Looking Good or Learning and Growing

"This is a small difference with huge implications. Each of us has a battle going on within. We want to look good to others, but we also want to learn and grow. However, it is quite difficult to do both at the same time. If we want to look good, we are unlikely to put ourselves in positions where we may make mistakes and fail. But aren’t these the very situations where we are likely to learn and grow the most? To resolve this battle, we end up developing neural connections that cause us to focus on one over the other: looking good or learning and growing."

-- Ryan Gottfredson

Why Waste Time Proving

"Why waste time proving over and over how great you are, when you could be getting better?"

-- Carol Dweck

Where You Find Peace

"You find peace not by rearranging the circumstances of your life, but by realizing who you are at the deepest level."

-- Eckhart Tolle

The Test of All Knowledge

"The test of all knowledge is experiment… . Experiment is the sole judge of scientific ‘truth’.”

-- Richard P. Feynman

Identify Thoughts That create Best Outcomes

"Most people I know experience a spectrum of hopes and fears every day of their lives. The people who experience consistent success have learned how to identify with the thoughts that create the best outcomes. Even these people may still hit rough patches. And when they do, they call someone, they pray, they meditate, they get coached, and they find a way to choose again."

-- Robert Holden

Once You Truly Adopted A Habit

"Once we’ve truly adopted a habit, it comes easily, without decision making. But until that point—and many habits, alas, can never be completely taken for granted—giving ourselves a little boost with treats helps us maintain our self-command.  Goethe pointed out, “Whatever liberates our spirit without giving us mastery over ourselves is destructive.” And whatever liberates our spirit while giving us mastery over ourselves is constructive."

-- Gretchen Rubin

Love Is Our Essential Nutrient

"Love is our essential nutrient. Without it, life has little meaning. It’s the best thing we have to give and the most valuable thing we receive. It’s worthy of all the hullabaloo."

-- Cheryl Strayed

Knowing Your Gut Feeling

"Gut feelings. I get them all the time. Sometimes it is a small gut feeling (like I shouldn’t have eaten that expired yogurt in the back of the refrigerator . . . OK, that one was common sense) but other times there are big gut feelings. How can you tell the difference between a gut feeling and a simple thought or desire? I think it requires getting into the regular practice of tuning out extra noise and getting to know yourself and your desires more deeply. It requires leaning in when things are flowing and moving toward the momentum. When you are in the flow, you can better discern what is working well from what isn’t."

-- Stacie Bloomfield

Greatest Times in Human History

"We are living today in one of the greatest times in all of human history. There are more opportunities and possibilities for you to accomplish more in every area in your life than have ever existed before, and if anything, it is only getting better, year by year."

-- Brian Tracy

Every Time You Take Action

"Every time you take action, remember the rat and the swinging door. See that red light, and force yourself to stick around and find out that what happens. You will almost certainly find that whatever happens is not nearly as bad as you thought it would be."

-- Dr. Aziz Gazipura