“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)
“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)
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)
“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)
“Loneliness can be quelled quickly as we develop the most important relationship we have in our lives: the one with ourselves. Leaving the pack and going off script may reduce the number of people we have around us and limit the number of activities we participate in with others, but it’ll save us years of spinning our wheels finding no fulfillment in a cookie-cutter life. People every day choose the red pill and embrace the discomforts that come with straying from the norm. Spending time with other people who devote their lives to self-discovery will only enhance how far you can take your journey. We are a vast and endless universe.” ~ Humble the Poet, Things No One Else Can Teach Us (Page 87)
“To live is to deal with challenges and setbacks. No one is immune to the bullshit life flings our way; but our actions can make that bullshit better or worse. If you look back at your life, the biggest lessons you learned didn’t come from a Tumblr quote or celebrity PSA; they came from harsh reality checks when the shit hit the fan. That process isn’t going to get any more enjoyable as you grow, but if you anticipate the learning, then the moments you have in life end up being that much more enriched.” ~ Humble the Poet, Things No One Else Can Teach Us (Page 84)
“None of us knows how strong we are until being strong is the only option we have left. We spend so much of our lives avoiding discomfort that we don’t realize that in those uncomfortable situations, our best selves emerge.” ~ Humble the Poet, Things No One Else Can Teach Us (Page 63)
“The world doesn’t stop for our tragedies; it keeps moving, and we have to keep moving with it. Stop handling your tragedies like a child, and deal with them like an adult. Adults show up for work, children stay in bed.” ~ Humble the Poet, Things No One Else Can Teach Us (Page 62)
“You can’t be yourself if you don’t know who you are. So how do you know who you are? Everyone is a gooey batter of both nature and nurture, and every time shit hits the fan in our lives, we have an opportunity to get to know ourselves a bit better. It’s an exhausting experience, but it’s enriching. We learn about ourselves through all of our interactions with the world, both good and bad. So with everything you do, think about how it shapes who you are, and think about how who you are shapes your experience of everything you do.” ~ Humble the Poet, Things No One Else Can Teach Us (Page 57)
“The decisions we can’t make with confidence end up being made for us.” ~ Humble the Poet, Things No One Else Can Teach Us (Page 56)
“All of our emotions have value, and as unpleasant as some are, they’re reminders that we’re alive and have a whole lot going on inside. Why not approach life with curiosity and wonder, instead of dread and fear. We don’t avoid movies because we know they’ll end. We enjoy the journey they take us on. Our journey is life, and no one makes it out alive; the finish is death, so let’s enjoy life while we can, with those we love, while they’re still here.” ~ Humble the Poet, Things No One Else Can Teach Us (Page 46)
“Sometimes when things feel too heavy, I ask myself, ‘Will this matter in three hundred years?’ and I think about the fact that no one I know will be around then—none of their judgments, opinions, debts, or drudges—and that I should enjoy this journey while I’m still healthy enough to do so. In three hundred years it won’t matter that I wasn’t invited to this or that event or included on this or that list or was able to connect with this or that person. It won’t matter that I showed up wearing a mustard stain on my outfit or that I didn’t proofread my text message before I hit ‘send.’ Figuring out what will matter in three hundred years will result in a much shorter list—almost next to nothing.” ~ Humble the Poet, Things No One Else Can Teach Us (Page 37)
“The way to attract good luck is to be reliable in a valuable area. The more you repeatedly deliver value, the more people seek you out for that value. Your reputation is a magnet. Once you become known for something, relevant opportunities come to you with no extra work.” ~ James Clear, Blog
“We never really get over our traumas, and as much as we heal, scars will remain. That doesn’t mean we need to view those scars as reminders of our injuries; instead, we can see them as proof of our resilience.” ~ Humble the Poet, Things No One Else Can Teach Us (Page 30)