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“Our common stories of oppression should unite us much more than our fears of each other can ever separate us. My high school classmates and I feared something because we were told to. Fears download themselves through generations, not always in explicit ways. Our parents may not always be directly telling us who we can and can’t love, or who we can and can’t accept in our lives. More often, such messages are unspoken, and never updated.” ~ Humble the Poet, Things No One Else Can Teach Us (Page 163)

“We judge people because it’s easier than what we should be doing: trying to understand them. When we understand, we’re less reactive and more compassionate. Trying to understand someone or something requires much more effort than judging, but it’s so much more enriching in the long run.” ~ Humble the Poet, Things No One Else Can Teach Us (Page 163)

“Through my own process of stepping back, I embraced the reality that my current spiritual lens may change, but I’m not threatened by that. Time brought me here—to a place of self-awareness and patience. I still feel magic and beauty and inspiration. I still respect that people hold their own personal truths, and I win nothing by debating and trying to be right all the time. I’m not atheist, agnostic, or theist. I am a part of life, and as science dictates, my matter cannot be created or destroyed, only redistributed.” ~ Humble the Poet, Things No One Else Can Teach Us (Page 157)

“I envy anyone with enthusiasm and obsession, even if they are enthused about and obsessed with things that I’m not interested in. It’s beautiful to see someone’s eyes light up with love, no matter the object of their affection.” ~ Humble the Poet, Things No One Else Can Teach Us (Page 156)

“Zooming out helps us to think more in the long term and recognize patterns so we don’t overreact in the short term. Life isn’t what happens to us; it’s how we deal with it, and how we deal with it always depends on the perspectives we can find. Zooming out helps us realize that the story is still playing out, and we shouldn’t rush to any conclusions.” ~ Humble the Poet, Things No One Else Can Teach Us (Page 140)

“The uncomfortable truth is that the humps don’t end, even if we win the lottery, shed twenty pounds, or get hired as a Nutella taste tester. Our lives, and all the things worth enjoying in them, don’t come after the humps—they are the humps. The ups and downs, problems and solutions, challenges and triumphs are what pave this journey. They don’t always make it look pretty, but no one ever promised they would.” ~ Humble the Poet, Things No One Else Can Teach Us (Page 133)

Humble the Poet Quote on Managing Expectations and Going From “High” to “Low” to “None”

“Jumping into anything with low expectations is the best way to exceed expectations, so keep that in mind when deciding your next move.”
Humble the Poet, Things No One Else Can Teach Us (Page 131)

Beyond the Quote (79/365)

Rather than low expectations, try no expectations. When you hold a stance that maintains expectations, you are putting energy into a future result that will distract you from your present task. Once you have made up your mind about what your next move will be, do just that. And focus all of your resources on doing that task to the best of your ability—not into acquiring a certain result. Maintain the mindset of now and empty your mind of what might happen in the future. This is how you will produce your best work and this is how you will best take care of the tasks you set out to do. And as the saying goes, taking care of this moment is the best insurance you have for the next moment.

“In my past, I had hesitated dozens of times when presented with opportunities because I didn’t know whether they would pay off in the end. I began to realize over time that the opportunities themselves were the payoff, regardless of whether they turned out the way I wanted them to.” ~ Humble the Poet, Things No One Else Can Teach Us (Page 129)

Tony Robbins Quote on Caring For Your Mind, Emotions, and Spirit Like A Garden—The Ultimate Garden

“Think of your mind, your emotions, and your spirit as the ultimate garden. The way to ensure a bountiful, nourishing harvest is to plant seeds like love, warmth, and appreciation, instead of seeds like disappointment, anger, and fear.”
Tony Robbins, Awaken the Giant Within

Beyond the Quote (78/365)

What seeds are you planting today? Are you planting seeds of love, warmth, and appreciation in the garden of your mind? What about in the minds of those around you? Seeds don’t just plant themselves. They need you to produce them first. Some are easier to produce and plant than others. Some get planted and start growing without you even knowing it. Some take a ton of careful attention and hard work to cultivate and nurture to maturity. One thing is for sure though, the ultimate garden of the mind requires constant effort and refinement in order to flourish—and mindfulness is the tool we need to use in order to see what needs to be done.

We’re all on journeys, and sometimes we spend so much time on and invest so much energy in heading in one direction that the idea of any other direction is both foreign and frightening. Our journeys themselves become comfort zones, and sometimes hopping off one rainbow and onto the next is exactly what we need. Other times we may realize that the path we were on helped reveal the path we should be on, and that adventure of twists and turns will last our lifetime, and that’s okay. No one needs to have everything figured out, and honestly, nobody really does, even if their social media posts present a different picture.” ~ Humble the Poet, Things No One Else Can Teach Us (Page 115)

“Time is always worth more than money. You can make your money back. But once time is spent, it’s gone for good.” ~ Humble the Poet, Things No One Else Can Teach Us (Page 107)

Real talk.

Consistency is the real game.

That does seem to be a problem…

Humble the Poet Quote on Comparing Ourselves To Others (and Why That Can Be Dangerous)

“I was comparing myself to everyone and anyone I encountered. If I was making music and met a well-off stockbroker, my mind would ask, ‘Why aren’t you selling stocks?’ When money got better, but I met someone with a beautiful body, I’d ask, ‘Why aren’t you spending more time in the gym?’ I would identify all the gaps in my life on the basis of whomever I crossed paths with. That’s a dangerous thing because everyone we meet will always have something we don’t have.”
Humble the Poet, Things No One Else Can Teach Us (Page 121)

Beyond the Quote (77/365)

Compare yourself to who you were yesterday, not to who somebody else is today. As Humble mentions above, you’re going to meet people who have more money; who have more beautiful bodies; who are more popular; who are more intelligent than you. What you can’t do when you meet them is compare where you are on your journey to where they are on their journey.

Nobody. Let’s be kind.

Thich Nhat Hanh Quote on Suffering and Having Compassion For Those Who Are In Pain

“When another person makes you suffer, it is because he suffers deeply within himself, and his suffering is spilling over. He does not need punishment; he needs help. That’s the message he is sending.”
Thich Nhat Hanh

Beyond the Quote (76/365)

Below, you will find an exchange between another person and I in regards to the quote above and the caption I put up for it. It’s a good exchange and there are elements that I think are worth elaborating on and discussing. Here is the exchange:

“All the inspirational quotes about hustling hard and pushing oneself beyond one’s limits have disappeared from my walls and from my life. When speaking to friends and hearing about all the amazingly massive things they’re doing, I always reply by asking, ‘But are you having fun?’ The responses are a mix of yes and no, but the question stops everyone in their tracks and gets them thinking. There’s no fun waiting for us after the work; there’s just more work. More year-ends, more midterms, more tests, more projects, more patients, more students, more clients, more customers; it never ends, so the least we can do is enjoy it while we’re doing it. That can come from either finding something we already enjoy or reprogramming what we’re already doing to add more fun to it.” ~ Humble the Poet, Things No One Else Can Teach Us (Page 103)

“Focusing on the rainbow instead of the pot of gold isn’t just one of many philosophies we can adapt—it’s the most sustainable way for us to keep going. The present is all we have, and we can promise ourselves only so much contentment before we realize that the story doesn’t end until we take our last breath. Once we accept that, we can enjoy the journey, celebrating every baby step we take, not toward a treasure on a map, but in a direction that steadily improves the way we feel about ourselves, our lives, and the world around us.” ~ Humble the Poet, Things No One Else Can Teach Us (Page 95)