The Gospel of u/Ryans01
Four Simple Rules for Success
In November of 2013, a guy named Max made a post in r/getdisciplined titled “I just don’t care about myself” where he asked for advice.
A user by the name of Ryans01 responded with what has become one of the most impactful comments in reddit history.¹ Here’s how he began the comment:
Ouch. Sounds like you're having a tough time max. That sucks. I've been there, so I kinda know what you're talking about. I've been in the ever circling vortex of self doubt, frustration, and loathing. It's no bueno. I know. If you don't mind lemme tell you a couple things.
Who am I? My name’s Ryan and I live in Canada. Just moved to a new city for a dream job that I got because of the rules below. I owe a lot of my success to people much cooler, kinder, more loving and greater than me. When I get the chance to maybe let a little bit of help out, it’s a way of thanking them.
I highly recommend you read Ryan’s entire comment for yourself. It’s well written and you’ll get a lot out of it.
Here, I’ll summarize the four rules Ryan lays out in his post. Both as a reminder to myself and to introduce these ideas to you.
Rule 1: No More Zero Days
A zero day is a day where you do absolutely nothing productive the whole day. The aim of this rule isn’t to instantly turn you into a productivity god, but to get you moving towards your goals, even if it’s little by little.
So what makes a day count as a non-zero day?
- doing 1 push-up
- reading 1 page (or even 1 sentence) of a book
- writing 1 sentence of an essay
That’s it. Making the requirements that easy means it’s much more likely that you’ll actually follow through with this rule.
Rule 2: Remember the 3 You’s
There are 3 you’s: the past you, present you, and future you.
There’s two parts to this rule, the first is about past you and the second is about future you.
First part: be grateful for the good things past you has done for you. Make sure to take time to thank your past self for any good decisions you made yesterday.² Here’s some examples Ryan gives:
- Was yesterday a nonzero day because you wrote 200 words? THANK YOU YOUNGER ME.
- Salad and tuna instead of Big Mac? THANK YOU YOUNGER ME.
Second part: do favors for your future self. Again, here’s some examples from Ryan:
- Tired as hell and can't get off reddit/videogames/interwebs? fuck you present self, this one's for future me, i'm gonna rock out p90x Ab Ripper X for 17 minutes.
- Alarm clock goes off and bed is too comfy? fuck you present self, this one's for my best friend, the future me. I'm up and going for a 5 km run (or 25 meter run, it's gotta be non zero).
Rule 3: Forgive Yourself
Don’t dwell on your past mistakes. Forgive your past self for letting you down and focus on doing things for future you.
Rule 4: Exercise and Books
This rule basically speaks for itself. Here’s some of the benefits of exercise and books to show how important they are.
Benefits of exercise:
- Reduces stress, anxiety, and depression.³
- Improves mood.
- Improves brain health.
- Increases your lifespan.
- Improves self-esteem.
- Improves sleep quality.
- Increases energy.
As for the benefits of reading, Ryan points out that “almost every fucking thing we've all ever thought of, or felt, or gone through, or wanted, or wanted to know how to do, or whatever, has been figured out by someone else.”
Here’s some of the books Ryan recommends:
- The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey
- Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Goleman
- Good to Great by Jim Collins
- Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman
To recap:
- No More Zero Days
- Remember the 3 You’s
- Forgive Yourself
- Exercise and Books
If you liked this post, check out my substack for more.
