“The more deeply we dive into our own stories, the more we feel like we’re going through it alone. But I’m here to remind you that you’re not alone, even though we each have to do the work ourselves. The deeper we dive, the more beauty we can discover as well. No on else shares our unique experiences, and therefore no one else can show us the light at the end of the tunnels we dig; we can only share our stories and remind ourselves that we already have everything we need to find that light. These are the things no one else can teach us.” ~ Humble the Poet, Things No One Else Can Teach Us (Page 6)
Richard Carlson Quote on Judging and Criticizing Other People
“When we judge or criticize another person, it says nothing about that person; it merely says something about our own need to be critical.”
Richard Carlson
Beyond the Quote (25/365)
Not only does criticizing and judging other people say something about our own need to be critical, but it acts as a mirror that reveals far more about our own character than it ever does about the person being targeted. In other words, what we’re ACTUALLY doing when we’re talking about someone else is, ironically, talking solely about ourselves. Think about it.
Read More »Richard Carlson Quote on Judging and Criticizing Other People
“You cannot fix me because I am not broken. And even though everything has changed, I am still more me than I’ve ever been.” ~ Iain Thomas, Every Word You Cannot Say (Page 225)
Martin Luther King Jr. Quote on The Ultimate Measure Of A Man
“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.”
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Beyond the Quote (18/365)
It’s easy to be a good person when everything in life is good. When everything in the house is working beautifully and you can sit on the couch and watch your favorite TV show without interruption? When you go out to dinner and your table is beautifully set, the service is impeccable, and the food is amazing? When you go to work and you get along with everyone, you feel like you’re producing your best work, and your boss is thrilled?
Read More »Martin Luther King Jr. Quote on The Ultimate Measure Of A ManPico Iyer Quote on Leading A Balanced Life
“In the end, we need two things to lead a balanced life – a sense of the world and a sense of ourselves; it’s like breathing in and breathing out. And if you can only get to know the world by stepping out, and losing yourself in experience, you can only get to know the self by stepping back, and finding yourself in contemplation. One without the other leads to a kind of madness.”
Pico Iyer
Beyond the Quote (17/365)
I think at some point in our lives we all fantasize about traveling the world and living the life of a nomad. We could wander from one place to the next and fill our days with spontaneous adventures while meeting new and interesting people. We could explore new cities, take beautiful hikes, have campfires in the woods, listen to new music, and read stories from people who have come before. We can hitchhike in cars, catch cross country trains, sleep in the back of busses, and take red-eye flights. Every day would be different and every day would be filled with a wealth of experience that we could easily get lost in. Sounds pretty great right?
Read More »Pico Iyer Quote on Leading A Balanced Life“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)
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 Beliefs“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 ProcessStephen Cope Quote on Being Yourself and How You Can’t Be Anyone You Want To Be
“You cannot be anyone you want to be. Your one and only shot at a fulfilled life is being yourself—whoever that is. Furthermore, at a certain age it finally dawns on us that, shockingly, no one really cares what we’re doing with our life. This is a most unsettling discovery to those of us who have lived someone else’s dream and eschewed our own: No one really cares except us. When you scratch the surface, you finally discover that it doesn’t really matter a whit who else you disappoint if you’re disappointing yourself. The only question that makes sense to ask is: Is your life working for you?”
Stephen Cope, The Great Work Of Your Life
Beyond the Quote (Day 4)
If your life isn’t working for you, then who is it working for? Are you working to please yourself or someone else? Are you fulfilling dreams that are uniquely your own or dreams that were bestowed upon you by your parents? Do you feel a sense of growth and contribution when you work or do you feel a sense of dread and purposelessness?
Read More »Stephen Cope Quote on Being Yourself and How You Can’t Be Anyone You Want To Be
“We become what our environment encourages us to be.” ~ Laura L. Carstensen, Stanford Center on Longevity, via Happiness is a Choice You Make (Page 35)
“Who are you? When you buy a house and prepare to live in it, you hire an inspector to list all its faults—as it is, in reality, now, not as you wish it could be. You’ll even pay him for the bad news. You need to know. You need to discover the home’s hidden flaws. You need to know whether they are cosmetic imperfections or structural inadequacies. You need to know because you can’t fix something if you don’t know it’s broken—and you’re broken. You need an inspector.” ~ Jordan Peterson, via 12 Rules for Life (Page 93)
“Be cautious when you’re comparing yourself to others. You’re a singular being, once you’re an adult. You have your own particular specific problems—financial, intimate, psychological, and otherwise. Those are embedded in the unique broader context of your existence. Your career or job works for you in a personal manner, or it does not, and it does so in a unique interplay with the other specifics of your life. You must decide how much of your time to spend on this, and how much on that. You must decide what to let go, and what to pursue.” ~ Jordan Peterson, via 12 Rules for Life (Page 92)
