52 things I know for sure
#1 I know for sure that maybe is just a polite disguise for no
#2 I know for sure that very few people are actually listening
#3 I know for sure that most people are completely full of shit
#4 I know for sure that measuring is a cardinal sin in any relationship
#5 I know for sure that a winner is just a loser who tried one more time
#6 I know for sure that you can only ever be as good as you are willing to stink
#7 I know for sure that telling someone they're wrong is never helpful. Find another way
#8 I know for sure that being lazy or self-destructive is disrespectful to people who believe in you
#9 I know for sure that if you really want to get noticed, you can't be too noticeable or available
#10 I know for sure that it's never the right time. I also know for sure that the right time is RIGHT NOW
#11 I know for sure that the only way to get started is to get moving. MOVEMENT BEGETS MOTIVATION
#12 I know for sure that most people, despite their claims or beliefs, would rather be right than be happy
#13 I know for sure that anticipation softens despair. It always pays to have something to look forward to
#14 I know for sure that bad things happen fast like lightening and the best things happen slowly over time
#15 I know for sure that no one has ever regretted being too nice or too generous to others on their deathbed
#16 I know for sure that carrying too many yesterdays is the best way to have fewer beautiful todays & tomorrows
#17 I know for sure that the people who criticize us most are those who do less, want less, a/o aspire to less than we do
#18 I know for sure that the ideas we don't immediately jot down are the ones we'll never have a chance to consider again
#19 I know for sure that mistaking attention for action is a perilous trap that will derail even the most promising aspirations
#20 I know for sure that snap judgments blind us while patient observation reveals our true intentions and motivations
#21 I know for sure that those who don't worry at all about how cool they look in cool spaces are always the coolest ones there
#22 I know for sure that those obsessed with other's hypocrisy are the ones who most dread having their own hypocrisy revealed
#23 I know for sure that dreaming about success is mere fantasy when compared to ambitiously driving for it in the real world
#24 I know for sure that three of the most effective ways to deal with feeling bummed out is HELPING others, taking ACTION, and LAUGHING more (HAL)
#25 I know for sure that children are not little versions of us but little versions of themselves. Isn't the whole point to watch a child become who they actually are?
#26 I know for sure that slow is smooth and smooth is fast. To get what we want we need to aim up, work hard, and keep going. REMEMBER: no hurry, no pause
#27 I know for sure that judging ourselves on our intentions and others on their actions always results in a communication breakdown, and quite likely, an argument
#28 I know for sure how easy it is to feel like the only one. I also know for sure that this is pure fantasy — neither true nor possible. You’re NEVER the only one and neither am I
#29 I know for sure that the best way to experience wonder and adventure is to banish all expectations of what you may find. BANISH EXPECTATIONS, EXPAND WONDER
#30 I know for sure that fretting over other people's choices, decisions, and behaviors is, at best, a distraction, and at worst, a complete waste of time. Not my circus, not my monkeys
#31 I know for sure that I don’t know is a complete sentence. I also know for sure that we don't need to have an opinion about everything. It really pays to SHUT UP & LISTEN once in a while
#32 I know for sure that saying NO a lot and having uncomfortable conversations often are two of the most important things we can do for our future success, happiness, and mental well-being
#33 I know for sure that we are what we pay attention to. I also know for sure that now that we know our attention is under assault, if we don't protect it with our lives, we may no longer have it to protect
#34 I know for sure that people who gossip with you are also gossiping about you. I also know for sure that most gossip is wrong and morally corrupting. Our job is to find, respect, and never cross the line
#35 I know for sure that action is the thing. We're all guaranteed to get stuck, stall out, and fall flat on our faces. That's not important. What's important is knowing how to get moving again? THE ANSWER? ACTION
#36 I know for sure that growth requires change and very often painful change. To get what we don't have, we need to do we've never done. I also know for sure growth isn't about embracing change, but actively seeking it out
#37 I know for sure that curiosity eases anxiety. When you feel lost — ASK QUESTIONS. When you feel nervous around people — ASK QUESTIONS. When you feel like learning about anything or anyone — ASK QUESTIONS
#38 I know for sure that we cannot do it alone. What’s that great saying — we go fast alone, far together. This is so true. I also know for sure that the people we surround ourselves with matter enormously. Choose them carefully, never blindly
