‘WHY AM I FEELING LIKE THIS?’ This question sets you up to run through all your problems one by one, seeing if you can pinpoint what caused your feelings.

One particular type of thought process is so intimately linked to our emotions that some experts consider it a core component. This is the process of ‘making sense of’ or ‘giving meaning to’ our experience. For example, with sadness you have a sense of loss, and with fear you have a sense of danger.

The values-focused life will always be more fulfilling than the goal-focused life because you get to appreciate the journey even as you’re working towards your goals.

Like a butterfly pinned to a table, however, happiness dies unless it is held lightly.

thoughts that criticise you, insult you, judge you, put you down or blame you are likely to lower your motivation rather than increase it.

The three basic steps of expansion are: observe your feelings, breathe into them, and allow them to come and go.

Changing or getting rid of it is not the goal. The goal is to make peace with it; to let it to be there, even if you don’t like it or want it.

The more pragmatic approach is to ask, ‘Is this thought helpful? Does it help me take action to create the life I want?’

whether a thought is true is not that important. Far more important is whether it’s helpful.