Seven years ago I was a Minecraft addicted, grade obsessed, insecure 16 year old. Now, I'm a Cornell Grad with 700+ posts across all my content channels and a mild obsession with peanut butter.

It's never too late to reinvent yourself.

In this article, I'm going to share with you the journaling reflections I've used every single year to reinvent who I am. In my Cosmic Journaling Kit, I call this your Cosmic Compass, because it guides everything you do in your life. It's made up of:

• Life Purpose & Career: What you want to do to make the world a better place and how you want to do it (hopefully while making some money)
• Values: What values are core to who you are
• Ideal Self: The five people you respect most in life whether real or fictional
• Attributes & Roles: What you're naturally good at and gives you energy
• Skills: What you've consciously built ability in over your life
• Alliance: Who is closest to both personally and for your career and why
• Wheel of Life: How well you're doing out of 10 in all the major domains of life

For each of the sections, I'll give recommended journaling questions, alongside my own responses at twenty two. While it's been almost five years since I was a college freshman, I think you'll find my reflections highly insightful and inspirational for your own writing.

I recommend you read through the piece once, and then choose two to three journaling questions that stick out to you. I don't expect you to journal on all of these at once. It's a lot. Come back to this again and again as you feel in that reflective mindset again.

Let's boogie.

Life Purpose And Career

Recommended:

• What would your 85 year old self be proud of you doing looking back on your life?
• What career can you go down that balances these six things:
  • Teach you something even if you pivot
  • You’re uniquely good at it
  • Already set to pursue it
  • Purpose
  • Passion
  • Profit
• How might your Shadow Compass affect your life purpose and career?

What would your 85 year old self be proud of you doing looking back on your life?

Helping humans be more knowledgeable, loving, and conscious. Right now, this purpose is alive in reforming education. I want to do this through both a student and professor angle. For students, helping them build the emotional intelligence, self-understanding, and purpose they need to be conscious humans. And for professors, learning the meta-learning, teaching, and gamification skills to make their classrooms both enjoyable and effective.

What career can you go down that balances these six things:

• Teach you something even if you pivot
• You’re uniquely good at it
• Already set to pursue it
• Purpose
• Passion
• Profit

Right now the career path I'm experimenting with is becoming a college professor. Even if I pivot this will teach me research, teaching, and independence skills. I uniquely love writing, teaching, and working with a lot of autonomy. I'm already set to pursue it with my Cornell University Human Development degree and two parents with PhDs. It aligns with my purpose and passion for reforming education. The profit piece is the major thing missing. I'll be suffering through that one ramen noodle at a time.

How might your Shadow Compass affect your life purpose and career?

The biggest thing I'm worried about is getting apathetic. I'm someone who explodes with energy, sometimes an overwhelming amount. I want to do it all, a generalist at heart with certain things I'm obsessed about. I'm scared doing research too heavily will deaden my love for whatever I'm researching. Especially if it's overly reductionist, slow, and isolating.

Values

Recommended:

• Search up a massive list of values, and write down the six that resonate the most with you
• Search up a massive list of action verbs, and write down the three which resonate most with you
• How might your Shadow Compass affect your values?

Search up a massive list of values, and write down the six that resonate the most with you

1. Spirituality
2. Growth
3. Tranquility
4. Connection
5. Craft
6. Truth

Search up a massive list of action verbs, and write down the three which resonate most with you

1. Creating
2. Contemplating
3. Connecting

How might your Shadow Compass affect your values?

Much of the reason I'm so into spirituality and growth in the first place is because of challenges I've had in romantic relationships and career. Getting broken up by my last ex sparked the deepening of my spiritual journey. I think much of the reason I'm so into it is so I can learn to love myself so deeply I wont lose myself in a partnership again.

In my career I've struggled not having financial freedom. Being beholden to someone else's dreams rather than my own. Being too stifled in what I can do. Not being surrounded by those that are deeply mature and spiritual themselves. Part of the reason I'm so into the values I am is to help me find more people like that, and also to become financially free someday.

Ideal Self

Recommended:

• Which five people do you respect the most and why?
• What do they do on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis?
• How might your Shadow Compass affect your ideal self?

Which five people do you respect the most and why?

