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“There was so much in my life I cared about—and of course I really loved being a therapist. But on another level there wasn’t anything in it I wanted just for me. It was as if my life had turned into a motel room and the truth was I could walk out of it without any sense that I was leaving anything of my own behind. A stranger could easily move into my life, and nothing would be different. I was happy as long as I didn’t think about who I was and what I really wanted for myself.”
Mira Kirshenbaum, The Gift of a Year (Page 44)

“The people in your life are truly interested in your being happy. The confusing thing is that they don’t go around advertising this. Your boss, your kids, your husband mostly talk about how they need this and they need that from you. But when you’re unhappy, a part of their world collapses. So if you have to shuffle your priorities around and put someone last who’s been coming first, and some of the people in your life start giving you grief, just remember how happy they’ll be when you’re happy.”
Mira Kirshenbaum, The Gift of a Year (Page 37)

“I remember a long period when it seemed like all I did was bounce back and forth between my patients and my children. They all needed every ounce of what I had to give. I didn’t even feel I had time for my husband. It was as if I were surrounded by a wall of people who saw me as nothing more than the person who took care of them. Emotionally I didn’t feel I had room to breathe.”
Mira Kirshenbaum, The Gift of a Year (Page 34)

“It’s easy to get started giving yourself the gift of a year. You start by giving yourself the gift of empty bits of time. Can you give yourself one whole Saturday or Sunday every week free from commitments? Can you give yourself half an hour just for you every morning or evening? Can you steal half an hour from work every day? Can you get your boss/husband/boyfriend/mother/kids/friends to cut you some slack?”
Mira Kirshenbaum, The Gift of a Year (Page 34)

Mae West Quote on Body Language and How To Better “Hear” What Your Body Is Telling You

“I speak two languages, Body and English.”
Mae West

Beyond the Quote (236/365)

Are you in tuned with what your body is telling you? Are you aware that your body has a language that needs to be learned in order to be understood? It’s no different than learning your ABC’s for the first time. You might hear the various sounds coming out of people’s mouths around you, but until you actually learn what the letters represent, how those letters form into words, how to pronounce those words, what those words actually mean, and how to combine them to express ideas… all you’ll hear is gibberish. And, unfortunately, gibberish is about all people hear when they listen to their body.

David Goggins Quote on Callousing Your Mind and How I Ran A Marathon Without Running Training

“It takes twenty years to gain twenty years of experience, and the only way to move beyond your 40 percent is to callous your mind, day after day. Which means you’ll have to chase pain like it’s your damn job!”
David Goggins, Can’t Hurt Me

Beyond the Quote (235/365)

On Sunday, August 23rd, 2020, I ran my second marathon. I didn’t follow any specific running plans and did but only one training run (13.1 miles) leading up to it the week before. The most I had done besides that was a mile or two around my block at any given time in the whole year prior. Why do I tell you this? Because while I didn’t do any official running training for that run, I have been training my body for war for over two decades. And if you start doing the same, your body might be able to perform in ways that surpass your wildest expectations as well.

“When the soil of the self is exhausted, no beautiful flowers can grow from it.”
Mira Kirshenbaum, The Gift of a Year (Page 30)

“There should be no sense of struggle or any risk of failure with the gift of a year. You’re doing something you’ve been wanting to do for a long time. It’s about pleasure, indulgence, self-care, nurturing yourself, giving to yourself. It’s about seizing the day for yourself so you can do something you’ve long wanted to do. It’s not about making something happen. It’s about letting something happen. It’s not about pushing. It’s about stopping pushing.”
Mira Kirshenbaum, The Gift of a Year (Page 25)

John C. Maxwell Quote on Greatness and How One Is Too Small A Number To Achieve It

“One is too small a number to achieve greatness. No accomplishment of real value has ever been achieved by a human being working alone.”
John C. Maxwell, Leadership Gold

Beyond the Quote (234/365)

Big accomplishments don’t just happen. They’re an accumulated result of many small happenings. This is true for most anything in life. Big accomplishments in health are a product of the accumulated effect of the daily meals and workouts. Big accomplishments in business are a product of the accumulated effect of the smaller component systems that are put into place. Big accomplishments in relationships are a product of the accumulated effect of the smaller conversations, actions, and efforts that went into them. If you want to accomplish something big, the focus should be on accumulating more and more of the small.

Pay attention to other people’s priorities.

Perspective.

Who’s one of the most beautiful people you know?

John C. Maxwell Quote on Birthdays and What Each Passing Year Can Mark In A Person’s Life

“Now more than ever I am aware that a person’s significant birthdays can either mark the passage of time, or they can mark changes they’ve made in their lives to reach their potential and become the person they were created to be.”
John C. Maxwell, Leadership Gold

Beyond the Quote (233/365)

As I sit and reflect on completing my first full year of my thirties, the saying that keeps coming to the forefront of my mind that I would say has guided me more than any other saying in this past year has been: Control what you can control, let go of what you can’t, and take what time is needed to understand where all things in your life fall. Without this expression in my mind, 30 would have turned out completely different for me.

On Being "Cool" and On Being a "Dork" and Why We Get These Ideas Backwards As A Society

For anyone that wants to go above and beyond, this article might hit better if you do the following before reading:

Make a list of the Top 3 reasons why you might consider yourself to be, “Cool”
Make a list of the Top 3 reasons why you might consider yourself to be a, “Dork”

That is all. Once you finish with those two lists, continue below. Or, if you’re in a hurry and choose not to make the lists, feel free to continue below anyway.

Beyond the Quote (232/365)

“The first rule of handling conflict is don’t hang around people who are constantly engaging in conflict.”
Naval Ravikant, Medium

“A rational person can find peace by cultivating indifference to things outside of their control.”
Naval Ravikant, Medium

Naval Ravikant Quote on Education and Why The Desire To Learn Is So Scarce

“Even today, what to study and how to study it are more important than where to study it and for how long. The best teachers are on the Internet. The best books are on the Internet. The best peers are on the Internet. The tools for learning are abundant. It’s the desire to learn that’s scarce.”
Naval Ravikant, Medium

Beyond the Quote (231/365)

This is (arguably) one of the main reasons why so many people subject themselves to expensive educations—because they don’t have a strong enough desire to learn on their own. Assuming higher education isn’t a necessary prerequisite for the career they desire (doctor, lawyer, engineer, etc.), as Naval points out above, all of the best information is already available. With a strong enough desire to learn, a way can almost always be found.

“Success is the enemy of learning. It can deprive you of the time and the incentive to start over. Beginner’s mind also needs beginner’s time.”
Naval Ravikant, Medium

“Sophisticated foods are bittersweet (wine, beer, coffee, chocolate). Addictive relationships are cooperative and competitive. Work becomes flow at the limits of ability. The flavor of life is on the edge.”
Naval Ravikant, Medium