3 quotes for Jan 8, 2020

I read Bruce Lee for a brief minute or two every other day, alternating that with Thich Nhat Hanh. It is a simple way to kickstart my day - just open up to a random page and read a few lines. James Clear (the author of Atomic Habits) writes wonderfully well and says smart things and I just had to share.

I'm not in this world to live up to your expectations and you're not in this world to live up to mine.

– Bruce Lee

I love this quote. Anytime I feel I am forcing myself to conform to a behaviour - whether it is peer pressure or whatever - I try to come back to this. Balancing being a selfish ass versus being pulled all over the place by everyone is, well, a balance. But I think if all of us remember this, we'd be much better off.

We are the primary cause of our suffering, not someone else.

– Thich Nhat Hanh

Connecting the first quote to this one, many times when I get angry or disappointed or whatever, it is because I expected a different action/behaviour from a person. Even if this person is close to me, it does not dictate that they behave according to how I'd like them to.

All of us have our inner dialogues and version of events going on, and we act according to that. We don't intend to hurt someone close to us but sometimes we do. And that suffering happens more when there's an expectation.

Maturity is learning how to start when you feel like procrastinating and learning how to listen when you feel like talking.

– James Clear

I used to define myself as a procrastinator until I went to a retreat, late in 2019. I realised I just need more time and space to mull things over. And that there are other forms of procrastination which I do - excessively research, for example. Learning how to see this pattern and break out of it is like lifting weights - learning to use a muscle repetitively and getting better at it.

The listening one - I suck at it. But reading this quote reminded me of my goal for this year, to listen better. Seems simple (not easy) - the next time I feel like opening my mouth in a conversation, pause.

Hope you guys enjoyed these. Do share a recent quote that struck you!