Member-only story
Sah’s Notes
Twenty One vs. Thirty One.
The freedom and stability paradox.
There are many ideas that 21-year-old me and 31-year-old me have in common.
The one category of values that has stood the test of time and probably grown stronger is freedom, agency, and optionality.
Decisions I’ve made about work type, location, and finances all ladder up to the principle of preserving agency.
Some of these are big actions or decisions:
- A large “fuck you” fund with high liquidity.
- Work that can be done independently of location.
- Relentless preservation of time.
But…
The most significant change in values that partially contradicts this, particularly in terms of location, is my new value of community.
This wasn’t a big value at 21. I could have dropped everything and moved continents with no issues; in fact, I was very mobile for a long time.
Freedom, agency, optionality — that’s what was important.
However, moving for an extended period of time would now be emotionally painful.
This doesn’t mean it’d never happen, but it does mean that there’s a shift and friction in my values.
