Hector Garcia Quotes

essentials to happiness in this life are something to do, something to love, and something to hope for.

Walk slowly and you’ll go far.

Life is not a problem to be solved. Just remember to have something that keeps you busy doing what you love while being surrounded by the people who love you.

Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.

Concentrating on one thing at a time may be the single most important factor in achieving flow.

there is nothing wrong with enjoying life’s pleasures as long as they do not take control of your life as you enjoy them

He who has a why to live for can bear with almost any how.

We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit. —Aristotle

Our ikigai is different for all of us, but one thing we have in common is that we are all searching for meaning.

It’s not what happens to you, but how you react that matters.

There is no future, no past. There is only the present.

Getting back to Albert Einstein, “a happy man is too satisfied with the present to dwell on the future.”4

We have to learn to turn off the autopilot that’s steering us in an endless loop. We all know people who snack while talking on the phone or watching the news. You ask them if the omelet they just ate had onion in it, and they can’t tell you,

The happiest people are not the ones who achieve the most. They are the ones who spend more time than others in a state of flow.

We’re all going to die. Some people are scared of dying. Never be afraid to die. Because you’re born to die.

We don't create our feelings; they simply come to us, and we have to accept them. The trick is, to welcome them.

Be led by your curiosity, and keep busy by doing things that fill you with meaning and happiness.

Stop regretting the past and fearing the future. Today is all you have. Make the most of it. Make it worth remembering.

There is a tension between what is good for someone and what they want to do. This is because people, especially older people, like to do things as they've always done them. The problem is that when the brain develops ingrained habits, it doesn't need to think anymore. Things get done very quickly and efficiently on automatic pilot, often in a very advantageous way. This creates a tendency to stick to routines, and the only way of breaking these is to confront the brain with new information.

Metabolism slows down 90 percent after 30 minutes of sitting.

It is much more important to have a compass pointing to a concrete objective than to have a map.

When confronted with a big goal, try to break it down into parts and then attack each part one by one.

simply interacting with others—playing a game, for example—offers new stimuli and helps prevent the depression that can come with solitude.

To be able to concentrate for a considerable amount of time is essential to difficult achievement

Spend no more than twenty minutes on Facebook per day

I think she wanted nothing from me," Hector added, "nothing at all but to let her love me.

We don’t create the meaning of our life, as Sartre claimed—we discover it.

a happy man is too satisfied with the present to dwell on the future.

appreciate the beauty of imperfection as an opportunity for growth.

Presented with new information, the brain creates new connections and is revitalized. This is why it is so important to expose yourself to change, even if stepping outside your comfort zone means feeling a bit of anxiety.

to focus on a task we need: 1. To be in a distraction-free environment 2. To have control over what we are doing at every moment

The grand essentials to happiness in this life are something to do, something to love, and something to hope for.

Being in a hurry is inversely proportional to quality of

As the quip attributed to Einstein goes, “Put your hand on a hot stove for a minute and it seems like an hour. Sit with a pretty girl for an hour, and it seems like a minute. That is relativity.

the people who live the longest have two dispositional traits in common: a positive attitude and a high degree of emotional awareness. In other words, those who face challenges with a positive outlook and are able to manage their emotions are already well on their way toward longevity.

If you don’t like reality, create another where you can live.

Instead of worrying about the past or the future, we should appreciate things just as they are in the moment, in the now.

Instead of searching for beauty in perfection, we should look for it in things that are flawed, incomplete.

God, give us grace to accept with serenity the things that cannot be changed, Courage to change the things which should be changed, and the Wisdom to distinguish the one from the other." - Reinhold Niebuhr

Stoicism, which centers on the idea that there is nothing wrong with enjoying life’s pleasures as long as they do not take control of your life as you enjoy them. You have to be prepared for those pleasures to disappear.

Avoid spending time doing things we don’t enjoy

Only things that are imperfect, incomplete, and ephemeral can truly be beautiful, because only those things resemble the natural world.

What we are experiencing right now will never happen again. And therefore, we must value each moment like a beautiful treasure.

When doing business in Japan, process, manners, and how you work on something is more important than the final results

Morita explained the idea of letting go of negative feelings with the following fable: A donkey that is tied to a post by a rope will keep walking around the post in an attempt to free itself, only to become more immobilized and attached to the post. The same thing applies to people with obsessive thinking who become more trapped in their own suffering when they try to escape from their fears and discomfort.5

His experiences as a prisoner at Auschwitz showed him that “Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.

