“If you come across any special trait of meanness or stupidity… you must be careful not to let it annoy or distress you, but to look upon it merely as an addition to your knowledge—a new fact to be considered in studying the character of humanity. Your attitude towards it will be that of the mineralogist who stumbles upon a very characteristic specimen of a mineral.”
Arthur Schopenhauer, via The Daily Laws (Page 368)
“It’s my contention that the people you deal with are a lot more interesting and complicated and weird than you imagine. You think that you have to travel to some foreign region like Bali or see some interesting movie to find people interesting. No, that salesperson at Rite Aid or whomever—they actually have a really deep, rich inner life. They are fascinating. You’re just not realizing it.”
Robert Greene, The Daily Laws (Page 345)
“It’s hard to be a person in this world. Maybe not as much for you, but it definitely is for some people. So you must be patient. You must be understanding. You must not assume the worst. You must do what you can to help…and put up with the people that you can’t. Things are hard enough, you don’t need to make it harder…for them or for yourself.”
Ryan Holiday, The Daily Stoic Blog
“Shut out all forms of distraction. Eliminate all opportunities for rivalry.”
Bruce Lee, Striking Thoughts (Page 103)
“People normally see you through the very thick lens of their own past. Letting our lives be defined by the valuations/judgments that others place on us, is a quick path to people pleasing and constant dissatisfaction. If you want to do your life justice, then you need to simply be kind, walk gently, have compassion, but above all, live in a way that honors your truth. It is possible to view others without judgment, to see them through a lens of acceptance, but that takes intentional practice and healing work to relieve yourself of the thickness of ego.”
Yung Pueblo