"You are better off not giving the small things more time than they deserve." -- Marcus Aurelius

#wisdom #spirituality #philosophy #goodlife

"What matters in life is not what happens to you but what you remember and how you remember it." -- Gabriel García Márquez

#wisdom #spirituality #philosophy #goodlife

"The first principle is that you must not fool yourself - and you are the easiest person to fool." -- Richard Feynman

#wisdom #spirituality #philosophy #goodlife

"You never truly need what you want. That is the main and thoroughgoing key to serenity." -- Albert Ellis

#wisdom #spirituality #philosophy #goodlife

It pays to remember from time to time, the Stoic teachings about setbacks: the obstacle is the way. It's how we react to, learn from and grow from these setbacks that matters. It lies in our hands to make the most of them, to learn something about ourselves, others and the world. So let's all embrace our setbacks, even though it's hard.

#wisdom #spirituality #philosophy #goodlife

"We must always change, renew, rejuvenate ourselves; otherwise, we harden." -- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

#wisdom #spirituality #philosophy #goodlife

Rick Rubin's thoughts on failure:

"Failure is the information you need to get where you're going."

"Taking a wrong tun allows you to see landscapes you wouldn't otherwise have seen."

#wisdom #spirituality #philosophy #goodlife

"The time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time." -- Bertrand Russell

#wisdom #spirituality #philosophy #goodlife

"The secret is not to find the meaning of life, but to use your life to make things that are meaningful." -- James Clear

#wisdom #spirituality #philosophy #goodlife

"The quality of your mind determines the quality of your life." -- Sam Harris

#wisdom #spirituality #philosophy #goodlife

"One can choose to go back toward safety or forward toward growth. Growth must be chosen again and again; fear must be overcome again and again." -- Abraham Maslow

#wisdom #spirituality #philosophy #goodlife

My key take-aways from Michael Easter's book "The Comfort Crisis" are that we should occasionally expose ourselves to the following discomforts in order to be healthier and lead more satisfying lives, a.k.a the #goodlife:

-) Do really, really hard things from time to time.

-) Become comfortable with boredom.

-) Become comfortable with silence and solitude.

-) Let yourself feel hunger and be ok with it.

-) Think about your death every day.

-) Incorporate load carrying into your routine.

-) Don't sanitize yourself and everything around you to death.

I can definitely recommend this book. It's a perfect blend of hard science and adventure story. Easy to read, engaging and full of #wisdom.

"Kindness is for your soul as health is for your body: you do not notice it when you have it." -- Leo Tolstoy

#wisdom #spirituality #philosophy #goodlife

"It's such a lucky accident, having been born, that we're almost obliged to pay attention." -- Mark Strand

#wisdom #spirituality #philosophy #goodlife

Ryan Holiday proposes these 10 habits, to make us better at our most important job - being a good person:

-) Tell the truth

-) Respect others

-) Give, give, give

-) Find the good

-) Choose a north star

-) Hold the line

-) Develop competence

-) Love

-) Just be kind

-) Leave this place better than you found it

His new book "Right Thing, Right Now" about all this is available for preorder. I can't wait to read it.

#wisdom #spirituality #philosophy #goodlife

"It's never the right time, but right now is usually the best time." -- James Clear

#wisdom #spirituality #philosophy #goodlife

Have you noticed the noise-level of your surroundings recently?

According to Michael Easter and various studies he cites in his book "The Comfort Crisis" the noisier our environments become, the worse off we are:

"Research shows antianxiety medication use rises a relative 28 percent for every 10-decibel increase a neighborhood experiences, and people who live near loud roads are 25 percent more likely to be depressed."

"Other research found that two minutes of silence led to the bigger drops in measures of relaxation like blood pressure and heart and breathing rate compared to a handful of other relaxation techniques."

#wisdom #spirituality #philosophy #goodlife

"While wandering down the path of wonder, I briefly escape the world of separation and enter the world of unity." -- Hermann Hesse

#wisdom #spirituality #philosophy #goodlife

"Good and evil both increase at compound interest. This is why the little decisions you and I make every day are of such infinite importance. The smallest good act today is the capture of a strategic point from which, a few months later, you may be able to go to victories you never dreamed of." -- C. S. Lewis

#wisdom #spirituality #philosophy #goodlife

A poem from American singer-songwriter, Portia Nelson, describing her life. I hope it resonates with you. It sure did with me.

Chapter 1

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I walk down the street.

There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.

I fall in.

I am lost… I am helpless.

It isn’t my fault.

It takes forever to find a way out.

Chapter 2

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I walk down the street.

There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.

I pretend that I don’t see it.

I fall in again.

I can’t believe I am in this same place.

But, it isn’t my fault.

It still takes a long time to get out.

Chapter 3

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I walk down the same street.

There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.

I see it is there.

I still fall in … it’s a habit … but, my eyes are open.

I know where I am.

It is my fault.

I get out immediately.

Chapter 4

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I walk down the same street.

There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.

I walk around it.

Chapter 5

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I walk down another street.

#wisdom #spirituality #philosophy #goodlife