“Kindness is not a currency, and if you treat it like one, then that is not kindness.” ~ Iain Thomas, Every Word You Cannot Say (Page 131)
“It’s only the idea that everyone else KNOWS who they are that’s causing you pain. But no one knows who they really are. You are an overflowing river that shifts its banks when the rains come. That’s why you cannot hold on to who you are.” ~ Iain Thomas, Every Word You Cannot Say (Page 120)
23 Quotes on Aging, Living, and Dying from Happiness Is a Choice You Make
Excerpt: John Leland spent years with some of the oldest old in America and wrote a book on his findings. Read our quotes on aging from his book here!
Read More »23 Quotes on Aging, Living, and Dying from Happiness Is a Choice You Make
Swami Sivananda Quote on Meeting Life’s Challenges Vigorously (Not Backing Down)
“Self-acceptance comes from meeting life’s challenges vigorously. Don’t numb yourself to your trials and difficulties, nor build mental walls to exclude pain from your life. You will find peace not by trying to escape your problems, but by confronting them courageously. You will find peace not in denial, but in victory.”
Swami Sivananda
Beyond the Quote (11/365)
In fact, the more you hide from your life challenges and fears, the more they will grow and the more you will shrink. It’s not a single negative, it’s a double negative. If you’ve ever felt your mind take something fearful or challenging from a level 1 intensity to a level 1000 intensity, just from letting it linger in your mind, then you know what I’m talking about. And if you’ve ever let the muscles of your body go without the challenge and difficulty of exercise, then you know what it feels like to shrink. The muscles of the mind—the mental capacity to show courage and face fear—are muscles that none-the-less need to be exercised to grow.
Read More »Swami Sivananda Quote on Meeting Life’s Challenges Vigorously (Not Backing Down)Jordan Peterson Quote on Judging Ourselves Based On Our Actions—Not Our Beliefs
“It is your actions that most accurately reflect your deepest beliefs—those that are implicit, embedded in your being, underneath your conscious apprehensions and articulable attitudes and surface-level self-knowledge. You can only find out what you actually believe (rather than what you think you believe) by watching how you act. You simply don’t know what you believe, before that. You are too complex to understand yourself.”
Jordan Peterson, via 12 Rules for Life (Page 103)
Beyond the Quote (10/365)
I read an expression the other day that really took me aback: We judge ourselves based on our thoughts but we judge others based on their actions. I knew it was true the second I read it, but I never would have realized it if I hadn’t read it. This was, in fact, the way in which I judged myself versus how I judged others (for the most part) and it was a clear double-standard that I felt guilty about.
Read More »Jordan Peterson Quote on Judging Ourselves Based On Our Actions—Not Our BeliefsScilla Elworthy Quote on Controlling Anger (Rather Than Letting It Control You)
“Anger is like gasoline. If you spray it around and somebody lights a match you’ve got an inferno. [But] if we can put our anger inside an engine, it can drive us forward.”
Scilla Elworthy
Beyond the Quote (Day 9)
I got really angry tonight. In an effort to save your time (and save myself from getting worked up again) I’ll spare you the details. Long story short I’m experiencing really frustrating car issues and really frustrating customer service.
Read More »Scilla Elworthy Quote on Controlling Anger (Rather Than Letting It Control You)James Clear Quote on The Importance Of Systems For Success
“You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.”
James Clear, Atomic Habits
Beyond the Quote (Day 8)
Before the start of every competition, it’s safe to assume that every competitor has the same goal—to win. And yet, not all of them do—only one person wins. Is it the case that the person who wins has a bigger desire to win than the rest? Possibly, but not indefinitely. It is certainly the case that people with greater desires to win have lost. Size of desire, in and of itself, is not the difference maker in winning and losing. So, what is?