People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.

The grand essentials to happiness in this life are something to do, something to love and something to hope for.

There is, in fact, no word in Japanese that means retire in the sense of “leaving the workforce for good

Have a clear, concrete objective

Even those who claim to be good at multitasking are not very productive. In fact, they are some of the least productive people.

Hara hachi bu,” which is repeated before or after eating and means something like “Fill your belly to 80 percent.

the keys to longevity are diet, exercise, finding a purpose in life (an ikigai), and forming strong social ties—

you have to accept that the world—like the people who live in it—is imperfect, but that it is still full of opportunities for growth and achievement.

Morita likened emotions to the weather: We can’t predict or control them; we can only observe them.

Getting back to Albert Einstein, “a happy man is too satisfied with the present to dwell on the future.

when you have a clear purpose, no one can stop you.

Keep going; don’t change your path.” そのままでいいがな

Just as worry often brings about precisely the thing that was feared, excessive attention to a desire (or “hyper-intention”) can keep that desire from being fulfilled.

You are a miracle, and there has never been-- nor will there ever be--anyone like you - Pau (Pablo) Casals

Concentrating on one thing at a time may be the single most important factor in achieving flow

七転び八起き Fall seven times, rise eight. — Japanese proverb

We should never forget that everything we have and all the people we love will disappear at some point. This is something we should keep in mind, but without giving in to pessimism.

As a rule of thumb, remind yourself: “Rituals over goals.” The happiest people are not the ones who achieve the most. They are the ones who spend more time than others in a state of flow.

Okinawans live by the principle of ichariba chode, a local expression that means “treat everyone like a brother, even if you’ve never met them before.” It turns out that one of the secrets to happiness of Ogimi’s residents is feeling like part of a community.

Life is pure imperfection, as the philosophy of wabi-sabi teaches us, and the passage of time shows us that everything is fleeting, but if you have a clear sense of your ikigai, each moment will hold so many possibilities that it will seem almost like an eternity.

One way to reach a state of mindfulness is through meditation, which helps filter the information that reaches us from the outside world. It can also be achieved through breathing exercises, yoga, and body scans.

Even an elderly person can decide to wipe the slate clean and reinvent themselves, because they, too, have their whole life ahead of them. What matters isn’t how many more years we might live but what we will do with the time we have left.

We often think that combining tasks will save us time, but scientific evidence shows that it has the opposite effect. Even those who claim to be good at multitasking are not very productive. In fact, they are some of the least productive people. Our brains can take million bits of information but can only actually process of few dozen per second. When we say we're multitasking, what we're really doing is switching back and forth between tasks very quickly. Unfortunately, we're not computers adept at parallel processing. We end up spending all our energy alternative between tasks, instead of focusing on doing one of them well. Concentrating on one thing at a time may be the single most important factor in achieving flow.

The question to ask, as much to write a story as to write—or reinvent—the script of your life, is What if . . . ?

if you’re brave enough to do what you love, every day could be the best day of your life.

Morita therapy focuses on teaching patients to accept their emotions without trying to control them, since their feelings will change as a result of their actions.

Stress: Accused of killing longevity

Sunday neurosis, for example, is what happens when, without the obligations and commitments of the workweek, the individual realizes how empty he is inside.

Happiness is in the doing, not in the result.

komorebi—the play of sunbeams filtering through tree branches,

Happiness is always determined by your heart.” しあわせはいつも自分の心がきめる.

Can someone really retire if he is passionate about what he does?

He’s not a bad man,” Hector said. “An underwhelming endorsement,” she said.

The happiest people are not the ones who achieve the most. They are the ones who spend more time than others in a state of flow.

Essential to happiness in life are something to do, something to love, and something to hope for.” Hector Garcia

Vida sana y ordenada La comida, moderada No abusar de los remedios Buscar por todos los medios No alterarse por nada Ejercicio y diversión No tener nunca aprehensión Poco encierro, mucho trato Y continua ocupación.

the things we love are like the leaves of a tree: They can fall at any moment with a gust of wind. He also said that changes in the world around us are not accidental but rather form part of the essence of the universe

Imagine that a writer has to finish a novel in three months. The objective is clear; the problem is that the writer can't stop obsessing over it. Every day she wakes up thinking, "I have to write that novel," and every day she sets about reading the newspaper and cleaning the house. Every evening she feels frustrated and promises she'll get to work the next day. Days, weeks, and months pass, and the writer still has't gotten anything down on the page, when all it would have taken was to sit down and get that first word out, then the second . . . to flow with the project, expressing their ikigai. As soon as you take these first small steps, your anxiety will disappear and you will achieve a pleasant flow in the activity you're doing.

