1.
Attaining lasting happiness requires that we enjoy the journey on our way toward a destination we deem valuable. Happiness is not about making it to the peak of the mountain nor is it about climbing aimlessly around the mountain; happiness is the experience of climbing toward the peak.
Tal Ben-Shahar
2.
Failure is an inescapable part of life and a critically important part of any successful life. We learn to walk by falling, to talk by babbling, to shoot a basket by missing, and to color the inside of a square by scribbling outside the box. Those who intensely fear failing end up falling short of their potential. We either learn to fail or we fail to learn.
Tal Ben-Shahar
3.
Our behavior toward others is often a reflection of our treatment of ourselves.
Tal Ben-Shahar
4.
Perfectionism and optimalism are not distinct ways of being, an either-or choice, but rather they coexist in each person. And while we can move from perfectionism toward optimalism, we never fully leave perfectionism behind and never fully reach optimalism ahead. The optimalism ideal is not a distant shore to be reached but a distant star that guides us and can never be reached. As Carl Rogers pointed out, ‘The good life is a process, not a state of being. It is a direction, not a destination
Tal Ben-Shahar
5.
We can only learn to deal with failure by actually experiencing failure, by living through it. The earlier we face difficulties and drawbacks, the better prepared we are to deal with the inevitable obstacles along our path.
Tal Ben-Shahar
6.
Incremental change is better than ambitious failure. . . .Success feeds on itself.
Tal Ben-Shahar
7.
There are some people who always feel happy. They're called psychopaths
Tal Ben-Shahar
8.
When you appreciate the good, the good appreciates.
Tal Ben-Shahar
9.
Happiness is the overall experience of pleasure and meaning
Tal Ben-Shahar
10.
Learn to fail or fail to learn
Tal Ben-Shahar
