Because an unexamined life is not worth living, I look back at the just-ended year (like I did at the end of 2022, 2023, and 2024), and draw lessons for the next. I also share the best music, movies, and books that I came across in 2025.
Lessons
1. Keep it Simple, Stupid (K.I.S.S.)
Let me start off with a couple of confessions.
These days, if you walk into my house unannounced, you are very likely to trip on a misplaced kettlebell. Before you accuse me of being some sort of “soviet ideological revivalist”, I will explain why I own a kettlebell. It will speak directly to strong arguments in favor of the Keep It Simple, Stupid (K.I.S.S.) principle.
For the past 5 or 6 years, I have been involved with either calisthenics or weight training. It all started somewhere in 2019 after a blood pressure reading that led to a counseling session. While that is an interesting story altogether, I think we should stick to my trajectory today.
My trajectory had several key phases: 1) I started out with simple exercises, then 2) went into the gym and ambitiously tried every type of exercise. As age-in-the-gym transformed into a little wisdom, 3) I stuck to more compound exercises, but often trained for hours, 4 or 5 times a week. With more wisdom came the realization that 4) I could get even better results with three 1-hour sessions, if I followed scientific principles (thank you, Dr. Mike Mentzer), instead of just deploying raw power. All of that came just before I became a very busy adult, and time and logistical constraints meant that even going to the gym twice a month was a miracle for me. And so I found 5) myself back to doing more calisthenics, almost identical to my first phase, but with less hubris. These days, 6) I follow a schedule that is a mix of kettlebell training, calisthenics, and outdoor running. Similar to what I tried to describe in Life As a Ping-Pong Bat, my trajectory brought me right back to where I started, only a little bit wiser.
This year, I have found (in a very lived way) that the most distinguishing mark of mastery is simplicity. There are few things that scream “I know what I am doing” more than an unwavering commitment to keeping moving parts to a shocking minimum. In hindsight, I tried to say something very similar in a 2024 article titled Holistic Minimalism, but I clearly was - and am not yet - a master. I should have simply told you to: Keep it Simple, Stupid!
Now, before you go off mindlessly cutting, let me state that I strongly believe that the ability to K.I.S.S. itself is a consequence of struggle.
I will tell you another story.
Although I have never really been his student, now-retired Prof. David Vernon is one of my favourite professors. One thing I really admire about him is his ability to magically stop ALL work at 5 p.m. without failure.
I think myself very lucky that Prof. Vernon used the same road on which I did my morning runs to drive to school. I say I was lucky because seeing him drive to school every day at 6:30 am, and then noticing the focus with which he worked till his pre-determined hard stop of 5:00 pm gave me perspective on how he could achieve so much without working till 3 a.m. like some of his students who achieved less. I’ll tell you what, while I have never asked Prof. Vernon directly (maybe I should), I think that the simplicity of his work habits are a result of many years of dedicated struggle and a relentless commitment to find effective and durable ways to achieve his work. In other words, the wisdom and simplicity of his approach are not a result of a copy-and-paste approach to life, but of struggle.
While the beauty and practicality of K.I.S.S.ing may be undeniable, you are going to have to work your way into them; you can’t mindlessly cut your way into what is a result of hard-earned mastery. There is no short-cut, no aphrodisiac, and no magic. It is important, however, to realize that while you struggle and work your way to mastery, the pursuit of simplicity is the end goal. That will allow you to keep an eye open for what eventually needs to be cut, and will hasten your path to becoming a master.
Happy struggling!
2. Strive to reduce the number of “big days” in your life
One thing I admire about the average Briton is that they understand that the home is for living; there are no tables on which the kids are not allowed to scribble, and whatever is in the house is used for makeshift purposes when the moment calls for it. There are no artifacts in the house that are too important to be used, and even fewer that are owned for the purposes of inspection.
This year, I learned that consciously living every day like you live every day was key to having a good life. It is the source of immense peace and confidence. I would like to emphasize the word “consciously” because while it may seem like it, this is not an exhortation to careless abandon. Far from it. On the contrary, this is an exhortation to 1) find ways to lift oneself out of the gloom and doom of the complicated days, 2) embrace the simplicity that comes with the simple days, and 3) find ways to guard oneself from excess on the sunnier days. In other words, it is an exhortation to find ways to ensure that in the long term, one’s life is lived in a state of equilibrium.
You see, the human body comes with a built-in appreciation of equilibrium, and spends most of its resources trying to achieve that. Since the body’s internal mechanisms cannot exert control on our social and external realities, the task of making sure that 1) we do not push the body to overwork itself in ensuring internal equilibrium, and 2) of ensuring external equilibrium in our lives falls to our judgment.
I have two examples of the exercise of such judgment that I have come to appreciate more in the just-ended year. One is from a footballer, and the other is from a key aspect of triumphs that were accorded in antiquity to Rome’s greatest generals.
