It s not what you say to everybody else that determines your life

it s what you
whisper to yourself every day that has the greatest power.
Don t look for others to give you permission to be yourself. You don t need any
one s validation to be good enough or to have a great day.
The best time to be extra kind to yourself is when you don t feel like it. Be
cause that s when doing so can make the biggest difference.
Be your own experiment. Be your own work of art. Be a work in progress.
And be OK with it.
Let people around you see the real, imperfect, quirky, weird, beautiful, mag
ical person YOU are. That is enough.
You can t base your ideas of success and happiness on other people s opinions an
d expectations.
Spend a lot more time with those who make you smile and a lot less time with
those who you feel pressured to constantly impress. (And remember, you can be
kind to people without choosing to be around them all the time.)
Our greatest defense against stress is the ability to choose one thought ove
r another. Remember this. If you look for reasons to be angry and upset, you ll
find plenty of them. Look instead for reasons to be positive, and see them ever
ywhere.
One of the most peaceful mindsets ever begins the moment you finally find th
e courage to let go of what you can t change. (Read The Power of Now.)
There s no use going back over yesterday and what you did or didn t do, because
you were a different person then. Unless you let go, unless you forgive yoursel
f, unless you forgive the situation, unless you accept that it s over, you can t mov
e forward.
Most people make themselves unhappy simply by finding it impossible to accep
t life just as it is presenting itself right now. Don t be one of them.
You don t know what the future will bring So your best strategy for living is t
o make the best and most positive use of the present.
When you discover something that nourishes your soul and brings joy
somethin
g that truly matters to you care enough about yourself to make room for it in yo
ur life. And if you find that you don t have enough time for what matters, stop d
oing things that don t.
The quality of your life in the long run directly depends upon how you set a
nd respect your priorities today. And it s not selfish to love yourself, take car
e of yourself, and to make your happiness a priority.
Whenever the grass looks greener on the other side, stop staring, stop compa
ring, stop complaining, and start watering the grass you re standing on.
Anyone can hide from problems and suffer. Facing up to things, and working
through them gradually that s what makes you stronger and happier in the end.
Don t break your back. You can t lift a thousand pounds all at once. Yet you c
an easily lift one pound a thousand times. Tiny, repeated efforts will get you
there. (Marc and I discuss this further in the Goals & Success chapter of 1,000 L
ittle Things Happy, Successful People Do Differently.)
Sometimes we need to distance ourselves to see things clearly. And sometime
s the most important thing we do in a whole day is the short rest we take betwee
n two deep breaths.