Conservatism, I argue, is a male-centric strategy shaped significantly by the struggle for dominance in within-and-between group mate competitions, while liberalism is a female-centric strategy derived from the protracted demands of rearing human offspring, among other selective pressures.

If you don't seize the moment, it will be lost forever.

Be water, my friend.

The moment is a jealous lover that demands we give it our all. Every unrepeatable moment is a small oasis of happiness. And many oases together make an ocean of happiness.

The Buddha summed it up with perhaps his most famous saying, “Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional

If you are angry and want to fight, think about it for three days before coming to blows. After three days, the intense desire to fight will pass on its own.

To combat the excess of information, you have to focus on what is key to your project and leave everything else out.

ikigai: discovering something we become passionate about and which also comes easily to us.

Existential frustration arises when our life is without purpose, or when that purpose is skewed.

Why should Valérie be married, sharing the warmth of her bed with her husband while Hector watched the days slip away in the loneliness of his apartment?

Without meaning to, she also thought about him in other terms. Hector was hers. He was always hers, and even if she wouldn’t have him, he should remain so.

However, my wife seems to think you a perfect gentleman, and she is an excellent judge of character.” Hector was surprised to

You do tricks for adoring crowds onstage and forget that it is not all artifice and sleight of hand when you step off. The pauper does not get the princess, Hector Auvray.

Valérie mentally corrected herself— she shared a past with Hector. Antonina had experienced

We all have the ability to make a new start in life, regardless of age.

Habits are the subconscious options and invisible decisions that surround us on a daily basis.

25 minutes of work and 5 minutes of rest for each cycle,

Artists know how important it is to protect their space, control their environment, and be free of distractions

Soaking up a moderate amount of sun each day.

Fight for yourself

We all have the capacity to do noble or terrible things. The side of the equation we end up on depends on our decisions, not on the condition in which we find ourselves.

The secret is smiling and having a good time.

it is all about giving more importance to quality than to quantity,

Beauty always wins. It survives the passing of time. That is why it is worthwhile hanging onto the beautiful things in our life.

Walk slowly and you’ll go far

Life is not a problem to be solved. Just remember to have something that keeps you busy doing what you love while being surrounde by the people who love you

a happy man is too satisfied with the present to dwell on the future.”4

One easy way to start applying the concept of hara hachi bu is to skip dessert. Or to reduce portion size. The idea is to still be a little bit hungry when you finish.

prática da atenção plena (mindfulness).

Hello, solitude. How are you today? Come, sit with me, and I will care for you.”6

the happiness of always being busy,

Training the mind can get us to a place of flow more quickly. Meditation is one way to exercise our mental muscles.

If we want to get better at reaching a state of flow, meditation is an excellent antidote to our smartphones and their notifications constantly clamoring for our attention.

Bir şeylerin o kadar harika olmadığını kabul etmek iyidir ama olasılıklarla dolu bir dünyada şimdi ve burada olmanın bir ayrıcalık olduğunu asla unutmayın.

treat everyone like a brother, even if you’ve never met them before.

«Nadie se baña dos veces en el mismo río, porque todo cambia, en el río y en quien se baña».

Doing many different things every day. Always staying busy, but doing one thing at a time, without getting overwhelmed.

He was simply someone in search of a new life’s purpose; as soon as he found it, his life took on deeper meaning.

Only staying active will make you want to live a hundred years. —Japanese proverb

The key is to accept that there are certain things over which we have no control, like the passage of time and the ephemeral nature of the world around us.

Hector was like a castaway who had washed up on a room of velvet curtains and marble floors. The revelers might as well have been wild animals ready to tear off a chunk of his flesh.

Taking a hit or two can be viewed as either a misfortune or an experience that we can apply to all areas of our lives, as we continually make corrections and set new and better goals.

She’d thrice wronged Valérie: the business venture was spoiled, they’d be the laughingstock of the city, and Antonina would marry Hector. She was stealing everything from Valérie, even

If you have an objective you think you are going to reach in ten years, the best strategy to make it happen is to think about how you can manage to reach the same objective in one year.

