Work finally begins when the fear of doing nothing exceeds the fear of doing it badly.
ALAIN DE BOTTONWe each appear to hold within ourselves a range of divergent views as to our native qualities.. And amid such uncertainty, we typically turn to the wider world to settle the question of our significance.. we seem beholden to affections of others to endure ourselves.
More Alain de Botton Quotes
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As victims of hurt, we frequently don’t bring up what ails us, because so many wounds look absurd in the light of day.
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We often lose our tempers not with those who are actually to blame; just with those who love us enough to forgive us our foul moods.
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Booksellers are the most valuable destination for the lonely, given the numbers of books that were written because authors couldn’t find anyone to talk to.
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For paranoia about ‘what other people think’ : remember that only some hate, a very few love – and almost all just don’t care.
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Only as we mature does affection begin to depend on achievement.
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In a secularising world, art has replaced religion as a touchstone of our reverence and devotion.
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One rarely falls in love without being as much attracted to what is interestingly wrong with someone as what is objectively healthy.
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One of the best protections against disappointment is to have a lot going on.
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Our minds are susceptible to the influence of external voices telling us what we require to be satisfied, voices that may drown out the faint sounds emitted by our souls and distract us from the careful, arduous task of accurately naming our priorities.
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Though it may feel otherwise, enjoying life is no more dangerous than apprehending it with continuous anxiety and gloom.
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Journeys are the midwives of thought. Few places are more conducive to internal conversations than moving planes, ships or trains.
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When I see someone like Richard Dawkins, I see my father. I grew up with that. I’m basically the child of Richard Dawkins.
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Our disrespect for thinking: someone sitting in a chair, gazing out of a window blankly, always described as ‘doing nothing’.
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The challenge of modern relationships: how to prove more interesting than the other’s smartphone.
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Wealth is not an absolute. It is relative to desire. Every time we yearn for something we cannot afford, we grow poorer, whatever our resources. And every time we feel satisfied with what we have, we can be counted as rich, however little we may actually possess.
ALAIN DE BOTTON