“Instead of praising those people who happen to possess some piece of knowledge, we ought to praise those who have the right attitude towards it, since only this benchmark also includes those who strive for the truth and miss out on it for reasons not entirely under their control. Consider traits such as intellectual humility (a willingness to be wrong), intellectual courage (to pursue truths that make us uncomfortable), open-mindedness (to contemplate all sides of the argument, limiting preconceptions), and curiosity (to be continually seeking).” ~ Jonny Robinson, Aeon
22 Quotes on Following Your Heart (and How To Better Listen To What It Has To Say)
Excerpt: Listening to our mind is easy—listening to our heart is not so easy. Read our 22 quotes on following your heart and look closer at why…
Read More »22 Quotes on Following Your Heart (and How To Better Listen To What It Has To Say)
Quote on Managing Stress By Controlling What You Can and Letting Go Of What You Can’t
“Remember, most of your stress comes from the way you respond, not the way life is. Adjust your attitude. Change how you see things. Look for the good in all situations. Take the lesson and find new opportunities to grow. Let all the extra stress, worrying and overthinking go.”
Unknown
Beyond the Quote (44/365)
The above quote can be boiled down the following idea: accept what you cannot change, take control of what you can, do what you need to do to figure out which category each situation in your life falls, and act accordingly. If you never make the connection that a given situation is out of your control, then you might drive yourself mad in trying to change it. If you don’t even realize that a situation is within your control (or that at least part of it is) and you act as though it’s not, you might be suffering unnecessarily as a result.
Read More »Quote on Managing Stress By Controlling What You Can and Letting Go Of What You Can’tBronnie Ware Quote on How Regret Is Always More Painful Than Courage
“Regardless of how much courage it can take to live true to your own path, it will never be as painful as lying on your deathbed with the regret of not having tried.”
Bronnie Ware
Beyond the Quote (21/365)
Bronnie Ware is a palliative nurse who writes about her experiences in sharing people’s last moments alive with them. You can imagine the power and potency of such moments. In many cases, this experience of being with a person who is passing is outsourced to palliative nurses, like Ware, and isn’t something that many people experience first-hand in their lifetimes. Being with somebody who is about to die, however, might teach us more about living than anything we might ever read in a book or hear in a conversation. Until then, hearing what Ware has learned might be one of our next best (and most important) options.
Read More »Bronnie Ware Quote on How Regret Is Always More Painful Than CourageDavid 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 Process
“Generosity, discipline, patience, exertion, meditation, and wisdom keep turning our mind to enlightenment like a flower seeking sunlight. This brings genuine delight. The more awake we are, the more connected we feel with other sentient beings. The more awake we are, the more we want to help others achieve the same freedom.” ~ Sakyong Mipham, Turning the Mind Into An Ally (Page 210)
“True salvation is fulfillment, peace, life in all its fullness. It is to be who you are, to feel within you the good that has no opposite, the joy of Being that depends on nothing outside itself. It is felt not as a passing experience but as an abiding presence. In theistic language, it is to ‘know God’ — not as something outside you but as your own innermost essence. True salvation is to know yourself as an inseparable part of the timeless and formless One Life from which all that exists derives its being.” ~ Eckhart Tolle, The Power of Now (Page 146)
“A starting point for wisdom at any age might be to accept that you’re going to die—really accept it—and to feel more contented by the limits, not less. Modern medicine encourages us to consider death a test we can win or lose, something presided over by experts in white coats. But the elders offered a wiser perspective. None of us will get out of here alive, so we might as well live while we can.” ~ John Leland, Happiness is a Choice You Make (Page 45)
“Old age is the last thing we’ll ever do, and it might teach us about how to live now.” ~ John Leland, Happiness is a Choice You Make (Page 23)
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)
“It is because we are born human that we are guaranteed a good dose of suffering. And chances are, if you or someone you love is not suffering now, they will be within five years, unless you are freakishly lucky. Rearing kids is hard, work is hard, aging, sickness and death are hard, and Jordan emphasized that doing all that totally on your own, without the benefit of a loving relationship, or wisdom, or the psychological insights of the greatest psychologists, only makes it harder.” ~ Norman Doidge, via 12 Rules for Life (Page xvii)
12 Rules for Life [Book]
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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Not enough time to read/listen to the whole book? Check out the 21 minute Blinkist version of 12 Rules of Life and get the key insights here for free.
Post(s) Inspired by this Book:
- 48 Deep and Insightful Jordan Peterson Quotes from 12 Rules for Life
- 9 Rules for Children from 12 Rules For Life by Jordan Peterson
- Jordan Peterson Quote on Life Priorities and How “Triviality” Can Be Deceptive (Beyond the Quote 207/365)
- Jordan Peterson Quote on Self-Discovery and Why You Should Come Out From Hiding To Find Yourself (Beyond the Quote 155/365)
- Jordan Peterson Quote on The Power of Vision and Direction for Personal Development (Beyond the Quote 141/365)
- Jordan Peterson Quote on Disciplining Children (Beyond the Quote 51/365)
- Jordan Peterson Quote on Winning—About Letting Growth Taking Precedence Over Victory (Beyond the Quote 15/365)
- Jordan Peterson Quote on Judging Ourselves Based On Our Actions—Not Our Beliefs (Beyond the Quote 10/365)
- Picking A Direction Beats Random Wandering (Beyond the Quote 1/365)
“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