Otro estudio conducido por la Universidad de Miami en 2010 demostró que, con el abrazo, los receptores de la piel envían una señal al nervio cerebral encargado de reducir la presión arterial.

have spoken to Luc Lémy, and he has explained how you two confabulated, how you plotted to have Nina married off to him and Hector removed from the picture. You will explain yourself this instant,

Indeed. Innocents do not question people’s motives. You’ve come to hurt me, Hector. You’ve come to toy with us. Feel free to toy with her. But you’ll find I am not a piece you can slide across your board.

Having a clear objective is important in achieving flow, but we also have to know how to leave it behind when we get down to business. Once the journey has begun, we should keep this objective in mind without obsessing over it.

The easiest way to check if there is enough variety on your table is to make sure you’re “eating the rainbow.” A table featuring red peppers, carrots, spinach, cauliflower, and eggplant, for example, offers great color and variety.

Nana korobi ya oki 七転び八起き Fall seven times, rise eight. —Japanese proverb Resilience is our ability to deal with setbacks. The more resilient we are, the easier it will be to pick ourselves up and get back to what gives meaning to our lives.

Dealing with new situations, learning something new every day, playing games, and interacting with other people seem to be essential antiaging strategies for the mind. Furthermore, a more positive outlook in this regard will yield greater mental benefits.

To build resilience into our lives, we shouldn’t fear adversity, because each setback is an opportunity for growth. If we adopt an antifragile attitude, we’ll find a way to get stronger with every blow, refining our lifestyle and staying focused on our ikigai.

Researchers at the Heidelberg University Hospital conducted a study in which they subjected a young doctor to a job interview, which they made even more stressful by forcing him to solve complex math problems for thirty minutes. Afterward, they took a blood sample. What they discovered was that his antibodies had reacted to stress the same way they react to pathogens, activating the proteins that trigger an immune response. The problem is that this response not only neutralizes harmful agents, it also damages healthy cells, leading them to age prematurely.

According to a study by Boston Consulting Group, when asked about their bosses, the number one complaint of employees at multinational corporations is that they don’t “communicate the team’s mission clearly,” and that, as a result, the employees don’t know what their objectives are.

A donkey that is tied to a post by a rope will keep walking around the post in an attempt to free itself, only to become more immobilized and attached to the post. The same thing applies to people with obsessive thinking who become more trapped in their own suffering when they try to escape from their fears and discomfort.

Based on his own experience, Frankl believed that our health depends on that natural tension that comes from comparing what we’ve accomplished so far with what we’d like to achieve in the future. What we need, then, is not a peaceful existence, but a challenge we can strive to meet by applying all the skills at our disposal.

finding flow in the tasks you’ve chosen to do, eating in a balanced and mindful way, doing low-intensity exercise, and learning not to give in when difficulties arise. In order to do this, you have to accept that the world—like the people who live in it—is imperfect, but that it is still full of opportunities for growth and achievement.

We don’t create our feelings; they simply come to us, and we have to accept them. The trick is welcoming them. Morita likened emotions to the weather: We can’t predict or control them; we can only observe them. To this point, he often quoted the Vietnamese monk Thich Nhat Hanh, who would say, “Hello, solitude. How are you today? Come, sit with me, and I will care for you.

Se considera que cuatro abrazos al día bastarían para favorecer la salud emocional y física de una persona, pero según Andy Stalman, experto en relaciones internacionales, lo idóneo serían ocho abrazos de seis segundos al día. Al parecer, esa es la duración mínima para que la oxitocina —la hormona de la felicidad— llegue al cerebro, despertando sentimientos de afecto y confianza.

It is much more important to have a compass pointing to a concrete objective than to have a map. Joi Ito, director of the MIT Media Lab, encourages us to use the principle of “compass over maps” as a tool to navigate our world of uncertainty. In the book Whiplash: How to Survive Our Faster Future, he and Jeff Howe write, “In an increasingly unpredictable world moving ever more quickly, a detailed map may lead you deep into the woods at an unnecessarily high cost. A good compass, though, will always take you where you need to go. It doesn’t mean that you should start your journey without any idea where you’re going. What it does mean is understanding that while the path to your goal may not be straight, you’ll finish faster and more efficiently than you would have if you had trudged along a preplanned route.

when you arrive in Japan, you realize that sake means “alcoholic drink” in general. Thus, if you drink a beer, you are drinking sake; if you drink whiskey, you are drinking sake; and if you drink rum, you are drinking sake. So, when we order sake in a Japanese restaurant outside Japan, what is the specific name for the drink they serve us? It will probably be nihonshu, which is the Japanese word used to refer to the alcoholic beverage obtained from rice.

