Timeless Ideas | August 15, 2020
Here’s your weekly dose of timeless ideas to sharpen your mind, make smarter decisions, and live better.
Quotes
I.
Much unhappiness has come into the world because of bewilderment and things left unsaid.
― Albert Camus
II.
The surest way to corrupt a youth is to instruct him to hold in higher esteem those who think alike than those who think differently.
― Friedrich Nietzsche
III.
If they are wise, do not quarrel with them; if they are fools, ignore them.
― Epictetus
Ideas
I.
The world is filled with people who, no matter what you do, will point blank not like you. But it is also filled with those who will love you fiercely. They are your people. You are not for everyone and that’s OK. Talk to the people who can hear you.
Don’t waste your precious time and gifts trying to convince them of your value, they won’t ever want what you’re selling. Don’t convince them to walk alongside you. You’ll be wasting both your time and theirs and will likely inflict unnecessary wounds, which will take precious time to heal. You are not for them and they are not for you; politely wave them on and continue along your way. Sharing your path with someone is a sacred gift; don’t cheapen it by rolling yours in the wrong direction.
Keep facing your true north.
Rebecca Campbell in Light is The New Black
II.
Note to self:
None of us are getting out of here alive, so please stop treating yourself like an after thought. Eat the delicious food. Walk in the sunshine. Jump in the ocean. Say the truth that you’re carrying in your heart like hidden treasure. Be silly. Be kind. Be weird. There’s no time for anything else.
Nanea Hoffman
III.
The world as a whole has never been richer, and it has never been more heavily in debt, living off borrowed money. The record shows that, for society, the richer we become, the harder it get to live within our means. Abundance is harder for us to handle than scarcity.
Nassim Nicholas Taleb in Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder
Articles Worth Reading
I.
Most of the Mind Can’t Tell Fact from Fiction
Jim Davies | Nautilus
Philosophers have long concerned themselves with what they call “the paradox of fiction”—why would we find imagined stories emotionally arousing at all? The answer is that most of our mind does not even realize that fiction is fiction, so we react to it almost as though it were real.
II.
Nathaniel Wade | Aeon
Forgiveness, of others and one’s self, can be a powerful, life-altering process. It can change the trajectory of a relationship or even one’s life. It is not the only response one can make to being hurt or hurting others, but it is an effective way to manage the inevitable moments of conflict, disappointment, and pain in our lives. Forgiveness embraces both the reality of the offence and the empathy and compassion needed to move on. Forgiveness encourages a deeper, more compassionate understanding that we are all flawed in our different ways and that we all need to be forgiven at times.
III.
While Everyone Is Distracted By Social Media, Successful People Double Down On An Underrated Skill
Michael Simmons | Medium
Right now, somewhere out in the world is a paragraph, chapter, or book that would change your life forever if you read it. I call this kind of information “breakthrough knowledge,” and mastering the ability to find breakthrough knowledge in our era of information overload is one of the most important skills we can develop.
Want to read more? You can read the full archives here and other posts on our website as they are published.
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