In this episode, Kunal shares why he abandoned traditional goal-setting in favor of choosing a single word to guide his entire year. Speaking from Lisbon after reviewing his journals, he reveals how this practice shifted him from efficiency to effectiveness—from moving fast to moving in the right direction.

Key takeaways:

- Efficiency and effectiveness aren't the same: goals can make you move quickly toward things that don't actually matter

- We control the "how" not the "what": your one word becomes a compass for the hundreds of daily decisions that compose your life

- Leverage means focusing energy wisely: as we gain experience and lose youthful stamina, working smarter beats working harder

Subscribe to How to Live wherever you listen to podcasts and visit howtolive.blog to read the full essay and discover Kunal's complete reflection on choosing "leverage" for 2026.

Timestamps:

(0:15) Introduction and the journal review ritual

(1:10) Why goals create efficiency but not effectiveness

(2:20) The one thing we actually control: the "how"

(3:35) How a one-word intention serves you instead of the reverse

(4:45) Last year's word "inspire" and learning to say no

(6:10) The word "flow" and surrendering control of outcomes

(7:25) Introducing 2026's word: "leverage"

(8:15) The sleep insight that sparked everything

(9:30) Evolution from adequate at many things to excellent at few

(10:45) Working smarter with limited energy and greater wisdom