As a sworn madridista, Toni Kroos used to be, and is still one of my all-time favorite footballers. Besides loving the superiority of his technique, one thing I really admired about him was his ability to stay calm during games where the opponent’s press was causing enormous confusion for the team. That calmness often enabled him to dictate how the team played: if Toni wanted the team to play a fast game, he sped things up, if he wanted the team to play slowly, he slowed things down. This ability to control the tempo of the game and keep his calm in tough situations earned him nicknames such as “The Sniper” among English journalists, and “Der Professor” in Germany.
One thing that I find remarkable about Toni Kroos is that he used the same boot for most of his career. Now, if you are deep in football lore, you immediately understand how remarkable that is. If you are not, let me just say that it is almost like Beyoncé wearing the same hair for most of her career. There are many theories as to how Toni was able to stay calm and collected in difficult situations. Although I find arguments that German culture and his demonstrated superior intelligence contributed significantly to this attribute of his, I think an often forgotten fact is how he thought of and treated his boots. Yes, you read that right: his attitude towards his boots played a key role in keeping him grounded.
For a career that spanned 17 years, Toni Kross wore the same type of boot for 11 years, often changing pairs only when the tears became unbearable. As boots got better and players tried out new pairs every now and then, Toni remained Toni with his dedication to a model he found worked for him. He even washed them by himself! In 2024 after Real Madrid won the UEFA Champions League, a video of Toni Kroos washing his own boots in a stadium sink emerged.
How could a UEFA Champions League final be a big game if he was using the same model he used in an inconsequential league game 7 years ago, and a washed pair that he used in a friendly the previous week?
My second example comes from an old Roman tradition.
Every time Rome organized a triumph for a gallant general that was returning to the city, the slave who held the laurel above their head throughout the parade was also tasked with repeating the words “Memento Mori” (Latin for “Remember You will Die”) to the general’s hearing amidst the cheers and adulation. Even on his sunny day, the likes of Julius Caesar and Pompey Magnus had to be reminded that immortality was reserved for the gods, and their high achievement did not make them less vulnerable to the dagger of the common man.
A triumph was a big day, but if one was reminded of the fact that death was looming, could it really be a big day? You and I are no Toni Kroos, nor are we on course to enjoy the victory of Rome’s conquering generals. And yet, like them, we have to struggle to find ways to reduce the number of big days in our life; we have to remind ourselves that even things that matter don’t matter, and to strive to live every day like we would live every day.
3. Have more questions than convictions
It is common and largely accepted wisdom that one’s ability to ask good questions is superior to their ability to find impressive answers. What are the implications with regards to the balance of one’s “question bank” and their “conviction bank”?
This year, I spent a lot of time learning about and observing the human brain’s remarkable capability to interpret new facts to suit previously held convictions. I learned for example that while the human eye has only three color receptors (red, blue, and green), the mantis shrimp has 12–16 different color receptors! On the other hand, bees, birds, and reindeer can see wavelengths that we human beings cannot see. Even among us, some people are color-blind. The direct implication is that color is not a direct property of light, but a computation. But I digress.
Is our ability to accurately appreciate the reality that surrounds us also a computation? I think it is. The arguments for this position may require an entire essay, so I will proceed with the assumption that you agree with me.
Is reality fixed or in constant flux? Bear with me for trying to revive Heraclitus vs Parmenides, or Einstein vs Bohr. My position on the question (and I think this position is consistent with the current zeitgeist) is that it depends on which level one is looking at.
Let us examine what accepting these two positions mean for the ideal balance of one’s question and conviction banks.
For aspects of reality that are fixed, questions should lead us to convictions that are definite. If you strive to know what is true about things that don’t change, then the truth that you know should remain true. You can learn what is true by rote memorization, or you could learn to work your way to the truth with a degree of certainty. Assuming that what is not meant to change does not change, then rote memorization is as good a form of learning as the question-based quest for truth. But what if what is not meant to change actually changes? Then the question-based quest for truth becomes the only way to know what is true.
For aspects of reality that are in flux, it goes without saying that there is no value in memorizing convictions.
If we tried to put the arguments above in a matrix, it would look something like what I have below.
| Reality that is fixed | Reality that is in flux | |
|---|---|---|
| Reality that is understood to be fixed | Questions and convictions are equally important | Questions are more important |
| Reality that is understood to be in flux | Questions are more important | Questions are more important |
Just have more questions than convictions!
If you have ever written code before, I hope this brings nostalgic memories of the old debate of when to store a quantity in a variable (and change it after predefined events using a simplified computation such as an addition or subtraction), and when to deploy a full algorithm to determine the quantity.
Having more questions may not be easy, but it may be worth it.