If we have obsessive thoughts, we should not try to control them or get rid of them. If we do, they become more intense. Regarding human emotions, the Zen master would say, “If we try to get rid of one wave with another, we end up with an infinite sea.” We don’t create our feelings; they simply come to us, and we have to accept them. The trick is welcoming them. Morita likened emotions to the weather: We can’t predict or control them; we can only observe them.

In an increasingly unpredictable world moving ever more quickly, a detailed map may lead you deep into the woods at an unnecessarily high cost. A good compass, though, will always take you where you need to go. It doesn’t mean that you should start your journey without any idea where you’re going. What it does mean is understanding that while the path to your goal may not be straight, you’ll finish faster and more efficiently than you would have if you had trudged along a preplanned route.

APRENDER, SIEMPRE APRENDER «Podrás hacerte viejo y tembloroso, podrás permanecer despierto de noche escuchando el desorden en tus venas, podrás añorar tu único amor, podrás ver el mundo a tu alrededor devastado por maníacos malvados, o tu honor pisoteado en las cloacas de las mentes simples. Sólo queda una cosa entonces: aprender. Aprender por qué el mundo se mueve y qué lo mueve. Es la única cosa que la mente nunca puede agotar, alienar, ni ser torturada por ello, ni temer ni desconfiar, y ni soñar con lamentarlo.» T. H. White, El único y futuro rey

When you give a present, you are giving part of your spirit to the other person. That’s why presents in Japan are so very important, even if they’re small presents of no real value. This belief also has significance when you buy something secondhand. The Japanese are reluctant to purchase things that have belonged to someone else, maybe because the previous owner’s spirit still lingers inside them. One of the advantages of this belief is that thefts in Japan are almost nonexistent: stealing something from someone would be like stealing part of their spirit.

flat where I reside, plus many bonds, I have lost count of them. I have invested extensively in a number of ventures.” It was all true, even an understatement. He was as wealthy as any of Beaulieu’s friends. Perhaps not so wealthy as Beaulieu himself, though he was not fully aware of the man’s finances, but wealthy enough to dine in the same establishments he did, join the same gentlemen’s clubs, obtain invitations to the same parties. He’d soared to rare heights without the benefit of family or friends. How he’d managed this in ten scant years was explained rather easily. Hector had been possessed. He’d felt it necessary

longevity, a woman who was about to turn 100 years old sang the following song for us in a mixture of Japanese and the local dialect: To keep healthy and have a long life, eat just a little of everything with relish, go to bed early, get up early, and then go out for a walk. We live each day with serenity and we enjoy the journey. To keep healthy and have a long life, we get on well with all of our friends. Spring, summer, fall, winter, we happily enjoy all the seasons. The secret is to not get distracted by how old the fingers are; from the fingers to the head and back once again. If you keep moving with your fingers working, 100 years will come to you.*

Case study: The grief-stricken doctor An elderly doctor, unable to overcome the deep depression into which he’d fallen after the death of his wife two years earlier, went to Frankl for help. Instead of giving him advice or analyzing his condition, Frankl asked him what would have happened if he had been the one who died first. The doctor, horrified, answered that it would have been terrible for his poor wife, that she would have suffered tremendously. To which Frankl responded, “You see, doctor? You have spared her all that suffering, but the price you have to pay for this is to survive, and mourn her.” The doctor didn’t say another word. He left Frankl’s office in peace, after taking the therapist’s hand in his own. He was able to tolerate the pain in place of his beloved wife. His life had been given a purpose.

