The Antidote-- happiness for people who can't stand positive thinking

By Oliver Burkeman


Burkeman is in favor of a more balanced view of happiness-- not the unbridled optimism that is so popular. Burkeman is more stoic, or Buddist.

Some points to remember

The nonjudgmental, and non attached nature of Stoicism and Buddhism can be very useful to happiness.  Bad things happen all the time, even in this world of plenty. We have to embrace them and accept them. They didn't happen because we failed, because we weren't optimistic enough.

Be careful setting goals. We don't know the full consequences of choosing a goal. Sometimes planning like a frog-- leaping from lily pad to lily pad, rather that planning way ahead to a goal is much more effective. In some extreme situations, people have given up there lives to achieve a goal, rather than accept failure.

Get over yourself. 99.9% of everything you think and do is only for yourself.

Safety is as much a feeling as it is reality. Stopping at nothing to be safe, is not safe. It results in security theater. It results in us spending our time and money on things that only make us feel safe.

Failure happens. We can learn much from failure.

We all die. We'd be better off realizing that every day, rather than hiding from it.

Proficient Motorcycling...

By David Hough.

Very detailed and thoughtful writings about many aspects of motorcycling. I recommend you read a chapter, then go out and try it.

Seneca's Letters from a Stoic

Seneca's Letters from a Stoic is a classic book on the stoic life. Like all Greek philosophy, It applies to daily living.

It is regrettable that modern philosophy is of increasingly obscure use.

Some quotes...

"Philosophy calls for plain living, but not for penance"

“We shall be rich with more comfort, if we learn how far poverty is from being a burden”

“When you are travelling, there must be an end; when astray, your wanderings are limitless”

"It is a most miserable state to have lost one's zest for dying, and to have no zest in living"

On the balance of curiosity.... "What pleasure do you get from wasting your time on these problems, which relieve you of none of your emotions, rout none of your desires?" To which the response is... "Must I be ignorant of the heights whence I have descended?"

"The place where one lives can contribute little towards tranquility it is the mind which must make everything agreeable to itself."

“It is more important to keep the resolutions you have made than to go on and make noble ones.”

“Liberty cannot be gained for nothing. If you set a high value on liberty, you must set a low value on everything else.”

Moonwalking with Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything

by Joshua Foer.

This book is on my read-again list. The book is part history, part technique and part travelogue, as the author digs into the techniques of memory improvident and tells his story on the road to winning the U.S. memory championship.