Sublime

people who think of others as enemies have not attained self-acceptance and do not have enough confidence in others.

We do not walk in order to compete with someone. It is in trying to progress past who one is now that there is value.

Not wanting to be disliked is probably my task, but whether or not so-and-so dislikes me is the other person’s task.

If I change, the world will change. No one else will change the world for me . . .

If, for example, the main point of your job turns out to be satisfying other people’s expectations, then that job is going to be very hard on you.

When one separates the “I” from “emotion” and thinks, It was the emotion that made me do it, or The emotion got the best of me, and I couldn’t help it, such thinking quickly becomes a life-lie.

If there is competition at the core of a person’s interpersonal relationships, he will not be able to escape interpersonal relationship problems or escape misfortune.

PHILOSOPHER: If your lifestyle were determined by other people or your environment, it would certainly be possible to shift responsibility. But we choose our lifestyles ourselves. It’s clear where the responsibility lies.

If you are leading a life of worry and suffering—which stems from interpersonal relationships—learn the boundary of “From here on, that is not my task.” And discard other people’s tasks. That is the first step toward lightening the load and making life simpler.