On self help 2026 and beyond

Just another ego maniac’s “look at me” self-help post.

Kiiski

Jan 27, 2026

Just sharing my self-help tricks and tips that have helped me. We have come quite a long way from the 2023 plan!

My personal plan and goals for 2023

Kiiski

January 28, 2023

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Start small, experiment with what works for you. This might look a bit intimidating, but start small! I am also not some “I know it all” Jacket to the fucking teeth monk who is smart and wins all the time. I am quite the opposite, but we try to get better little by little!

The morning routine

Wake up.

Read 5-15 minutes something “philosophical” and grounding, e.g., Marcus Aurelius meditations (1). This grounds me, soothes me, no need to check phone, fuck that phone. I also do my HRV test with Polar strap here (5min).

5-5-5-30sec. 5-lunges - 5-squats - 5-pushups - 30s lunge (2), just to wake up that body!

Bike to work 15-25min. (Weekends no)

Go bike with trainer 45-75min. (Weekends no)

Morning words 750 (3). Start small, maybe with 250, work your way to 500 and to 750, it will take time. This is my morning brain dump. I write whatever shit I have in mind. Sometimes there is nothing, and sometimes there is a lot. The goal here is just to write; sometimes it is meditative, sometimes something else. This has helped me massively. I will never give up this habit.

Bend 5min (4). Simple morning routine just to shake things up!

Meditation. 8+10 min. 8min intention meditation (what I want) and 10min free non-guided meditation (5).

Ready to hustle! After this routine, the day is easier to conquer. How the fuck does this wanker have so much time?! Well, I go to bed at 20:00, and I wake up at 04:00, so that’s how.

I used to be one of those wankers who watch some stupid Netflix or play video games after 21:00, “now it is my time,” and wonder how I am tired all day and annoyed? You want to survive the day or win the day?

Exercising, working out & GYM

I used to be quite a heavy gym-goer; I loved lifting shit and pushing myself. It was my meditation and a place to vent all the shit out after the day.

I am 40 years old. I need to train smarter! Be that witty grey fox, listen to my body, and get in shape slowly but surely. I track my HRV every morning (6). I want to do things other than just lift weights. After lifting, my nervous system is fried, and HRV is red for days. I was sick more often, and I was tired all the time… I dropped the gym for now and have been doing a simple calisthenics routine 2x a week instead.

+ Less injuries?! There is no day off from bodyache if you lift hard…

+ My “balance was shit,” now it is getting better!

+ Its fun to try new things.

At 40+, I prefer functional readiness, injury avoidance, and lifelong physical resilience, Calisthenics > GYM… For now!

Cardio is also one of my weaknesses, since I focused so much on lifting. I now bike every morning with Swift (a new hobby I started in 2025). 5 months in, let’s see where this takes us.

Monday 45-60min swift workout (moderate sweetspot/tempo)

Tuesday 45min ez ride with robopacer + calisthenics after work (30-40min)

Wednesday 45-60min ez ride.

Thursday 45min ez ride + calisthenics after work (30-40min)

Friday VO2 max day! Fun day!

If HRV doesn’t cooperate, only ez rides and 1 set of calisthenics or rest! Respect HRV. I shifted from “training hard” to training repeatably. I enjoy this!

Food

My biggest weakness at the moment. Since I move quite a lot, I have given myself the luxury to eat a lot… I go to the lunch place and eat all kinds of shit from the buffet. I used to measure everything and eat very strictly. Prepping the food took so much time… Well, only 30-45min everyday, so not that much. I am at 92,5kg, 178cm long, so yes, I am a little bit “fat.” It got up there last summer when i had my first holiday in +10 years! So well done!

Well, the good news is that the weight has stayed the same for the last 6months, so with a little bit of discipline, I could drop some weight. Again i need to be a lot smarter here at 40+ if I cut a lot → sick and recovery is very bad. I still order the majority of my food straight from the producers and eat clean! I should still cut to like 15-20% bodyfat. No point for me to push anymore under 15% or are there any benefits?

Dropping News and Social media.

The daily news outlets I used to read here in Finland: Yle.fi, Hs. fi, Is. fi, Il. fi, are all shit, so shit, but for many years I tortured myself. Idiotic takes, idiotic “experts”, these are so shit, but yet every day I clicked on these. I was addicted to the rage over how shit the “news” was.

Please give me a noteworthy article that teaches you something, not one that makes you furious? Maybe at HS.fi we can find a few if we go back more than +10years.

Same with X, I was a “heavy user” scrolling etc, but yeah its 99% just shit.

The biggest problem with the X and “News” is that they feel like the most productive, high-value actions when you have nothing else to do. We get these microbreaks all the time, and we go to our phone (9)… They give nothing and doesnt provide any value.

After 1 month, I take a look at X feed or the hs.fi? It is hard to comprehend how retarded and full of shit they are. I just can’t fathom it.

I know it is hard to get out of the loop, trust me, I was so addicted to this shit. Once you realise it is just stealing your time, making you rage, and giving you zero value, staying off from it has never been easier.

Start with digital detox days. Sunday? Then add Saturday. Slowly and surely, it will grow from there. Pick up the phone/go to the computer, go check “news”? WTF? No?

