Personal Axioms

Core principles that guide my decisions and worldview. These are the foundational beliefs I return to when facing uncertainty or complexity.

On Learning & Growth

Embrace beginner's mind: Every expert was once a beginner. Approach new domains with curiosity rather than the need to appear knowledgeable.

Learn by building: Understanding comes through creation, not consumption. The best way to learn something is to try to make it.

Seek disconfirming evidence: Actively look for information that challenges your beliefs. Being wrong quickly is better than being wrong for a long time.

Questions > Answers: The quality of your questions determines the quality of your thinking. Good questions are more valuable than clever answers.

On Work & Purpose

Optimize for learning over earning: Early in your career, choose opportunities that teach you the most. Skills compound faster than salary.

Do things that don't scale: The most valuable work often can't be automated or systematized. Embrace the inefficient and personal.

Default to action: When in doubt, do something. Imperfect action beats perfect inaction every time.

Build things people want: The market is the ultimate judge of value. Build for real people with real problems.

On Relationships & Communication

Assume positive intent: Most conflicts arise from misunderstanding rather than malice. Start with curiosity, not judgment.

Be specific with praise, general with criticism: "You did X well" is more helpful than "You're good at this." "This could be better" is kinder than "You did Y wrong."

Listen to understand, not to reply: The goal of conversation is connection, not winning. Seek to understand before seeking to be understood.

Show up consistently: Reliability is a form of respect. Small, consistent actions build stronger relationships than grand gestures.

On Decision Making

Choose reversible decisions quickly: Most decisions are two-way doors. Make them fast and change course if needed.

Optimize for optionality: When uncertain, choose paths that keep more doors open rather than closing them.

Focus on inputs, not outcomes: You can't control results, but you can control effort, process, and choices.

When in doubt, choose the harder path: Easy choices often lead to hard lives. Hard choices often lead to easy lives.

On Technology & Progress

Tools amplify intent: Technology magnifies whatever you were already doing. If you were distracted before, it will make you more distracted.

Simple beats complex: The best solutions are often the simplest ones. Complexity is easy; simplicity is hard.

Local first, cloud second: Control your own data and tools when possible. The cloud is just someone else's computer.

Build for humans: Technology should serve human needs, not the other way around. If it makes life worse, it's bad technology.

On Money & Resources

Time is the ultimate currency: You can make more money, but you can't make more time. Spend it intentionally.

Enough is a decision: Wealth is not an amount of money; it's when you have enough. Decide what "enough" means for you.

Invest in yourself first: The best investment is developing skills that can't be taken away from you.

Money follows value: Focus on creating value for others, and money will follow. Chase money directly, and it becomes elusive.

On Health & Well-being

Sleep is not optional: Almost every problem is worse when you're tired. Prioritize sleep above almost everything else.

Move every day: The human body is designed for movement. Find ways to move that you enjoy, not endure.

Mental health is health: Taking care of your mind is as important as taking care of your body. Both require attention and maintenance.

Stress is information: Anxiety and stress are signals, not just problems to eliminate. Listen to what they're telling you.

On Personal Philosophy

Progress over perfection: Done is better than perfect. Perfect is often the enemy of good enough.

Embrace uncertainty: Life is fundamentally uncertain. Learn to be comfortable with not knowing.

You are not your thoughts: You have thoughts; you are not your thoughts. Observe them without being controlled by them.

Everything is temporary: Both good times and bad times pass. This perspective brings gratitude in success and hope in failure.

These axioms are not universal truths but personal operating principles. They've served me well, but your mileage may vary.

@article{yotam2025personal-axioms,
  title   = "Personal Axioms",
  author  = "Yotam, Kris",
  journal = "krisyotam.com",
  year    = "2025",
  month   = "May",
  url     = "https://krisyotam.com/notes/on-myself/personal-axioms"
}