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ANNUAL REVIEWS
Annual Reviews
One deep retrospective every year since 2023 — cognitive upgrades, trajectory, and direction for the year ahead.
2025 Annual ReviewGrowth & Life
Not written. Grown.
Growth and life notes from Xinwei Xiong (cubxxw): annual deep reviews, mind and productivity systems, close relationships, and travel writing. Beyond the technical work — how one person thinks, feels, and lives.
41
Entries
1197
Days growing
4
Rings
02
MIND & FLOW
Mind & Flow
Flow state, GTD, metacognition — practical methods that turn focus into a repeatable system.
Flow State guide03
TRAVEL & LIFE
Travel & Life
A digital nomad's world game: travel notes, cultural encounters, and reading lists organized by region.
Travel map
Freshly Grown
You Think You're the Player — But "Player" Is Also a Role: Rereading the Samādhi of Play
"Treat life as a game you're playing." I wrote that line almost two years ago. Then I went looking for where the phrase …
What Remains When You Take It All Apart: On No-Self, Suffering, and "You Could Say It Either Way"
Starting from a single image — a shaft of sunlight passing through an eye clouded by cataracts — this piece dismantles …
Friction Is Growth: When AI Removes All Resistance for You, Deliberately Keep Some
AI's core selling point is removing friction — faster, less effort, painless. But almost all human growth comes from …
Growing Calendar · Monthly Notes
Since March 2025, 16 consecutive months without a gap — one note a month, like a plant that never stops branching.
Series
Growth Rings
Still growing, right now
2026
Ring 4
Philosophy
What Remains When You Take It All Apart: On No-Self, Suffering, and "You Could Say It Either Way"
Psychology
Ignite and Settle (Part 2): Avoidant Attachment — Why We Want to Run When Someone Gets Close
Super Individual
The Super-Individual Stack: AI-Native Product Directions and Solo Builder Ops in 2026
Travel
Lhasa: Slow and Heavy
2025
Ring 3
Self-Discovery
Metacognitive Transformation Review
FAQ
What does this section cover?
Three kinds of writing — annual deep reviews (one every year since 2023), mind and productivity systems (flow state, GTD, metacognition), and travel and digital-nomad life. It also carries "Ignite and Settle," a three-part series on close relationships.
Which annual reviews are available?
One deep retrospective per year since 2023 — 2023, 2024, and 2025 — tracing the full arc from student to AI founder. Start with the latest, the 2025 Annual Review, then read backwards in time.
What is "Ignite and Settle"?
A three-part series of long essays on close relationships — the quality and time of companionship, avoidant attachment, and anxious attachment. The three interlock; enter from any one, and together they form a complete map of intimacy.
What is the author's view of travel?
The world is one giant online game — Earth is the server and we are all players. The travel page organizes every trip by region, along with the travel books that shaped the author.