Well want to still “check” something? I recommend Kagi news and newsletters; just look at the headings and react very stoically (10). I don't need to read a reaction piece by some idiot or idiot-expert; journalism has died. I still write here at substack and read occasionally. If I also have to check “social media,” I use Nostr. It is a bit weird, but it's ok. 5 minutes a day is more than enough, no algorithm to make you addicted!

Meditation

I have been doing this for 3+ years, and it has helped me a lot.

+ Better awareness and focus

+ Self-discipline

+ Discovering new things about me

+ I don’t lose my nerves so easily

+ Clarity

+ Better “visualization” skills?

It is one of the hardest things in the world to sit down and just focus on your breath. It is hard. I have tried to shill meditation to friends and family, and usually I just get strange looks, “this fucker has finally lost it all”. I seriously have zero idea why meditation is such a huge “turn off”, maybe it is the image of some hippie sitting in a garden in zen mode and fear that you become “lazy”. I have become laser-focused, 10x more efficient mofo, big thanks to this practice.

Start with just 5-10 minutes, preferably with some guided meditation, pick whatever you like! It will be hard, and you will feel clueless. Go to the gym for the first time, yeah, zero clue how to use the weights and machines, no wonder so many just try it out once and never try again (11).

Work-life balance

I already did hustle 12h a day for years; it is totally fine. Also totally fine to do a little bit less. I used to run the business the wrong way, 100% everything depended on me, and it must go the other way.

Success can be other things than just revenue, profit margin, and what is the number you get when you do exit?

Running a business is very, very hard; not many can do it. Treat it more like a game / fun puzzle to solve, as I did with investing (just a hobby), no need to be so serious. It is 10x more fun this way, and hopefully the results will be too! No need to stress or lose sleep over this (we can start over, and it is more than ok).

No alcohol and Sleep

I am still alcohol free 4 years already! Feels good! One major part it has helped with is that sleep is better and more regular.

I go on the weekends too, sleeping at 20:00, yeah, go to the bar with friends and sneak home at 4am? Well next week is fucked up. Never say never, if my relationship with alcohol were better, why not? Is it beneficial to “reset” properly once in a while? Maybe yes. For me, living without alcohol works wonders at the moment.

The night stack: Because sleep becomes a contact sport at +40y old.

Glycine, 2 magnesium pills, L-theanine, and Ashwagandha. Evening meal 19:00
10-min night bend routine to wind down.
10-min 4-7-8 breathing.
Read book in bed → Fall asleep
Get a weighted blanket and get your room dark!

I used to be one of those guys who slept only 4-6 hours, “sleeping is for losers.” I operate 5x better when sleeping GOOD 7-9h!

Reading and being curious

Since dropping the news and social media, my reading has increased. I also replaced podcasts with audiobooks. Keep books around you everywhere! I have a Kobo at work, a Kobo at home, and books scattered everywhere. That 5-20min downtime? Just read for fuck sake! “Oh, let's open X.” No, we read the actual book! Currently, I’m in a small oil quest (Oil has been such a hated asset class, so I got interested) and, for fun, started reading some books on it. The king of oil → The Titan → Now reading The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money, and Power.

I also read and study Austrian economics for 25 minutes a day, for my enjoyment (currently reading Rothbard).

Taking notes / writing more

I have also started a small habit of journaling more, writing down ideas and plans, and carrying a small notebook. This is also good since dropping the social media and news, there are still those small microbreaks, “Wtf I do now?” Well, try writing something or reading? Good to also do just nothing!

Writing by hand is also more beautiful and feels better. Is it me writing here, or Grammarly/computer?

No debt / Bitcoin / Frugality / Minimalist

“It is not the man who has too little, but the man who craves more, that is poor. ”

― Seneca

Be it meditation, no alcohol or whatever… Why shill low time preference? I am just so fucking tired of “financialization of everything” tap out! I refuse this.

The world wants you in debt, distracted, and dependent. Opt out.

Of course, I continue to ramble about Bitcoin and investing. Bitcoiners need to stop preaching and start living. Show the way. Be the proof. Stack sats, but also stack health, stack time, stack peace of mind. That's the real flex.

Wrap-up

That’s it for now. This is my 2025 blueprint - not a finished product, just what I am doing at the moment. I’ll revisit this in 2027 and see what stuck, what changed, and what new shit I picked up along the way.

Yes, I know, this reads like some ego maniac’s “look at me” self-help post. But I’m not here to preach or pretend I’ve got it figured out. These have helped me! Or maybe I'm just a 40-year-old wanker on a bike at 5 am, convincing myself I'm winning. Either way, I feel better. That's enough.

The books / Resources

(1) https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/19776547-essentialism

Good book, worth your time, easy to read, less is more!

(2) https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/212806718-the-5-types-of-wealth

This reads like my consultant friends made a self-help book with ChatGPT, still, there are good sources, and you will get something out of it, even if it is a bit annoying. I would still recommend this, especially if you haven't read much of “self-help”, it’s a ok place to start.

(3) https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6659434-the-artist-s-way-every-day