No One is Better, or Worse
Hi there,
This is a post I call “Weekly Wisdom”, which includes different perspectives that may enrich your life, from current thought leaders and timeless books.
Let’s dive right in.
- “Don’t be afraid of a person in any position, in low or high standing, whether he is a scholar or an ignorant person, If you respect all people, you should love all people, and fear no one.” — William Ellery Channing
A quote that I think can help people relieve much anxiety.
There are times when I feel like I’m not good enough and think I don’t deserve to talk to certain people with “status”. And there are times when the opposite takes place. When my ego is inflated and I don’t want to waste my time talking with those who I feel — at the time — are not at the same caliber of “status” as me.
And I think we all experience this from time to time. It’s a human thing.
And I’m grateful for this quote because it brings a perspective that grounds me.
A perspective that we’re all human beings, first and foremost. “Status” is something made up in our heads. The son of a billionaire movie star doesn’t put his own father on a pedestal.
We can choose how we can view people, and I want to view everyone the same. Because we’re all human. We’re all brothers and sisters navigating and trying to make sense of this world.
No one is better or worse.
So I agree, that if we respect all people, we should love all people and fear no one.
2. “Remember that all we have is ‘on loan’ from Fortune — Seneca
Without sounding morbid, I think it’s a good reminder that we might die at any given time. It makes the moment we have much more precious. And another perspective on that is we’re already getting closer to death every second. So therefore we shouldn’t let any fear dictate the way we live our lives.
This quote reminds me to be bold. To try my best to live a life worth living and sharing.
Our bodies can be taken from us at any given moment, so I want to love it and move it while I can.
There’s so much to be grateful for, yet I think it’s easy to forget until we lose the things we have.
So let’s appreciate ourselves and where we are for a moment.
And then, take that next step towards our goals.
3. Peace and Joy are the beginning of life, not the end goal in life — Sadhguru
There are those who give themselves permission to be happy ONLY when something happens. Or IF they accomplish a certain task.
I too, forget and fall into this trap at times.
It’s difficult to remember that peace and joy is how we should be approaching every aspiration we have.
But I think writing this down serves as a good reminder, and I think it can hold true for others. Constantly reminding ourselves that happiness is not the end goal in life, it’s something we should have as default.
At first, I didn’t believe this philosophy, but after much reading from books that showed scientific evidence that my performance is significantly higher when my state of mind comes from a state of happiness, I was convinced.
I recommend The Happiness Advantage, by Shawn Achor, for those who curious in getting started.
4. What you you more hungry for? — Arnold Schwarzenegger
When Arnold Schwarzenegger was asked how he accomplished amazingly human feats, such as competing in a bodybuilding competition and finishing a movie only 3 months after open heart surgery, he said he asked himself what he was more hungry for?
“Am I more hungry to be ordinary? Or to be extraordinary?”
He says he asks himself this during eating as well. He mentions that so many people give into temptation and eat food that are not good for them. But to him, his goal was so strong to him, the question immediately helped him reframe his mind.
He would again ask himself, “am I more hungry to eat like an ordinary person? Or am I more hungry to reach my goal?”
So during good times, and bad times, I think this a great question to ask ourselves.
“What am I more hungry for?”
Those are my some of my lessons of the week. I hope you all enjoyed the nuggets as much as I did, and I hope these bits of wisdom propel you to more peace and joy in your lives.
Much Love,
David
