Introduction
Welcome to the Guide2Life, a structured evidence-based approach to get the most out of life.
At the core of this guide is the belief that living well is a skill that can be learned and cultivated through intentional effort and practice.
- All changes to this guide are version controlled.
- Email [email protected] for contributions, feedback, and questions.
Drawing from a wide range of disciplines, including philosophy, evolutionary psychology, health sciences, and personal development, Guide2Life offers a structured approach to understanding and optimizing various aspects of your life. Whether you're seeking to lose weight, build stronger relationships, make better decisions, or find a deeper sense of purpose, this guide will provide you with practical strategies and insights to help you along the way.
One consequence of reading this guide is that you may, for the first time in your life, pay close attention to how you life. When you do this, you will quickly become aware just how much of your life is on autopilot, and how little conscious thought goes into daily life. This, in turn, defines how you spend your days, and ultimately, how you spend your life.
Objective
The objective of Guide2Life is to help you live better.
We do this in two ways
- Specific, actionable advice: This may mean solving a specific life problem, such as overcoming a pornography addiction, to broader strategies such as developing good habits and avoiding non-communicable diseases.
- Life Strategy: Understanding where you are in life, and what you should focus on next. You can then use point 1 to pick a specific topic to learn about and improve that aspect of your life.
In some ways, this can become a virtous loop:
Understand -> Action -> Review -> Decide -> Understand -> Action -> Review -> Decide ->
No Easy Answers warning
The goal here is not to prescribe an exact routine. Individual circumstances are far too varied for a step-by-step approach to work. What works in New York, London, or Milan will not necessarily work in rural Cambodia, Venezuela, or Subsaharan Africa.
We want to stress that there is no "magic bullet" to living well and having a meaningful life. It takes self-reflection, effort, and personal growth. While this guide provides evidence-based strategies and insights, it's important to understand that everyone's journey is unique. What works for one person may not work for another.
[quite a bit of duplication from the above, if I am honest]
Living well requires you to take an active role in shaping your life. It means questioning your assumptions, challenging your beliefs, and being open to new ideas and perspectives. It also means being willing to face discomfort and uncertainty as you step outside your comfort zone and explore new ways of thinking and being.
This guide is not a quick fix or a one-size-fits-all solution.
Rather, it's a starting point for your own journey of self-discovery and personal growth. Use the information and strategies presented here as a foundation, but don't be afraid to adapt and customize them to suit your own needs and circumstances.
Remember, living well is a lifelong process. It requires patience, perseverance, and a willingness to learn from your mistakes. There will be setbacks and challenges along the way, but with the right mindset and tools, you can overcome them and continue moving forward.
Ultimately, the goal of this guide is to empower you to take control of your life and create a future that aligns with your values and aspirations. By approaching life with intentionality and purpose, you can unlock your full potential and live a truly fulfilling life.
Structure
This guide in divided into parts for each functional area of life.
Rationale
"The unexamined life is not worth living." Socrates.
Thousands of people have written on the topic of how to live across the millennia — so why create Guide2Life?
Filling the Gap
There is a significant gap in the availability of a well-organized, trustworthy resource for living well. Many individuals struggle to find proper guidance, relying on trial and error to navigate personal and professional challenges. The information found in Guide2Life is widely available, but fragmented across various sources and lacks structure, which complicates the search for dependable advice.
Guide2Life was created to fill a significant gap: a well-organized, trustworthy resource for living well.
Education System Shortcomings
Traditional education systems have not filled this gap. Schools focus on academic subjects like math and geography but not the art of conversation, how to make critical decisions, or cook a healthy meal.
As a result, many individuals enter adulthood without the necessary tools to navigate the complexities of daily life effectively.
Information Overload
The explosion of information in the last few decades has, paradoxically, made it more difficult to get dependable advice. The amount of data created has grown exponentially. [1]
However, not all of this information is quality information. There are a lot of actors with misaligned incentives that want to profit from the various struggles that individuals face in their lives. The abundance of self-help resources in the digital age leads to confusion and difficulty distinguishing evidence-based advice from opinion, speculation, and click-bait.
Science Validates Classical Wisdom
Science is proving a lot of the classical thinkers right. Ideas that were born out of intuition and observation are now being proven with real, hard evidence. We can now reconcile prescientific philosophical advice with modern scientific findings — which makes it a great time for a reexamination of classical thinking.
We can keep what the science now backs, and disregard ideas that have not stood the test of time.
Guide2Life addresses these challenges by curating and synthesizing the best available evidence from various disciplines. The goal is not to prescribe a singular path to a live well lived, but rather to provide a reliable resource for those seeking to live a more intentional, fulfilling, and well-rounded life.
Guide2Life was made because we needed it!
Our founder has explored these topics extensively on his blog for over a decade. His insights, though valuable, were sporadic and not always evidence-based. His frustration in seeking a structured manual for how to live well led to the creation of Guide2Life.
Evidence-Based
Guide2Life is based on evidence, not personal opinion.
The guide references peer-reviewed studies and reports from reputable organizations whenever possible. We follow the scientific method — if new evidence emerges that contradicts current findings, the guide will be updated accordingly.
That said, the information here is also based on thousands of discussions with individuals across the world, asking about their experiences, challenges, and insights on living a fulfilling life.
The content blends scientific research, practical real-world advice, and philosophical wisdom in an accessible format, serving as a reference for specific topics and a starting point for further education.
Open Source
All Guide2Life information and systems are freely available for anyone to use, modify, and distribute.
Guide2Life is also version controlled. This means that every change, no matter how small, is logged.
Text on a documentation-style website is the perfect format. Traditional media like YouTube videos, podcasts, books, or PDF reports only show the final product. Updating them with new evidence is often impractical, leading to outdated references. A documentation-style website allows for easy updates, ensuring the information remains accurate and current with the latest research.
This is not to say that Guide2Life is a replacement for all other information sources. We provide recommended videos, podcasts, books, and blogs where you can explore topics further in a more engaging format.
This approach encourages a collaborative environment where experts and enthusiasts from around the world contribute their knowledge and experiences, enriching the content and ensuring it remains up-to-date and relevant.
The open-source nature of Guide2Life not only promotes transparency but also empowers readers. Readers can adapt the content to better suit their personal needs or even create localized versions that address specific cultural contexts or challenges.
This level of customization and flexibility is fundamental to the guide’s mission of providing accessible, personalized guidance to as many people as possible.
Free
All resources are completely free of charge.
We believe that high-quality, life-improving knowledge should be accessible to everyone, regardless of their economic situation.
The free access to Guide2Life supports the principle that personal growth and educational opportunities should not be commodified. It aligns with our core belief that empowering individuals to lead better lives leads to a better world. As users benefit from the guide without financial constraints, they are more likely to contribute back to the platform or help others in their journey, creating a virtuous cycle of learning and sharing.
Personal Responsibility
Ultimately, you are responsible for your life.
Guide2Life provides guidance and evidence-based recommendations, but you should do what’s best for you and take responsibility for your choices and actions. Adapt the advice to your unique situations and make decisions based on your personal values and goals.
When in doubt, speak to an expert.
References
Martin Hilbert and Priscila López, "The World's Technological Capacity to Store, Communicate, and Compute Information," Science 332, no. 6025 (2011): 60-65, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1200970. ↩︎