Quotes about Priorities
“most importantly love
like it’s the only thing you know how
at the end of the day all this
means nothing
this page
where you’re sitting
your degree
your job
the money
nothing even matters
except love and human connection
who you loved
and how deeply you loved them
how you touched the people around you
and how much you gave them”
Rupi Kaur, Milk and Honey (Page 194)
Mark Manson Quote on Experiences and How To Find The Ideal Balance Between Breadth and Depth
“Yes, breadth of experience is likely necessary and desirable when you’re young—after all, you have to go out there and discover what seems worth investing yourself in. But depth is where the gold is buried. And you have to stay committed to something and go deep to dig it up. That’s true in relationships, in a career, in building a great lifestyle—in everything.”
Mark Mason, The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck
Beyond the Quote (163/365)
With every major category in life—relationships, career, lifestyle—we must choose how to optimally invest our time. With time being our most precious resource, this is no easy task. How much time should we spend with our family versus our friends? With our current friends versus new friends? On our career versus our vacations? On tasks related to our career versus tasks that might expand our career options? On consuming things produced versus producing things to be consumed? On acquiring more versus minimizing and using less? What Manson points to above, however, is a fundamental insight that can help guide you in this effort.
Read More »Mark Manson Quote on Experiences and How To Find The Ideal Balance Between Breadth and DepthFranz Kafka Quote on Using Subtle Maneuvers to Stay Balanced and Focused As You Continue To Fight in Life
“Time is short, my strength is limited, the office is a horror, the apartment is noisy, and if a pleasant, straightforward life is not possible then one must try to wriggle through by subtle maneuvers.”
Franz Kafka, via Daily Rituals
Beyond the Quote (154/365)
It never ceases to amaze me how fast 10 minutes goes by when I’m distracted and busy versus how slow 10 minutes goes by when I’m trying to be present. Even just this morning I was reminded. My alarm went off at around 7:15am and after snoozing for another 15 minutes, I went on my phone to further wake up for the day. Before I knew it, it was already 8:10am. 40 minutes had literally flown by before I had even one conscious thought to check the time.
Read More »Franz Kafka Quote on Using Subtle Maneuvers to Stay Balanced and Focused As You Continue To Fight in Life
Isaac Pitman Quote on Arranging Your Mind By Arranging Your Time
“Well arranged time is the surest mark of a well arranged mind.”
Sir Isaac Pitman
Beyond the Quote (137/365)
Have you ever laid into bed at the end of a day and wondered… what just happened? Like the whole day felt like a big blur? And even after a few minutes of reflection, you still can’t quite get it all straight? This is a common effect of living a reactive and unplanned lifestyle. If you go into the day with a blurry vision of what you need to do, then, it follows that you’ll come out on the other side with a blurry memory of what you did.
Read More »Isaac Pitman Quote on Arranging Your Mind By Arranging Your TimePenor Rinpoche Quote on Dealing With Life Now Rather Than Waiting (and Worrying) About It Later
“Life is more difficult if you worry. It’s better to deal with things as they come up.”
Penor Rinpoche, via Turning the Mind Into An Ally (Page 101)
Beyond the Quote (134/365)
I have noticed in myself over the past few days an increased tendency to use my phone. This tendency, I suppose, could be for many reasons. It could be because of the addictive nature of phones, the increased desire for connection during a time of isolation, it could be a coping strategy to deal with the effects of the Coronavirus pandemic, a lackadaisical response to the slower lifestyle (in my case at least), or a combination of all of the above. While it is important to be a little more lenient on yourself during a time of global crisis, what I have also noticed, from careful introspection, is that I have felt my anxiety levels go up in proportion to the increased phone use.
Read More »Penor Rinpoche Quote on Dealing With Life Now Rather Than Waiting (and Worrying) About It Later
“We must be disciplined about our discipline and moderate in our moderation. Life is about balance, not about swinging from one pole to the other. Too many people alternate between working and bingeing, on television, on food, on video games, on laying around wondering why they are bored. The chaos of life leads into the chaos of planning a vacation. Sitting alone with a canvas? A book club? A whole afternoon for cycling? Chopping down trees? Who has the time? If Churchill had the time, if Gladstone had the time, you have the time.”
