending time with family"). These fundamental needs are the "first principles" of your life planning.

Step Two: Identify What Are "Physical Laws" and What Are "Social Rules"

In our lives, there are many constraints. First Principles Thinking requires us to distinguish between limitations that are unchangeable "physical laws" (like "humans need to eat" or "there are only 24 hours in a day") and "social rules" that can be broken (like "you must get married by 30" or "you must find a job related to your major after graduation").

• Physical Laws: Your energy is limited, your basic living expenses, laws and regulations, you must spend time learning a new skill to master it. These are rules you must abide by.
• Social Rules: Others' expectations of you, conventional career paths, consumerism traps (e.g., you must buy a car and a house to be considered settled). These are how "most people" play the game, but they might not be suitable for you.

Once you distinguish between the two, you'll realize that many things causing you anxiety are actually "social rules," not insurmountable obstacles in your life plan.

Step Three: Starting from Your "First Principles," Recombine Solutions

Now, you have two things in hand:

1. A collection of things you truly want (those deconstructed needs).
2. A list indicating what are true limitations and what are illusions.

Next comes the most interesting part: recombining them to create a path that is uniquely yours.

For example: Xiao Ming's traditional life plan might be: get into a good university -> join a big company -> get promoted and raise salary -> buy a house in a tier-one city -> get married and have children. This is the "copying homework" route.

Now, Xiao Ming rethinks using first principles:

1. Deconstruct Goals: He realized what he truly wanted wasn't the "big company halo" or a "tier-one city hukou," but "control over his time," "doing creative work," "enough time with family," and "a stable income."
2. Identify Constraints: The "physical law" was that he needed an income to cover living expenses. The "social rule" was that he "must" stay in Beijing or Shanghai, and he "should" work for a big company.
3. Reconstruct Path: He found that to satisfy his true needs, he didn't have to squeeze into a big company. He could choose:
   • Path A: Move to a second-tier city, find a less demanding but decent-paying job, and use the saved commuting time and energy to develop a side hustle, like becoming an independent developer or a video blogger.
   • Path B: Become a digital nomad, taking on remote work projects, traveling and working simultaneously, directly fulfilling his needs for "time control" and "creativity."
   • Path C: Start a business, creating a small but exquisite product. Though high-risk, it perfectly aligns with his pursuit of creativity and control.

These paths might seem "unreliable" in traditional eyes, but they are the optimal solutions derived strictly from Xiao Ming's own "first principles."

To summarize, putting it into practice involves three steps:

1. Deconstruct: Break down the grand goals society gives you into your simplest, most fundamental inner needs. Don't aim for "success," aim for "security"; don't aim for "wealth," aim for "freedom of choice."
2. Distinguish: Clearly separate the hard constraints you must abide by in life from the "unwritten rules" everyone else follows.
3. Build: Forget how others walk their path. Based on your fundamental needs and hard constraints, build a brand new, unique path for yourself, like stacking building blocks, one that truly satisfies your inner self.

This process will be a bit challenging, requiring you to be very honest with yourself and to have the courage to take the road less traveled. But once you start doing this, you'll no longer be drifting with the current; you'll be truly "designing" your own life.