Read More »James Clear Quote on The Importance Of Systems For Success“No one will ever tell you how great you can be. You will never be asked to do something incredible with your life. You will never get a letter in the mail that says, ‘Dear you, please, do something important with your time.’ Even if you do it quietly you have to give yourself the life you want.” ~ Iain Thomas, Every Word you Cannot Say (Page 72)
“Here is the secret we all know: We all want to love. We’re all afraid we are alone. We’re afraid no one will know who we are. Because on some level, we all know you can die without love, without anyone, without even you knowing who you are. (Unless you take care of you, and give yourself love. Unless you meet yourself, inside yourself. Unless you know yourself like you were meant to. Forgive yourself for being you—you have done nothing wrong and tomorrow is another chance. I swear, there is a day after, every day.)” ~ Iain Thomas, Every Word you Cannot Say (Page 68)
“We forget that how a person acts in each moment is not who they are, that each person is a series of moments and we cannot judge any moment in isolation, and use that moment to define them. It is not up to others, it is up to us, which moments we want to hang on to, for good or for bad. We forget our successes and enshrine our failures. We forget there is still a child in all of us, begging for love. We forget that this is true of every person we meet. We only hear the loudest voices when really, we should be listening to the quietest.” ~ Iain Thomas, Every Word you Cannot Say (Page 43)
David Bowie on Aging Being An Extraordinary Process
“Aging is an extraordinary process whereby you become the person you always should have been.”
David Bowie via Happiness is a Choice You Make
Beyond the Quote (Day 7)
It must have been around my mom’s 50th birthday when I asked her, like any good kid would on their parent’s birthday, how it felt to be so old. Expecting an uproar of mixed emotions and frustration, I was surprised when she rebutted calmly that for her, each decade has gotten better than the last—and that she was… Excited! Not quite your everyday answer. She explained that while youth has its perks, age brings with it insight and wisdom that allows you to connect more deeply with who you are and what your purpose might be—which, for her, has been the most valued experience of life overall.
Read More »David Bowie on Aging Being An Extraordinary ProcessLeo Babauta Quote on Not Making Exceptions—Ever
“Exceptions lead to more exceptions. It’s really easy to justify not doing [a] new habit (or doing an old habit you’re trying to quit) by saying, ‘Just one time won’t hurt.’ Except that it will, because now you think it’s OK to make exceptions. And now you don’t really trust yourself to stick to your promise to yourself. It’s much more effective to not make exceptions — catch yourself if you’re thinking about it and trying to justify it, and remember your motivations. When I quit smoking, I told myself Not One Puff Ever (NOPE).”
Leo Babauta, Zen Habits
Beyond the Quote (Day 6)
The habit changes that I have had the most success with incorporating into my lifestyle have been the ones that I have been the most strict with myself about. When I started drinking coffee black, I told myself No Cream or Sugar Ever. When I cut out donuts from my diet, I told myself Not One Bite Ever. When I stopped drinking alcohol, I told myself Not One Sip Ever. When I committed to going vegan, I told myself No Meat or Dairy Ever. Like Babauta, I made sure there were no exceptions or ‘gray-areas’ to these habit changes—and while that might sound harsh and intense, I actually feel like it made the habit change process easier.
Read More »Leo Babauta Quote on Not Making Exceptions—EverIain Thomas Quote on How The World Becomes Better
“Let me tell you how the world becomes better. The world becomes better when good people like you look at themselves and decide what kind of life they want to live, and what they’re willing to do to make it that way. This does not mean you need to fight more. It means you need to find ways to fight less. Sometimes, our immediate response to the way the world is, is anger, and the world is the way it is, because sometimes our immediate response to it is, anger.”
Iain Thomas, Every Word you Cannot Say (Page 30)
Beyond the Quote (Day 5)
The way to peace, is peace. The way to war, is war. Peace, is not a means to the outcome of war. War, is not a means to the outcome of peace. Peace is the way.
The way to happiness, is happiness. The way to anger, is anger. Happiness is not a means to the outcome of anger. Anger, is not a means to the outcome of happiness. Happiness is the way.
Read More »Iain Thomas Quote on How The World Becomes Better