Ryan Holiday, Stillness is the Key (Page 240)
“People say, ‘I’ll sleep when I’m dead,’ as they hasten that very death, both literally and figuratively. They trade their health for a few more working hours. They trade the long-term viability of their business or their career before the urgency of some temporal crisis. If we treat sleep as a luxury, it is the first to go when we get busy. If sleep is what happens only when everything is done, work and others will constantly be impinging on your personal space. You will feel frazzled and put upon, like a machine that people don’t take care of and assume will always function.”
Ryan Holiday, Stillness is the Key (Page 230)
“When we not only automate and routinize the trivial parts of life, but also make automatic good and virtuous decisions, we free up resources to do important and meaningful exploration. We buy room for peace and stillness, and thus make good work and good thoughts accessible and inevitable.”
Ryan Holiday, Stillness is the Key (Page 205)
“We were not put on this planet to be worker bees, compelled to perform some function over and over again for the cause of the hive until we die. Nor do we ‘owe it’ to anyone to keep doing, doing, doing—not our fans, not our followers, not our parents who have provided so much for us, not even our families. Killing ourselves does nothing for anybody. It’s perfectly possible to do and make good work from a good place. You can be healthy and still and successful.”
Ryan Holiday, Stillness is the Key (Page 125)
Epictetus Quote on Prioritizing What’s Important
“If you wish to improve, be content to appear clueless or stupid in extraneous matters.”
Epictetus, via Stillness is the Key (Page 31)
Beyond the Quote (100/365)
In a world of 24/7 news coverage across hundreds of thousands of news coverage sources, it’s impossible to consume everything that is being broadcasted—it’s never ending. And because it’s always a race between news coverage organizations to be the first to broadcast, so much of what’s shown is speculative, shallow, incomplete, and, well, excessive. If you always want to know everything that’s going on in the world at all times, then turn on the news and scroll through your never ending social media timelines for every waking minute of your day. The crazy part is that you will be able to do it.
Read More »Epictetus Quote on Prioritizing What’s Important
Seth Godin Quote on Quitting—Quitting More So You Can Focus More On What Matters [Plus 30 Things to Consider Quitting]
“Sticking things out is overrated, particularly if you stick out the wrong things. In fact, I think you’d be much better off quitting most of what you do so you have the resources to get through the hard slog I call the Dip. The challenge, then, is to not quit in the Dip, but instead to quit everything else so you have the focus to get through the slog of what matters.”
Seth Godin, Whatcha Gonna Do With That Duck?
Beyond the Quote (71/365)
What should we stick out and what should we quit? I can tell you that the list of things we should stick out is far smaller than the list of things we should quit. And after some reflection, what you might find is that your list of things that you’ve been sticking out is WAY bigger than you might have imagined it to be and the things you SHOULD be sticking out might not even be making it to your daily to-do list at all. My instinct tells me that the follow 6 things are worth sticking out without explaination: Reading, Writing, Exercising, Meditating, Learning, and Connecting.
Read More »Seth Godin Quote on Quitting—Quitting More So You Can Focus More On What Matters [Plus 30 Things to Consider Quitting]Vince Lombardi Quote on How Winners Never Quit—And Why I Disagree
“Winners never quit and quitters never win.” ~ Vince Lombardi
Beyond the Quote (70/365)
I disagree. In fact, I believe that winners actually quit more than those who lose. The difference is that they know what to quit, when to quit, how to quit, and have the courage and discipline to do so. Of course, Lombardi is likely referring to the idea that winners never quit in pursuit of their primary goal(s) in life and those who do quit in pursuit of their primary goal(s) will never win at them—this might be obvious.
Read More »Vince Lombardi Quote on How Winners Never Quit—And Why I Disagree