Advice to Young People, The Lies I Tell Myself

Full article by Jason Liu (jxnl), originally published June 2024 and updated March 2026 with new material after his 32nd birthday. The piece is framed as advice to his younger sister Katherine, and as "the lies I tell myself to keep on living my life in good faith."

The original essay covers: choosing and existential freedom, luck as perceptual breadth, getting jobs through giving rather than applying, being good at many things, confidence through preparation, choosing happiness, writing, doing things scared, detaching identity from work, simplicity, goodness vs greatness, self-worth, self-talk, social media, isolation, mirrors, pessimism, anticipation, and attention as a gift.

The 2026 update adds: using your resources ("potions"), the math of good vs bad decisions, money psychology (growing up poor, talking openly about money, making money with friends, what your future self would pay), and not letting financial anxiety block life experiences.