Certainly, there are some aspects of your identity that tend to remain unchanged over time—like identifying as someone who is tall or short. But even for more fixed qualities and characteristics, whether you view them in a positive or negative light is determined by your experiences throughout life.

Nonconscious is the term I’m going to use because it is broad enough to encompass both the processes of the mind we could never consciously access and the moments when we are simply not paying attention to what surrounds us. Nonconscious is a description of anything you are not consciously thinking about.

Your actions reveal your true motivations.

The source of all suffering is the desire for a change in state. This is also the source of all progress.

happiness is fleeting because a new desire always comes along.

Happiness is not about the achievement of pleasure (which is joy or satisfaction), but about the lack of desire.

Success is not a goal to reach or a finish line to cross. It is a system to improve, an endless process to refine.

When you cling too tightly to one identity, you become brittle. Lose that one thing and you lose yourself.

In the words of investor Paul Graham, “keep your identity small.” The more you let a single belief define you, the less capable you are of adapting when life challenges you.