Valerie Louis

Ask yourself, “What are the questions I’ve always been interested in?” This could include grand, sweeping questions like “How can we make society fairer and more equitable?” as well as practical ones like “How can I make it a habit to exercise every day?” It might include questions about relationships, such as “How can I have closer relationships

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In my experience, inspiration is not something that finds you, or offers itself to you, nor for that matter is faith. Inspiration and faith are similar in so far as they both ask something of us. They each require real and constant practical application. For me, inspiration comes only when I practice certain things regularly and rigorously. I must... See more

Life is full of suffering. It’s unevenly distributed in tragic ways — I would never dispute that. But even the best and luckiest and most privileged life has an unfortunate share of suffering in it. And there are choices to be made: How much do we focus on it? How much do we dwell on it? How much do we speak of it? How do we speak of it? And how... See more

Most of the time, “What should I do with my life?” is a terrible question. “What should I do with this tennis serve?” “What should I do with this line at Starbucks?” “What should I do with this traffic jam?” “How should I respond to the anger I feel welling up in my chest?” These are better questions. Excellence is the next five minutes,

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