If someone is better than me at something, then that means they can teach me a lesson. If someone is a screw-up, they can serve as a cautionary tale. Either way they can still help me, and I get to improve no matter what.
There’s no need to hold a grudge or be vindictive; there’s too much to learn, too much to accomplish.
Delaying immediate gratification at the right time (which is more often than not) is like making a sound investment that will earn interest for you down the line.
Indulging in immediate gratification at the appropriate moment is like cashing out on that same investment, and spending it on a luxury or vacation that’s super worth it.
There are few things more rewarding to me than knowing in my heart that I did my best, and that I did everything I could with what I had.
Ironically, I find that when I do this, I’m not focusing on the reward at all; I’m too busy trying to do my best.
If you can soundly argue you’ve done everything you can, then the next conclusion would be to refrain from worry, because it can only be detrimental from that point on.
There is literally nothing left to worry about.
Maybe there’s no correlation, but when I finally admitted/forgave myself (just to myself) for my top 5 “darkest secrets,” my creativity kicked into high gear.
My theory is they were taking up “processing power.” Just to be sure, I made my friend sit there and listen while I told him what they were. I suspect you don’t need to confess, because I felt nothing, and derived no benefit from confessing (I just had to make sure). I only derived benefit when I originally admitted them to myself.
In time, those secrets will die just the same as I, so why feed them with the life I still possess? Why keep them alive until my physical death?
Don’t just believe in yourself; use discipline and strategy to give yourself EVERY POSSIBLE REASON to believe in yourself.
Regardless of my beliefs/suspicions concerning the underlying nature of reality, it seems that if I take phenomena instance by instance, without giving into the emotional whirlpool fostered by the idea that intangible forces are for or against me, then I am simply solving problems, advancing through levels, and enjoying the challenge of managing my energy.
In this way, life becomes an amusing game that honors our laughable insignificance–we’re tiny little specks, marooned on a mudball that’s hurling through infinity–WITHOUT wallowing in the cynical muck of unproductive nihilism.