The ten rules of ikigai We’ll conclude this journey with ten rules we’ve distilled from the wisdom of the long-living residents of Ogimi: Stay active; don’t retire. Those who give up the things they love doing and do well lose their purpose in life. That’s why it’s so important to keep doing things of value, making progress, bringing beauty or utility to others, helping out, and shaping the world around you, even after your “official” professional activity has ended. Take it slow. Being in a hurry is inversely proportional to quality of life. As the old saying goes, “Walk slowly and you’ll go far.” When we leave urgency behind, life and time take on new meaning. Don’t fill your stomach. Less is more when it comes to eating for long life, too. According to the 80 percent rule, in order to stay healthier longer, we should eat a little less than our hunger demands instead of stuffing ourselves. Surround yourself with good friends. Friends are the best medicine, there for confiding worries over a good chat, sharing stories that brighten your day, getting advice, having fun, dreaming . . . in other words, living. Get in shape for your next birthday. Water moves; it is at its best when it flows fresh and doesn’t stagnate. The body you move through life in needs a bit of daily maintenance to keep it running for a long time. Plus, exercise releases hormones that make us feel happy. Smile. A cheerful attitude is not only relaxing—it also helps make friends. It’s good to recognize the things that aren’t so great, but we should never forget what a privilege it is to be in the here and now in a world so full of possibilities. Reconnect with nature. Though most people live in cities these days, human beings are made to be part of the natural world. We should return to it often to recharge our batteries. Give thanks. To your ancestors, to nature, which provides you with the air you breathe and the food you eat, to your friends and family, to everything that brightens your days and makes you feel lucky to be alive. Spend a moment every day giving thanks, and you’ll watch your stockpile of happiness grow. Live in the moment. Stop regretting the past and fearing the future. Today is all you have. Make the most of it. Make it worth remembering. Follow your ikigai. There is a passion inside you, a unique talent that gives meaning to your days and drives you to share the best of yourself until the very end. If you don’t know what your ikigai is yet, as Viktor Frankl says, your mission is to discover it.

My darling son: depression at your age is more common than you might think. I remember it very strongly in Minneapolis, Minnesota, when I was about twenty-six and felt like killing myself. I think the winter, the cold, the lack of sunshine, for us tropical creatures, is a trigger. And to tell you the truth, the idea that you might soon unpack your bags here, having chucked in all your European plans, makes your mother and me as happy as could be. You have more than earned the equivalent of any university 'degree' and you have used your time so well to educate yourself culturally and personally that if university bores you, it is only natural. Whatever you do from here on in, whether you write or don't write, whether you get a degree or not, whether you work for your mother, or at El Mundo, or at La Ines, or teaching at a high school, or giving lectures like Estanislao Zuleta, or as a psychoanalyst to your parents, sisters and relatives, or simply being Hector Abad Faciolince, will be fine. What matters is that you don't stop being what you have been up till now, a person, who simply by virtue of being the way you are, not for what you write or don't write, or for being brilliant or prominent, but just for being the way you are, has earned the affection, the respect, the acceptance, the trust, the love, of the vast majority of those who know you. So we want to keep seeing you in this way, not as a future great author, or journalist or communicator or professor or poet, but as the son, brother, relative, friend, humanist, who understands others and does not aspire to be understood. It does not matter what people think of you, and gaudy decoration doesn't matter, for those of us who know you are. For goodness' sake, dear Quinquin, how can you think 'we support you (...) because 'that boy could go far'? You have already gone very far, further than all our dreams, better than everything we imagined for any of our children. You should know very well that your mother's and my ambitions are not for glory, or for money, or even for happiness, that word that sounds so pretty but is attained so infrequently and for such short intervals (and maybe for that very reason is so valued), for all our children, but that they might at least achieve well-being, that more solid, more durable, more possible, more attainable word. We have often talked of the anguish of Carlos Castro Saavedra, Manuel Meija Vallejo, Rodrigo Arenas Betancourt, and so many quasi-geniuses we know. Or Sabato or Rulfo, or even Garcia Marquez. That does not matter. Remember Goethe: 'All theory (I would add, and all art), dear friend, is grey, but only the golden tree of life springs ever green.' What we want for you is to 'live'. And living means many better things than being famous, gaining qualifications or winning prizes. I think I too had boundless political ambitions when I was young and that's why I wasn't happy. I think I too had boundless political ambitions when I was young and that's why I wasn't happy. Only now, when all that has passed, have I felt really happy. And part of that happiness is Cecilia, you, and all my children and grandchildren. Only the memory of Marta Cecilia tarnishes it. I believe things are that simple, after having gone round and round in circles, complicating them so much. We should do away with this love for things as ethereal as fame, glory, success... Well, my Quinquin, now you know what I think of you and your future. There's no need for you to worry. You are doing just fine and you'll do better, and when you get to my age or your grandfather's age and you can enjoy the scenery around La Ines that I intend to leave to all of you, with the sunshine, heat and lush greenery, and you'll see I was right. Don't stay there longer than you feel you can. If you want to come back I'll welcome you with open arms. And if you regret it and want to go back again, we can buy you another return flight. A kiss from your father.

