“No one wants to lose his partner of sixty years, or to give up walking because it hurts too much, but we have some choice in how we process the loss and the life left to us. We can focus on what we’ve lost or on the life we have now. Health factors, as shattering as they can be, are only part of the story.” ~ John Leland, Happiness is a Choice You Make (Page 13)
“When you’re old, you have to make yourself happy. Otherwise you get older.” ~ Ping Wong, via Happiness is a Choice You Make (Page 13)
“When I asked him what was the happiest period of his life, he did not hesitate. ‘Right now,’ he said.” ~ John Leland, Happiness is a Choice You Make (Page 8)
“Being an expert is exhausting. Being a student—letting go of your ego—is like sitting for a banquet at the best restaurant you’ll ever visit.” ~ John Leland, Happiness is a Choice You Make (Page 7)
Happiness Is a Choice You Make [Book]
Book Overview: In 2015, when the award-winning journalist John Leland set out on behalf of The New York Times to meet members of America’s fastest-growing age group, he anticipated learning of challenges, of loneliness, and of the deterioration of body, mind, and quality of life. But the elders he met took him in an entirely different direction. Despite disparate backgrounds and circumstances, they each lived with a surprising lightness and contentment. The reality Leland encountered upended contemporary notions of aging, revealing the late stages of life as unexpectedly rich and the elderly as incomparably wise. Happiness Is a Choice You Make is an enduring collection of lessons that emphasizes, above all, the extraordinary influence we wield over the quality of our lives. With humility, heart, and wit, Leland has crafted a sophisticated and necessary reflection on how to “live better”―informed by those who have mastered the art.
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Post(s) Inspired by this Book:
- 23 Quotes on Aging, Living, and Dying from Happiness Is a Choice You Make
- John Leland Quote on Contentment and Why You Should Grab It While You Can (Beyond the Quote 278/365)
- John Leland Quote on Happiness and How Gratitude is the Key That Unlocks the Door (Beyond the Quote 221/365)
- Jonas Mekas Quote on Choosing Art and Beauty Against Ugliness and Horrors (Beyond the Quote 20/365)
- David Bowie on Aging Being An Extraordinary Process (Beyond the Quote 7/365)