4. Speed kills
I have yet another confession to make. I am lazy. Or perhaps, I am strategically slow.
I spent months wanting to argue that direction must always take priority over speed. I hesitated because I couldn’t find a “balanced” way to say it. But I believe an end-of-year-lessons essay affords me the luxury of subjectivity, so I will say it plainly: Speed kills.
Let me borrow an allegory from military strategy.
In military strategy, there is a clear distinction between a raid and a war of occupation. In a raid, speed is everything. In an occupation, speed is a trap, and a general who captures territory faster than they can defend it has not won so much as they have extended their neck for the noose.
Consider for instance, Napoleon’s invasion of Russia. The “lazy” Russian General Kutuzov gave Napoleon the speed he so desired on a silver plate. The strategically slow Kutuzov retreated and burned his own cities, and lured the French deeper into the Russian void. Napoleon moved fast, but he could not consolidate: he took the territory, but he couldn’t hold the reality of it, and then winter came.
This applies to our careers and projects. The more ambitious the project, the more you need an architect. If you build a skyscraper at the speed of a tent, it will collapse under its own weight.
Before you celebrate a “quick win,” ask yourself if/how you can defend your newly won territory. If the answer is no,then you may die at the mercy of your speed.
5. And yet, action!
My four lessons above may seem like a stimulus for paralysis. If I work so hard to keep things simple, if I reduce the number of big days in my life, become a dealer in questions, and spend my time introspecting, will I do anything? I bet you have been wondering.
That is why there is no better lesson than to learn, as I did in 2025, that in all of this, you have to act! How can we act given everything that we have just said?
I think there are three key principles for guiding action when one has taken into consideration the four previous lessons. Firstly, one must appreciate the fact that they do not need all the stars to align before they act and develop the guts to exercise their judgment contextually. Secondly, one must improve their antenna for recognizing when decisions have bad consequences and the ability to course correct. And lastly, one must seek to take more asymmetric action.
NB.
- Every year I myself wonder why I have to list 5 random things I have learned even when they don’t tie together into a nice and consistent essay. This year I figured out why: the dots connect backwards. I hope that perhaps after 10 years of doing this, a pattern or framework will emerge from these lessons. For you my reader, I hope that you don’t try to see these 5 lessons as an attempt to describe a consistent system of any sort, but to connect them to whatever dots you may have already been connecting yourself.
- I have spent much time wondering what LLMs mean for hobbyist writers like me, and if keeping a small, non-commercial blog like mine is of any use in 2025. I would like to hear from you! Please write to me at info@karllemfon.com
The Best Things of 2025
Books
- Do Not Disturb: The Story of a Political Murder and an African Regime Gone Bad, by Michela Wrong.
- Against the Odds: An Autobiography, by James Dyson.
- Last Man Standing: The Ascent of Jamie Dimon and JPMorgan Chase, by Duff McDonald.
Music
- Ayeyi Wura, by Harmonious Chorale Ghana.
- Matthäus-Passion, BWV 244, Pt. 1: No. 15, Choral. “Erkenne mich, mein Hüter”, by Nikolaus Harnoncourt · Arnold Schoenberg Chor · Wiener Sängerknaben
- The Man I Could Be, by Benjamin William Hastings.
Movies
- Once Upon a Time in America, Directed by Sergio Leone.
- The Alto Knights, Directed by Barry Levinson
- The Man Who Would Be King, Directed by John Huston
Favourite Quotes
“What’d you do that for? I know it’s a killer shot, but every short doesn’t have to be a killer. Sometimes the best shot is a holding shot, an OK shot, a shot that gives the other guy a chance to miss. Let the other guy play.”
Open: An Autobiography - Andre Agassi
“One lesson I’ve learned is that if the job I do were easy, I wouldn’t derive so much satisfaction from it. The thrill of winning is in direct proportion to the effort I put in before. I also know, from long experience, that if you make an effort in training when you don’t especially feel like making it, the payoff is that you win games when you are not feeling your best.”
Rafa - Rafael Nadal and John Carlin
“There is no such thing as a quantum leap. There is only dogged persistence - and in the end you make it look like a quantum leap.”
Against the Odds: An Autobiography - James Dyson
“Jamie will think and think and think and make sure he’s doing the right thing, but once he wants to do it, he wants it done yesterday.”
Last Man Standing: The Ascent of Jamie Dimon and JPMorgan Chase - Duff McDonald.
Happy new year!
In Memoriam
John Fullerton MacArthur Jr. (1939 - 2025) and Voddie Tharon Baucham, Jr. (1969 - 2025), two men who’s lives and convictions greatly shaped mine, passed unto glory in 2025. May their memories and work continue to bear fruit. I had the rare privilege of meeting Voddie and listening to him for 6 hours in a small cramped church. He was even more forceful and electric in person.