In an interview after Jobs’s death, Shakunaga said he was very proud that his work had been appreciated by the man who created the iPhone. He added that Jobs’s last purchase from him had been a set of twelve teacups. Jobs had asked for something special, “a new style.” To satisfy this request, Shakunaga made 150 teacups in the process of testing out new ideas. Of these, he chose the twelve best and sent them to the Jobs family.

What do Japanese artisans, engineers, Zen philosophy, and cuisine have in common? Simplicity and attention to detail.

As a rule of thumb, remind yourself: “Rituals over goals.

mens sana in corpore sano

Stress has a degenerative effect over time. A sustained state of emergency affects the neurons associated with memory, as well as inhibiting the release of certain hormones, the absence of which can cause depression. Its secondary effects include irritability, insomnia, anxiety, and high blood pressure.

In other words, those who face challenges with a positive outlook and are able to manage their emotions are already well on their way toward longevity.

To keep healthy and have a long life, eat just a little of everything with relish, go to bed early, get up early, and then go out for a walk. We live each day with serenity and we enjoy the journey. To keep healthy and have a long life, we get on well with all of our friends. Spring, summer, fall, winter, we happily enjoy all the seasons. The secret is to not get distracted by how old the fingers are; from the fingers to the head and back once again. If you keep moving with your fingers working, 100 years will come to you. *

Having a clear objective is important in achieving flow, but we also have to know how to leave it behind when we get down to business.

Nurturing friendships, eating light, getting enough rest, and doing regular, moderate exercise are all part of the equation of good health, but at the heart of the joie de vivre that inspires these centenarians to keep celebrating birthdays and cherishing each new day is their ikigai.

Whatever you do, don’t retire!

Just as worry often brings about precisely the thing that was feared, excessive attention to a desire (or “hyper-intention”) can keep that desire from being fulfilled. ▪ Humor can help break negative cycles and reduce anxiety. ▪ We all have the capacity

If you are angry and want to fight, think about it for three days before coming to blows. After three days, the intense desire to fight will pass on its own.”7

This book first came into being on a rainy night in Tokyo, when its authors sat down together for the first time in one of the city’s tiny bars. We had read each other’s

My secret to a long life is always saying to myself, ‘Slow down,’ and ‘Relax.’ You live much longer if you’re not in a hurry.

To live a long time you need to do three things: exercise to stay healthy, eat well, and spend time with people.

always keep Morita’s mantra in mind: “What do we need to be doing right now? What action should we be taking?

Melchora Aquino de Ramos, a woman from the Philippines who was eighty-four when the unrest broke out that would lead to her country’s independence. Far from being intimidated, she used the shop she ran as a shelter for the wounded and persecuted, in addition to offering advice to the revolutionaries from those modest quarters where secret meetings were held. The old woman’s subversive activities came to the attention of the colonial authorities, who detained her and interrogated her about the identities of the revolutionary leaders. Melchora Aquino refused to give any information, and as a result she was deported to the Mariana Islands. When the United States took control of the Philippines, Melchora returned home as a national heroine and was named “Grand Woman of the Revolution.” She was actively involved in the creation of her new country for more than twenty years and died at the age of 107.

Steve liked the idea of using the mind to study the mind, something known in psychology as “metacognition.

As Marcus Aurelius writes in his Meditations, the drama of existence is not death but never having begun to live.

SATORI AND KENSHŌ Satori, which literally means “understanding,” is the word used in Zen to refer to a kind of awakening or enlightenment. Another term used in Japanese Buddhism to refer to a state of enlightenment is kenshō. The differences between kenshō and satori have been discussed extensively by various authors. According to Suzuki, kenshō is a momentary experience in which you see your own nature through a direct tunnel, while satori is a deeper and more lasting transformation.

