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    “Be careful with what you tell yourself and others about what you have done, what you are doing, and where you are going.  Search for the correct words.  Organize those words into correct sentences, and those sentences into the correct paragraphs.  The past can be redeemed, when reduced by precise language to its essence.  The present can flow by without robbing the future if its realities are spoken out clearly.  With careful thought and language, the singular, stellar destiny that justifies existence can be extracted from the multitude of murky and unpleasant futures that are far more likely to manifest themselves of their own accord.” ~ Jordan Peterson, via 12 Rules for Life (Page 281)

      “If things are not going well for you—well, that might be because, as the most cynical of aphorisms has it, life sucks, and then you die.  Before your crisis impels you to that hideous conclusion, however, you might consider the following: Life doesn’t have the problem.  You do.  At least that realization leaves you with some options.  If your life is not going well, perhaps it is your current knowledge that is insufficient, not life itself.  Perhaps your value structure needs some serious retooling.  Perhaps what you want is blinding you to what else could be.  Perhaps you are holding on to your desires, in the present, so tightly that you cannot see anything else—even what you truly need.” ~ Jordan Peterson, via 12 Rules for Life (Page 94)

        “You need to consider the future and think, ‘What might my life look like if I were caring for myself properly?  What career would challenge me and render me productive and helpful, so that I could shoulder my share of the load, and enjoy the consequences?  What should I be doing, when I have some freedom, to improve my health, expand my knowledge, and strengthen my body?’  You need to know where you are, so you can start to chart your course.  You need to know who you are, so that you understand your armament and bolster yourself in respect to your limitations.  You need to know where you are going, so that you can limit the extent of chaos in your life, restructure order, and bring the divine force of Hope to bear on the world.” ~ Jordan Peterson, via 12 Rules for Life (Pages 62-63)

        12 Rules for Life [Book]

          12 Rules for Life by Jordan Peterson

          By: Jordan B. Peterson

          From this Book: 72 Quotes

          Book Overview:  What does everyone in the modern world need to know? Renowned psychologist Jordan B. Peterson’s answer to this most difficult of questions uniquely combines the hard-won truths of ancient tradition with the stunning revelations of cutting-edge scientific research.  Humorous, surprising and informative, Dr. Peterson tells us why skateboarding boys and girls must be left alone, what terrible fate awaits those who criticize too easily, and why you should always pet a cat when you meet one on the street. Dr. Peterson journeys broadly, discussing discipline, freedom, adventure and responsibility, distilling the world’s wisdom into 12 practical and profound rules for life. 12 Rules for Life shatters the modern commonplaces of science, faith and human nature, while transforming and ennobling the mind and spirit of its readers.

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          Post(s) Inspired by this Book:

            “Life is one long motherf*cking imaginary game that has no scoreboard, no referee, and isn’t over until we’re dead and buried.  And all I’d ever wanted from it was to become successful in my own eyes.  That didn’t mean wealth or celebrity, a garage full of hot cars, or a harem of beautiful women trailing after me.  It meant becoming the hardest motherf*cker who ever lived.  Sure, I stacked up some failures along the way, but in my mind the record proved that I was close.  Only the game wasn’t over, and being hard came with the requirement to drain every drop of ability from my mind, body, and soul before the whistle blew.  I would remain in constant pursuit.  I wouldn’t leave anything on the table.  I wanted to earn my final resting place.” ~ David Goggins, Can’t Hurt Me

              “Life is not going to pick us up when we fall.  There will be forks in the road, knives in your f*cking back, mountains to climb, and we are only capable of living up to the image we create for ourselves.  Prepare yourself!” ~ David Goggins, Can’t Hurt Me

                “Your life is not f*cked up because of overt racists or hidden systemic racism.  You aren’t missing out on opportunities, making sh*t money, and getting evicted because of America or Donald f*cking Trump or because your ancestors were slaves or because some people hate immigrants or Jews or harass women or believe gay people are going to hell.  If any of that sh*t is stopping you from excelling in life, I’ve got some news.  You are stopping you!” ~ David Goggins, Can’t Hurt Me

                  “Life’s beauty is inseparable from its fragility: We are young until we are not. We walk down the streets sexy until one day we realize that we are unseen. We nag our children and one day realize that there is silence where that child once was, now making his or her way in the world. We are healthy until a diagnosis brings us to our knees. The only certainty is uncertainty, and yet we are not navigating this frailty successfully or sustainably.” ~ Susan David, Ph.D, Mindful

                  We refuse life whenever we refuse to fulfill our potential.

                    We refuse life whenever we refuse to fulfill our potential.

                    “When we are living only a portion of what a human being is capable of, our lives are incomplete.  I don’t mean that we each have to do everything possible in life, but that the more possibilities we can imagine, the richer our lives will be.  Defending ourselves against the stranger is a way of keeping out our own potentiality.  The diminishment of our acquaintances is a diminishment of ourselves.  The most challenging stranger is life itself, or the soul, the face and source of vitality.  Life is always presenting new possibilities, and we may fear that bountifulness.  It may seem safer to be content with what we have and what we are, and so we cling to the status quo.  But in these matters there is no convenient plateau.  When we refuse a new offering of life, we develop emotional calluses.  The habit of acting from fear sets in quickly and becomes steadily more rigid.  Refusing life, we become attendants of death.”

                    Thomas Moore, Original Self | ★ Featured on this book list.