A Field Guide to a Happy Life: 53 Brief Lessons for Living

Every time you have a strong desire for something (or a strong aversion to something, which amounts to the same thing, really), train yourself to talk to the source of that desire (or aversion) and to say, “You are just an impression, and may not be at all what you portray yourself to be! Let me take a closer look and see what’s what.” Then put the

Now here are three stages of wisdom: the unwise person blames other people for what are, in the end, her own judgments about things; the person who is making progress does not blame others, but only herself; the wise person does not blame even herself.

The same goes with life. It’s fine to enjoy its pleasures and to entertain yourself a little. But you should always keep in mind that at some point the voyage will be over, since it does not last forever.

What is actually yours, then? The proper use, through your considerate judgment, of what life loans to you.

YOU ARE NOT DISTURBED BY things in themselves, but by your judgments of things.

Some things are within our power, while others are not. Within our power are opinion, motivation, desire, aversion, and, in a word, whatever is of our own doing; not within our power are our body, our property, reputation, office, and, in a word, whatever is not of our own doing.

Shift your goals from the external to the internal: repeat to yourself that your objective is not to hit the target, but to deliver the best shot of which you are capable;

The discipline of action, then, is concerned with learning how to properly act in the world, both toward ourselves and toward others.

In life, sometimes we win and sometimes we lose, so equanimity toward outcomes (we “choose” them but we don’t “desire” them) is the only reasonable attitude to cultivate.