If you know how to create the right wrapping, the present will be your gift.

life in needs a bit of daily maintenance to keep it running for a long time. Plus, exercise releases hormones that make us feel happy. 6. Smile. A cheerful attitude is not only relaxing—it also helps make friends. It’s good to recognize the things that aren’t so great, but we should never forget what a privilege it is to be in the here and now in a world so full of possibilities. 7. Reconnect with nature. Though most people live in cities these days, human beings are made to be part of the natural world. We should return to it often to recharge our batteries. 8. Give thanks. To your ancestors, to nature, which provides you with the air you breathe and the food you eat, to your friends and family, to everything that brightens your days and makes you feel lucky to be alive. Spend a moment every day giving thanks, and you’ll watch your stockpile of happiness grow. 9. Live in the moment. Stop regretting the past and fearing the future. Today is all you have. Make the most of it. Make it worth remembering. 10. Follow your ikigai. There is a passion inside you, a unique talent that gives meaning to your days and drives you to share the best of yourself until the very end. If you don’t know what your ikigai is yet, as Viktor Frankl says, your mission is to discover it.

According to the 80 percent rule, in order to stay healthier longer, we should eat a little less than our hunger demands instead of stuffing ourselves.

This is why we should have a clear sense of our purpose, and always keep Morita’s mantra in mind: “What do we need to be doing right now? What action should we be taking?” The key to achieving this is having dared to look inside yourself to find your ikigai.

What have I received from person X? 2. What have I given to person X? 3. What problems have I caused person X?

APRENDER, SIEMPRE APRENDER «Podrás hacerte viejo y tembloroso, podrás permanecer despierto de noche escuchando el desorden en tus venas, podrás añorar tu único amor, podrás ver el mundo a tu alrededor devastado por maníacos malvados, o tu honor pisoteado en las cloacas de las mentes simples. Sólo queda una cosa entonces: aprender. Aprender por qué el mundo se mueve y qué lo mueve. Es la única cosa que la mente nunca puede agotar, alienar, ni ser torturada por ello, ni temer ni desconfiar, y ni soñar con lamentarlo.»

The following have come to be known as “Benjamin Franklin’s thirteen virtues”: temperance, silence, order, resolution, frugality, industry, sincerity, justice, moderation, cleanliness, tranquility, chastity and humility.

In the words of Gandhi, “Happiness is when what you think, what you say and what you do are in harmony.

HUMILITY. “Imitate Jesus and Socrates.

The written word has more power than a thousand vague ideas in our head:

much

Dealing with new situations, learning something new every day, playing games, and interacting with other people seem to be essential antiaging strategies for the mind.

Lo que en el 2021 se denominaría The Great Resignation —la Gran Renuncia— designaba el fenómeno de las ingentes masas que no regresaron a sus empleos o abandonaron los que ya tenían. Solo en Estados Unidos, en dos meses, ocho millones de personas renunciaron a sus puestos, y a los consiguientes sueldos, a cambio de su libertad personal. ¿Nos hallamos

muchos casos de alta longevidad. Dentro de estas cinco zonas, la número uno es Okinawa, en Japón, donde

Many Western forms of therapy focus on controlling or modifying the patient’s emotions. In the West, we tend to believe that what we think influences how we feel, which in turn influences how we act. In contrast, Morita therapy focuses on teaching patients to accept their emotions without trying to control them, since their feelings will change as a result of their actions.

«El metabolismo se ralentiza un 90 % después de estar sentados durante 30 minutos.

Sólo lo que es imperfecto, efímero e incompleto posee verdadera belleza, ya que se asemeja entonces a la naturaleza.

Several studies conducted at Stanford University by Clifford Ivar Nass describe our generation as suffering from an epidemic of multitasking.

«trata a todos como si fueran tus hermanos aunque sea la primera vez que los conoces».

Just as a lack of physical exercise has negative effects on our bodies and mood, a lack of mental exercise is bad for us because it causes our neurons and neural connections to deteriorate—and, as a result, reduces our ability to react to our surroundings.

sedentary

Other studies indicate that working on several things at once lowers our productivity by at least 60 percent and our IQ by more than ten points.

Metabolism slows down 90 percent after 30 minutes of sitting. The enzymes that move the bad fat from your arteries to your muscles, where it can get burned off, slow down. And after two hours, good cholesterol drops 20 percent. Just getting up for five minutes is going to get things going again.

The funny thing is that someone else might really enjoy the same task, but we want to finish as quickly as possible. What makes us enjoy doing something so much that we forget about whatever worries we might have while we do it? When are we happiest? These questions can help us discover our ikigai.

Our neurons start to age while we are still in our twenties. This process is slowed, however, by intellectual activity, curiosity, and a desire to learn. Dealing with new situations, learning something new every day, playing games, and interacting with other people seem to be essential antiaging strategies for the mind.

Life is pure imperfection