Perhaps the only major advantage of getting older is the prospect of getting wiser. I think I’ve learned a great many things over the years but here are a dozen of my most treasured insights.
- I am still a work in process; that as long as I can think I can learn.
- I still have a lot to learn but if I keep learning I will get better; and the better I get, the happier I will be.
- Trying to be a good person doesn’t get any easier and that being a good person often requires me to do the right thing even when it costs more than I want to pay.
- Kindness is more important than cleverness and that carrying grudges is foolish and self-defeating.
- My dad was right when he told me, “Where there’s a will, there’s a way,” and that tenacity is more important to success than talent.
- Pain is inevitable, but suffering is optional and that I have a lot to say about my own happiness.
- A life focused on fun and pleasure rarely leads to happiness or fulfillment.
- In my personal relationships and in the workplace I’ve got to set limits because whatever I allow, I encourage.
- The things I like to do least are often the things that need to be done most.
- It’s easy to fall into self-righteousness and that neither the intensity of my feelings nor the certainty of my convictions is any assurance that I’m right.
- Unless I translate my thoughts into actions, my great ideas and good intentions are like unlit candles.
- I cannot lie myself out of a problem and that the problems I ignore don’t go away, they just grow bigger.