1. Leo Gura
2. Ken Wilber
3. Celine
4. John Vervaeke
5. Dr. K

Leo Gura more than any other person I know has devoted his life to seeking Truth. He's done insane shit like taking DMT for 30 days straight, isolating himself from societal pressures by becoming financially free at 26, and all while documenting his journey through 400+ videos on Actualized.org. His devotion to finding the deepest parts of reality and sharing them with people is inspiring.

Ken Wilber, father of Transpersonal Psychology, is the most like me out of everyone I respect most. A generalist at heart, deeply interested in people and ideas, creating through writing and teaching. Perhaps the thing I respect about him most, however, is his five year devotion to his wife Treya during her breast cancer diagnosis and eventual death. He put everything on hold while he helped her. Most of the time, men are praised for their excellence in career, not relationships. Ken did both. He gives me inspiration it's possible.

Celine is a character from the movie Before Sunrise which encapsulates the story of a one off dreamy romantic night of two characters as they venture through Vienna. She's got a lot of problems. But that's okay. The thing I admire most about her is the way she sees love. Even as the other character, Jesse, lets his recent break up corrupt his perception of love, she remains steadfast at how important it is. She says one of my favorite quotes from anything ever. "You know I believe if there's any kind of god, it wouldn't be in any of us. Not you or me. But just this space in between."

John Vervaeke is a cognitive scientist and professor at The University of Toronto. It was after watching his 50 episode Awakening From The Meaning Crisis which first made me fall in love with him. Then After Socrates. I respect his deep care for bridging the meaning gap in the world, not by rejecting religion, but by integrating science, art, religion, and history, together into one.

Dr. K is a YouTuber and psychiatrist helping the mental health of the digital generation, cough cough, me. The thing I respect most about him is how he bridges spirituality and science with such humility. You can see the love and gratitude radiating off this guy in every video he makes. It's incredibly inspiring.

What do they do on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis?

Almost all of them do some mix of creating, teaching, and connecting with others. They don't travel much, but rather are more focused on learning where they are. Very very much like me. Guess you can see why I like them so much.

How might your Shadow Compass affect your ideal self?

I definitely relate to Leo Gura a lot because of my judgement shadows. He's very condescending and self-righteous at times, and I've had periods of my life where I feel annoyed at others for being so immature. My liking for Celine definitely comes a lot from my yearning for a profound spiritual relationship. And my liking for all of them comes from a rebellion of traditional career models.

Attributes & Role

Recommended:

• What six attributes do you feel you're inherently good at compared to other people?
• What video game role resonates the most with who you want to be in real life?
• How might your shadow compass affect your attributes and role?

What six attributes do you feel you're inherently good at compared to other people?

• Concept Connector — I naturally bridge disciplines to create things from connection.
• Humor Lightbringer — I diffuse tension and create ease through laughter and play.
• Soul Listener — People feel understood by me in a way that dissolves their defenses.
• Consciousness Explorer — I'm pulled toward higher perspectives, deeper truths, and the nature of reality itself.
• Spiral Wizard — I help others cross spiritual thresholds by adapting to their unique placement in the spiritual path.
• Focus Warden — I can sustain deep concentration and enter into flow regularly.

What video game role resonates the most with who you want to be in real life?

• Magebard: I shape the emotional tone of groups and create connection through presence, humor, and charisma. I'm energized by ideas, deep learning, and intellectual mastery—college is your spellbook.

How might your shadow compass affect your attributes and role?

I think one of the reasons I lean so much into combining relationships with a love of ideas is from my toxic relationship with productivity. In multiple chapters of my life I've gone super deep into deep work, focus, and career. This has been incredible. But it's also where some of the worst experiences I've had have come from. Almost getting broken up with by my first girlfriend, losing myself in niching too hard into Obsidian notetaking, getting abandoned by my YouTube accountability group, etc. Leaning too hard into relationships, however, also had its own challenges like caring too deeply for my last ex. That's why I'm now trying to balance between relationships, ideas, and focus.

Motivations

Recommended:

• What currently are your top three, middle three, and bottom Octalysis motivators and why How do these motivators affect your Cosmic and Shadow Compass and why?
• If you could consciously redesign what motivates you, what would you choose to be pulled toward?
• What action can you take in the next few weeks with this in mind?

