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“The Sun himself is weak when he first rises and gathers strength and courage as the day gets on.”
This quote is from the novel, The Old Curiosity Shop, by Charles Dickens (1841). It appears as three characters in the story are having a conversation. At first, the attitudes of everyone present are focused on the negatives. Therefore, their conversation is a bit sad and depressing. But in the end, their…
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“Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does.”
Most of what we do has an impact. In fact, it’s hard to imagine any action that doesn’t make a difference in some way in the long or short term. Maybe, you’re not entirely convinced by this statement. So, let’s consider the act of “doing nothing”. The idea of doing…
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“The key is not to prioritize what’s on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities.”
“Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what’s going to happen next.”
“Life can only be understood backwards, but it must be lived forward.”
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“Happiness is not a goal. It’s a by-product of a life well lived.”
This quote, by Eleanor Roosevelt, addresses whether you’re looking at happiness at a micro or macro level. At a micro level, happiness becomes the end goal of every action. It becomes a constant effort–a never-ending pursuit. It means when something bad happens or you’re sad, one or more actions follow.…
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“If you want light to come into your life, you need to stand where it is shining.”
All plants need varying levels of sunlight to grow and thrive. It’s part of a process called photosynthesis wherein sunlight, along with water and oxygen, is converted into carbohydrates, i.e. energy. Light plays a key role in this process. Without it, a plant will eventually wither and die. This is…
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“A calm and modest life brings more happiness than the pursuit of success combined with constant restlessness.”
This quote comes from Albert Einstein. Take note, it doesn’t say that “the pursuit of success” is a bad thing. It’s good to have aspirations and pursue success in various endeavors. That’s one of the many things that give hope for the future. However, you can look at what comes…
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“A truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery while on a detour.”
Life has many detours. There are times things don’t “go our way.” So we have to go in a different direction with the hope of getting back on track. This quote (author unclear) reminds us that when things aren’t going as planned, we can either be miserable about it or…
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“Gratitude turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos into order, confusion into clarity…it makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.”
“If you are working on something exciting that you really care about, you don’t have to be pushed. The vision pulls you.”
“Not having the best situation, but seeing the best in your situation is the key to happiness.”
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“Happiness consists more in small conveniences or pleasures that occur every day than in great pieces of good fortune that happen but seldom to a man in the course of his life.”
We tend to assume a lot about a person’s happiness based on their achievements, milestones, and good fortune. But quite often, whatever they’ve accomplished by work and/or luck results in momentary happiness. After its initial effect, the feeling may fade over time, and it may experience “the law of diminishing…
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“It’s not happy people who are thankful. It’s thankful people who are happy.”
This quote, from Francis Bacon, reminds us of how much of a role gratitude plays in our happiness. In short, we can have all the things in the world that can make a person happy. But if we’re not thankful for a single thing, we will most likely be miserable despite…
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“Direction is so much more important than speed. Many are going nowhere fast.”
“If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put foundations under them.”
“The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new lands, but in seeing with new eyes.”
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“If you want to feel rich, just count the things you have that money can’t buy.”
Having a lot of tangible possessions is what the world equates to being rich. And we naturally assume that anyone who fits that description is happier. However, there have been (and will continue to be) countless examples of people who have wealth but suffer from deep sadness, too. Because having…
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“There are a thousand reasons to live this life, every one of them is sufficient.”
Truly, there are a thousand reasons to live. And one can argue that the number of reasons are innumerable. From spending more time with your loved ones to enjoying another sunset, checking off an item on your bucket list, reaching an unmet goal, or dancing to your favorite tune. Each…
