No matter how much preparation, no matter how skilled or smart we are, the ultimate outcome is in the lap of the gods. The sooner we know that, the better we will be.

It’s not just accepting, it’s loving everything that happens.

Something happened that we wish had not. Which of these is easiest to change: our opinion or the event that is past?

“Don’t seek for everything to happen as you wish it would, but rather wish that everything happens as it actually will—then your life will flow well.”

character is a far better measure of a man or woman.

philosophy consists of three parts: the moral, the natural, and the rational. The first puts the soul in order. The second thoroughly examines the natural order of things. The third inquires into the proper meaning of words, and their arrangements and proofs which keep falsehoods from creeping in to displace truth.” —SENECA, MORAL LETTERS, 89.9

“Dig deep within yourself, for there is a fountain of goodness ever ready to flow if you will keep digging.”

But whatever your perceived deficits are, remember that there are positive qualities that you can develop that don’t depend on genetic accidents.

Let’s not confuse getting better at stuff with being a better person. One is a much bigger priority than the other.