What currently are your top three, middle three, and bottom Octalysis motivators (Check out my Octalysis blog to understand what Octalysis is) and why How do these motivators affect your Cosmic and Shadow Compass and why?

• Top Three:
  1. Epic Meaning & Calling (CD1): Nothing is more important to me then doing something meaningful with my time, in career, relationships, and spirituality.
  2. Social Influence & Relatedness (CD5): I desire deep spiritual friendships, family relationships, and especially romantic relationships. I want to help bring out the inner potential in others.
  3. Creativity & Empowerment of Feedback (CD3): Making new things that can help others whether YT videos, blog posts, podcasts, short films, fiction, or gamified designs is incredibly meaningful for me. It’s also why I don’t want to be put in a rigid box.
• Middle Three:
  1. Development & Accomplishment (CD2): I must grow my skills to actualize my vision and attain financial freedom so I can be creatively free.
  2. Unpredictability & Curiosity (CD7): I love learning new things about ideas and people. I don’t like to get into too similar a routine for too long.
  3. Ownership & Possession (CD4): I want to own meaningful role in projects and have independence from my parents where I can build my life.
• Bottom Three:
  1. Loss & Avoidance (CD8): I want to avoid ruinous loss, but overall fear and avoidance don’t really motivate my life.
  2. Scarcity & Impatience (CD6): I don’t care whether things are scarce. I make my own evaluations whether they’re important. Low time will still motivate me but not in a rushed doing the job poorly sort of way.

If you could consciously redesign what motivates you, what would you choose to be pulled toward?

If I could snap a finger and be financially free that would be huge for me. This would free up my top three motivations to work on what they want without questioning how I’m going to pay the bills. Until then, I can’t let my motivation for Development & Accomplishment (CD2) or Ownership & Possession (CD4) fall too low.

What action can you take in the next few weeks with this in mind?

Work hard at work to ensure I have a decent amount of money saved up when I move to The Netherlands so I can afford to do my masters there without worry.

Skills

Recommended:

• What are the six most important skills you have built over your life?
• What skills does the rest of your Cosmic Compass encourage you to build?
• How might your Shadow Compass make building these skills more difficult?

What are the six most important skills you have built over your life?

1. Meta-thinking
2. Writing
3. Self-Reflection
4. Charisma
5. Deep Focus
6. Personal Knowledge Management (PKM)

What skills does the rest of your Cosmic Compass encourage you to build?

Collaboration. Most of my life I've done work on my own. I love the autonomy. But to change the education system, I must build relationships in education, with students, professors, and administrators.

Financial literacy. I know the basics. Don't spend so much you can't afford the basics, like peanut butter. But I would like to learn the psychological skills of managing money. Deep inside me, I think I still fundamentally believe it's hard to make money. This has been a combination of childhood factors, alongside my struggles with making content creation work the last few years.

Academic research and writing: If I'm going to do a masters and potentially a PhD, I need these skills to do them well. I have so many ideas I want to share. But without scholarly backing, it's very hard to spread them as far as I would like.

Analytical thinking: I'm great at coming up with innovative ideas. The problem is thinking about the in the weeds how are they going to work attitude.

Agentic AI: Imagine having five Aidan's all able to work while I'm asleep. I think you see why this might be valuable.

How might your Shadow Compass make building these skills more difficult?

The toughest two will likely be collaboration, academic writing/research, and analytical thinking. Working with others that aren't as aspirational, competent, or fast could drive me insane. And the latter two skills will both require the in the weeds thinking which might stifle my desire for novelty and creativity.

Alliance

Recommended:

• What six people in your life are you closest to and why?
• How can you become closer to your alliance or build it wider?
• How might your Shadow Compass be affecting your alliance?

