The Dalai Lama and the Archbishop were both insistent that humility is essential to any possibility of joy. When we have a wider perspective, we have a natural understanding of our place in the great sweep of all that was, is, and will be. This naturally leads to humility and the recognition that as human beings we can’t solve everything or control all aspects of life. We need others. The Archbishop has poignantly said that our vulnerabilities, our frailties, and our limitations are a reminder that we need one another: We are not created for independence or self-sufficiency, but for interdependence and mutual support.
The Book of Joy
Dalai Lama, Desmond Tutu, and Douglas Carlton Abrams
To conclude “I can’t” in advance, without trying, and in the absence of any evidence to support the inevitability of failure, is not rational.
Psycho-Cybernetics
Maxwell Maltz
Every time you practice deeply—the wires of your brain get faster. Over time, signal speeds increase to 200 mph from 2 mph. When you practice, it’s useful and motivating to visualize the pathways of your brain being transformed from simple copper wires to high-speed broadband, because that’s what’s really happening.
The Little Book of Talent
Daniel Coyle
“Happiness is the space between one desire being fulfilled and a new desire forming.” Likewise, suffering is the space between craving a change in state and getting it.
Atomic Habits
James Clear
“Meditation is not about feeling a certain way. It’s about feeling the way you feel.” It’s amazing how many times I can hear this message and yet forget it when I sit down to meditate. You don’t need to achieve some special state; you just need to be as aware as possible of whatever’s happening right now. This is what the Buddhists mean by “letting go”—better translated as “letting be.”
10% Happier
Dan Harris