If I'm going to spend time digging into self reflection literature, I want it to stick.
I want the phrases and bullet lists to crash into my face and bounce around in my mind. Explorative philosophy is great, but anyone who tells you that they honestly enjoy reading 300+ pages of abstract existentialism with multiple central theses at 12pt text is either lying to look cool, or genuinely just Ramsley from The Haunted Mansion.
*enter: 101 essays by Brianna Wiest*
A year of reading cover to cover I've decided my review of the anthology itself is: that although it is kind of scattered, with some really eye-opening parts and also some lack-luster bits, overall I'm glad I got it at the time in my life that I did for the read. My gift now to the blog is my favorite line from each essay/chapter--or the portion that truly did, change the way I thought.
In no way does this take place for actually reading the book--you should definitely read it if you're into reflection and psychology--but for those that can't commit to a full book, or just want to read something that hits, this is for you.
So: 101 Excerpts That Really Did Change The Way I Think, pt.1
The things you hate about others are the things you cannot see in yourself.
Your habits create your mood, and your mood is a filter through which you experience your life.
They are kind to all, but truly open to few.
We all start as strangers, but we forget that we rarely choose who ends up a stranger too.
Your relationship to everyone is an extension of your relationship to yourself.
Discomfort is what happens when we are on the precipice of change.
Sadness will not kill you. Depression will not kill you. But Fighting it will. Ignoring it will. Denying it will.
Sometimes we get attached to the structures because we don't like the contents.
Some of the happiest and best-adjusted people are the ones who can make any situation ideal.
The path to a greater life is not 'suffering until you achieve something,' but by letting joy and gratitude build where you are, into something.
The happiness of excellence is the kind of happiness that comes from the pursuit of something great.
You will never be ready for the things that matter, and waiting to feel ready will only ever build anxiety.
The way to change your life is to change the way you think, and the way to change the way you think is to change what you read.
The point of hard work is to recognize the person it makes you, not what it 'gets' you.
You owe nothing to your younger self.
The world is not as it is, it is as we are.
Having a misinformed belief or incorrect idea does not invalidate you as a person.
You cannot selectively numb emotion--when you numb the bad, you numb the great too.
If you only gauge your body's acceptability by comparison, you will never be enough.
It is not the quantity of what we accomplish, but the quality of it.
Stop trying to navigate the path while the forest is dark.
The most creativity can be fostered when you learn to do so without passing judgement.
When we realize there is a purpose for our pain, the discomfort of it dissolves.
At the end of the day, it's just about choosing to focus on the good life you already have, more.
You were never stuck in the first place, you only stopped to ask yourself: 'is this what I'm truly here for'.
When you want to pity yourself over how little love you're getting, stop and consider 'how much love am I giving'.
Be where your feet are.
The real work of anything is simply becoming conscious of what is already true.
The 'cool kids' usually don't get very far past high school.
Gather your strength from purpose, not passion.
You're not afraid of loss, you're afraid of being forced to accept the reality of it before you think you're ready to.
If the whole world were blind, how many people would you impress?
Decide that to be worthy of something is just to be grateful to have it.
You don't know what you want, you want what you know.
Defensiveness is born of fear, assertiveness is born of confidence.
Sometimes the way light enters us is, in fact, through the wound.
Clarity comes from doing, not thinking about doing.
Emotional toxicity is born of mental resistance.
Binge thinking is what happens when introspection becomes a means of avoiding a problem.
The monster everyone's running from, of course is themselves.
Anger = Recognition. You don't lash back at things you don't in some way regard as being real.
The moment you decide one outcome is the right one, you also decide another is the wrong one.
A 'good life' is not how it adds up in the end, but what you're counting along the way.
The voice of your soul is ultimately why you choose to get lost in the first place.
The whole act of 'finding your purpose' is just a mechanism of the ego of self.
How to become your own worst enemy: believe that marriage = love, job titles = success, and religion = goodness.
If we saw souls instead of bodies, what is the first thing people would know/notice about you?
The heart will tell you what, the mind will tell you how.
'Tis not the mountain man conquers, but himself.
At the end of the day, it is not our own illusions that are dangerous, but other peoples.
Now, just let it digest a little before pt2. :)
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