What six people in your life are you closest to and why? (Not real names)

1. Jaya: Basically the introverted Filipino version of me. Also 22, a content creator, and a deeply aspirational integrous person. I admire his analytical thinking, self-reflection, and conscious relaxation abilities so much.
2. Sakris: My twin brother and the opposite of me in almost every way. Which is exactly why we love each other so much. This mans discipline, drive, masculinity, and hunger for freedom is honestly awe provoking.
3. Mom & Dad: I can't separate them. They are tied in my mind. So many things I could say. But most of all, they gave me the greatest gift parents can give: unconditional love. I wouldn't be where I am today without them.
4. Ciper: One of my oldest Cornell friends, and the person who really awakened my love for spirituality. They might be the kindest, most genuine person I know. Their self-reflection, grit, and humility are incredibly inspiring.
5. Daren: Mutual friend of Jaya and I in creative club. His integrity, deep poetic prose, and zest for life is what I love so much about him. The free coaching is definitely a plus.

How can you become closer to your alliance or build it wider?

I'm already really close to all my alliance members. But seeing Daren and Jaya physically more would really help. When I'm in The Netherlands, I plan on deepening my relationships in education circles with fellow grad students and professors. I'd love to participate in clubs and organize my own gatherings.

How might your Shadow Compass be affecting your alliance?

Well my ex used to be number one but has since disappeared after I ended our friendship. Aside from that, the biggest thing is I tend to only make deep friends with people who are growth oriented, self-reflective, and aspirational. Most of this is for my good, but sometimes it's made me overly judgmental or cut me off from good people who don't value changing the world as much.

Wheel of Life

Recommended:

• Where do you fall on the life domains above out of 10 and why?
  • Health: X/10
  • Life Purpose: X/10
  • Career: X/10
  • Friends: X/10
  • Family: X/10
  • Romantic Relationship(s): X/10
  • Clubs & Community: X/10
  • Classes & Studies: X/10
  • Environment: X/10
  • Personal Growth: X/10
  • Play & Joy: X/10
  • Spirituality: X/10
• What three domains would you like to focus on improving over the next few months?
• How is your Shadow Compass diminishing your improvement in those domains?

Where do you fall on the life domains above out of 10 and why?

• Health: 10/10
• Life Purpose: 8/10
• Career: 7/10
• Friends: 9/10
• Family: 10/10
• Romantic Relationship(s): 4/10
• Clubs & Community: 7/10
• Environment: 4/10
• Personal Growth: 10/10
• Play & Joy: 9/10
• Spirituality: 8/10

What three domains would you like to focus on improving over the next few months?

Career, environment, and romantic relationship are the big three. For career, I'm going to work as hard as I can to save up money, before doing my masters program in the fall. That way, I can fully immerse myself in it and how I feel without being distracted by work.

For environment, I'm moving to another country. Got to get out of Ithaca. Been here for almost 5 years and it's driving me insane.

And finally, romantic relationship. Once I'm settled in The Netherlands this will be a huge motivation of mine. Dating apps, gym, clubs, and more.

How is your Shadow Compass diminishing your improvement in those domains?

Biggest way is through being too perfectionistic. I want a career that's amazing, a romantic relationship that's amazing at just 22. But these things take time. I need to lean into the uncertainty, the wait, and flow with life.

Return To Your Compass

Seven years ago I couldn't have written any of this. Not because I didn't have the words, but because I didn't have the relationship with myself to know what was true.

That's the thing about the Cosmic Compass. It doesn't ask us to have the answers. It asks us to sit with the questions long enough that the answers start showing up in how we live, not just what we write down.

Come back to this every year. Watch your responses shift. Watch the things you thought were permanent dissolve and get replaced by something you couldn't have predicted. Some sections will make you cringe. That's not failure. That's the distance between who you were and who you're becoming, made visible on a page.

And here's what surprised me most: the deeper I went into my own compass, the more the people around me started going deeper into theirs. Not because I told them to. Because self-understanding is quietly contagious. One honest conversation about purpose or shadows or what we actually value tends to crack open three more.

So don't wait until you have it figured out. You won't. I'm twenty two and my Cosmic Compass still has sections that make me want to crawl under my desk. But the practice of returning, of asking again with a little more honesty each time, is how we stop reinventing a character and start uncovering who was underneath all along.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have a jar of peanut butter that isn't going to eat itself.

If you found this post interesting you would love my free College Freshman Cosmic Journaling Kit (CJK). ✨📚

It's a gamified journaling system that helps you grow your emotional intelligence, self-understanding, and purpose with over 1,000+ journaling questions in just 15 minutes a day.