After a while, if you’re committed, you start to believe in the things in which you’re praying. It’s just cognitive dissonance. You can’t live a completely religious life and not start to have it sink in.
A. J. JACOBSI find placebos uplifting and exhilarating. It means that taking action–no matter what the action is–might help you feel better.
More A. J. Jacobs Quotes
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I know that knowledge and intelligence are not the same thing – but they do live in the same neighborhood. I know once again, firsthand, the joy of learning.
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I have little shame, no dignity – all in the name of a better cause.
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I thought religion would make me live with my head in the clouds, but as often as not, it grounds me in this world.
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I don’t believe that prayers actually change God’s mind – if there is a God – but I liked praying for people in need. It was like moral weightlifting. I tend to be self-obsessed, and it was nice to get out of my brain once in a while.
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The key to making healthy decisions is to respect your future self. Honor him or her. Treat him or her like you would treat a friend or a loved one.
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I find placebos uplifting and exhilarating. It means that taking action–no matter what the action is–might help you feel better.
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My reading list grows exponentially. Every time I read a book, it’ll mention three other books I feel I have to read. It’s like a particularly relentless series of pop-up ads.
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How do you gag the voice in your head that says, ‘You don’t have to [do it] today. There’s always tomorrow.’?
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Jealousy is a useless, time-wasting emotion that’s eating me alive.
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It comes back to the old question: How can the Bible be so wise in some places and so barbaric in others? And why should we put any faith in a book that includes such brutality?
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I’ve never before been so aware of the thousands of little good things, the thousands of things that go right every day.
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When I went to Israel, it was a little disorienting, because there are so many people who look crazy and were dressed like me. There, I was just one of the apocalyptic crowd.
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I thought religion would eventually wither away and we’d all be worshiping at the altar of science.
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I grew up in a very secular home with no religion at all, so I was starting from zero.
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I love to live things, so I wanted to immerse myself and get into the mindset – and sandals – of my forefathers.
A. J. JACOBS