—Spend your free time the way you like, not the way you think you’re supposed to.

—Discover your natural personality and how to make the most of it.

—Develop a newfound sense of entitlement to be yourself.

—Love knowledge for its own sake, not necessarily as a blueprint to action. Pursue an activity for its own sake, not for the rewards it brings.

—Learn to not worry so much about outcomes, but concentrate on the present moment and try to be in it as ideally as you can when experiencing it.

—Pay attention to one thing at a time.

—Spend time inside the familiar—and intellectually fertile—environment of your mind.

—Insist upon the freedom to map your destiny. Shape yourself and make what you will of your life.

—Know that Enjoyment appears at the boundary between boredom and anxiety when the challenges are balanced with your capacity to act.

—Organize your life according to what personality psychologists call “optimal levels of arousal.” Find your “sweet spots,” and feel more energetic and alive.

—Speak with the courage of your convictions.

—Practice empathy. Listen carefully to others and respond thoughtfully.

—Think back to what you loved to do as a child. How did you answer the question of what you wanted to be when you grew up? This may help you discover where to go when you want to return to your true self.

—Value intimacy highly.

—We’re best off when we don’t allow ourselves to go to our angry place.

—Encourage your inner journey, the quest for a center. We may have lost our center in the tumult of the first half of life and have to find it again.

—Discover the proper lighting for your life. For some, it’s a Broadway spotlight; for others, a lamplit desk.

—Use your natural powers—of persistence, concentration, insight, and sensitivity—to do work you love and that matters. Solve problems, make art, and think deeply.

—Read. Cook. Fuck. Run. Write a story.

—Make a deal with yourself that you’ll attend a set number of social events in exchange for not feeling guilty when you beg off.

—Describe or paint your inner landscape.

***Thanks to Susan Cain’s insightful book: “Quiet: The Power of Introverts In A World that can’t Stop Talking” for inspiring these random but priceless insights.