#39 I know for sure that seeing others as other is extremely dangerous. I also know for sure that when we don't understand someone else's social or political views, it helps a lot to assume they hold the beliefs they do in order to feel less afraid
#40 I know for sure that the only way to stop worrying about not sleeping well is to stop worrying you'll never sleep. You will. You're human. Eventually you'll sleep. The surest way to screw yourself over is to buy into the anxiety narrative around not sleeping
#41 I know for sure that what fires together, wires together. Our brains hear everything we say out loud to others and think quietly to ourselves. The more we say or think things, the more they become part of our beliefs, perceptions, decisions, and behaviors
#42 I know for sure that great listeners ask great questions and great questions make for better conversations worth listening to. PS: I also know for sure that most people aren't listening at all. PS: I was dismayed, bummed, and very disappointed to realize this
#43 I know for sure that insight can come from ANY person, ANY corner, so make certain to pay attention to EVERY person, EVERY corner. A homeless man in NYC once told me something I've never forgotten — Don’t marry anyone you can’t laugh or dance with
#44 I know for sure that every mistake we make is a form of clinging to the past, i.e. clinging to what we did, who we were, what made us feel good and safe, who we knew how to be, and what we knew how to do. I also know for sure that letting go of the past is the only way to open the door to the future
#45 I know for sure that showing up consistently, over and over, is the single most important act of love we can show another person, especially children. BE THERE ALWAYS. Pay exquisitely careful attention to everything your children do and say and don't say. Remember what they tell you and make sure they know you remember
#46 I know for sure that in order to be seen, you need to see someone else; in order to be heard, you need to listen to someone else; in order to feel better, you need to help someone else feel better; in order to ease your pain, you need to comfort someone else in pain; and in order to to know yourself better, you need to help others understand who they are
#47 I know for sure that the nights we obsessively plan are NEVER the legendary ones. Gather your people and go out. No plan. No expectations. Legendary won't happen every night. It won't even happen most nights, or many nights. But every once in a while a night you didn't plan will be MAGICAL & LEGENDARY in a way all the nights you do plan never had a chance to be
#48 I know for sure that fear derails even our best laid plans. No matter how carefully we plan, things can, and often will, still go wrong. That’s life. I also know for sure that knowing something and fearing it are very different things. The former is about understanding it and moving on, whereas the latter is only ever about standing still. I know one other pretty important thing about fear — FEAR is False Evidence Appearing Real
#49 I know for sure that our lives, hobbies, interests, and relationships have been digitized, democratized, generalized, and commodified. It's time for us to reprioritize and recommit to human well-being and the millions of years of evolution that got us this far. I also know for sure we are novelty-seeking, social animals who evolved over millennia to connect and cooperate with others. We didn't come this far by sitting indoors alone and communicating with the world through a screen
#50 I know for sure that grief doesn't end. I lost my younger brother 23 years ago to cancer. He was 30. I know that life continues. I understand it has to. But anyone who thinks grief is a discreet system with a defined beginning, middle, and end IS WRONG. Grief, especially profound, shocking grief, has no end. It changes you, stays with you, and becomes a part of you. And you know what? I wouldn’t have it any other way because I refuse to define my relationship with my late brother with anything even resembling ENDINGS
#51 I know for sure that SEEING others and BEING SEEN by them are the most important human experiences we can have. But we forget. We get wrapped up in our heads, in ourselves, in our dramas. Instead FOCUS OUTWARD. Tell someone you respect you admire them. Ask a stranger how they're doing and really listen to their response. Connect with a random person on a level playing field by pointing to the sky and commenting what a beautiful day it is and when they reply with a surprised acknowledgement, tell them you hope they enjoy it
#52 I know for sure that the questions matter more than the answers. I also know for sure that children ask the best questions. And why shouldn't they? Think back to when you were a kid living in this great, big world you didn't understand anything about. From that perspective, children's endless stream of questions make perfect sense. Why then, I always wondered, do so many adults get frustrated by them. Maybe next time LISTEN to all of a child's questions, ENCOURAGE them to ask even more, and SHOW INTEREST in what they want to know. If you happen to know the answer, THEN ANSWER. If you don't know the answer, maybe try ASKING THEM A QUESTION