The love of one's country is a splendid thing. But why should love stop at the border.
-Pablo Casals, cellist, conductor, and composer (1876-1973)
Love stop at
Resolution Vs. Behaviour
Resolutions: So many will fail; NOT because they didn't set goals, but because they didn't set behaviors.
-Steve Maraboli
The past is
The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there.
-L.P. Hartley, writer (30 Dec 1895-1972)
Resolution to succeed
"Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any one thing."
-Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865)
Stealing the time
"Every noon as the clock hands arrive at twelve,
I want to tie the two arms together,
And walk out of the bank carrying time in bags."
-Robert Bly, poet (b. 23 Dec 1926)
Less difficult
"What do we live for, if it is not to make life less difficult to each other?"
-George Eliot (pen name of Mary Ann Evans), novelist (22 Nov 1819-22 Dec 1880)
The more...
"The more we do, the more we can do; the more busy we are the more leisure we have."
-Hazlitt
Activity will brighten the soul
"Sorrow is the mere rust of the soul. Activity will cleanse and brighten it."
-Samuel Johnson
A better person
"Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let each new year find you a better person."
-Benjamin Franklin
Object of a new year
"The object of a new year is not that we should have a new year. It is that we should have a new soul."
-G.K. Chesterton
For the sake of an idea
"One has to be a lowbrow, a bit of a murderer, to be a politician, ready and willing to see people sacrificed, slaughtered, for the sake of an idea, whether a good one or a bad one."
-Henry Miller, writer (26 Dec 1891-1980)
Christmas - one day of the year
"Christmas is a necessity. There has to be at least one day of the year to remind us that we're here for something else besides ourselves."
-Eric Sevareid
Keep saying until no reaction
Quite frankly I talk about the fact that I'm a feminist as often as I can, and every time I do it gets a huge reaction and the media reacts and the Twitterverse explodes and things like that, because here I am saying I'm a feminist. I will keep saying that until there is no more reaction to that when I say it, because that's where we want to get to.
-Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada (b. 25 Dec 1971)
Achieving your goal
"What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals."
-Zig Ziglar
Faith in humanity
"You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty."
- Mahatma Gandhi
Have a good attitude?
"If you don't have a good attitude, we don't want you, no matter how skilled you are. We can change skill levels through training. We can't change attitude."
– Herb Kelleher, Founder, Southwest Airlines
Try & try & try again, and fail.
It doesn't matter if you try & try & try again, and fail. It does matter if you try & fail, and fail to try again.
-C Kettering
New knowledge, New questions
If we would have new knowledge, we must get us a whole world of new questions.
-Susanne Langer, philosopher (20 Dec 1895-1985)
The 10 Best Articles of 2016
The 10 Best Articles of 2016
by James Clear
Read this on JamesClear.com
Read this on JamesClear.com
Hi friends! Today I would like to continue a tradition I have conducted each year JamesClear.com has been around. I'd like to share my 10 best articles of the year.
Before we dive into the list for 2016, I'll point out that you are welcome to browse the 10 Best Articles of 2013, 2014, and 2015 as well.
I always find it interesting to see which articles resonated most with you all (and which ones flopped), and I hope you find this list helpful too.
The 10 Best Articles of 2016
1. Make Your Life Better by Saying Thank You in These 7 Situations
This post explains the power of a simple phrase: thank you. It also discusses a variety of situations when we should say thank you, but usually say something else instead.
2. The Evolution of Anxiety: Why We Worry and What to Do About It
This article discusses how our evolutionary instincts clash with the modern world and what this means for anxiety, stress, and worry. I'm proud of this one because of how I was able to blend science, practical application, and fun hand-drawn images. My best articles tend to be ones that are educational, entertaining, and useful.
3. The Akrasia Effect: Why We Don't Follow Through on What We Set Out to Do and What to Do About It
This article shares the story of the famous author, Victor Hugo, and the totally-strange-but-somehow-effective strategy he used to overcome his chronic procrastination. Throughout the post, I weave in some interesting scientific insights about why we procrastinate and what we can do about it.
4. The Downside of Work-Life Balance
A few years ago, I came across this interesting concept about work-life balance called The Four Burners Theory. In this article, I finally got around to writing about it, and I lay out three different approaches I have used for dealing with the fundamental tradeoffs of life and work.
5. Motivation is Overvalued. Environment Often Matters More.
The power of the environment is one of my favorite themes when it comes to discussing our habits and behavior. This article examines how environment has shaped the course of humanity over the centuries and then dives into the practical application of these ideas for our modern world.
6. The 3 Stages of Failure in Life and Work (And How to Fix Them)
For one of my longest and most comprehensive articles of the year, I decided to discuss the 3 stages of failure. The examples I use primarily draw from the business world, but many of the lessons hold true for life as well. In addition to describing the symptoms, I try to offer practical strategies for fixing each of the 3 stages of failure.
7. Motivation: The Scientific Guide on How to Get and Stay Motivated
Throughout the second half of the year, I focused on creating a variety of comprehensive guides on various topics related to habits and human performance. One of the best ones was this guide on motivation. In fact, if you search "motivation" in Google, this article will likely come up #1 or #2.
8. The Science of Sleep: A Brief Guide on How to Sleep Better Every Night
Another one of my comprehensive guides dived into the science of sleep. In this 4,600-word beast, you will not only find out how much sleep you actually need and how sleep works, but also proven ideas for how to get better sleep each night.
9. Healthy Eating: The Beginner's Guide on How to Eat Healthy and Stick to It
This guide takes a different stance on healthy eating. Rather than focusing on telling you what to eat or how much to eat, this guide explains why we eat the way we do and what to do about it. It focuses on behaviors like why we tend to eat so much junk food and why we overeat so frequently, and then lays out simple strategies for overcoming these unhealthy habits.
10. The Proven Path to Doing Unique and Meaningful Work
Finally, we have an article that shares some brilliant advice that comes from a Finnish photographer named Arno Rafael Minkkinen. In this article, I explain the philosophy Minkkinen used to make it through the difficult portions of his career and ultimately produce unique and meaningful work. No matter what profession you are in, his advice is valuable.
My Best Articles of All-Time
Looking for more good articles to read? Check out the complete archive of the best articles I've written.
Thanks for reading!
More by James Clear
My best articles: Browse my best writing by category and title.
My reading list: 100+ good books to read across a wide range of topics.
The Habits Seminar: My best-selling course on habits and human behavior.
Before we dive into the list for 2016, I'll point out that you are welcome to browse the 10 Best Articles of 2013, 2014, and 2015 as well.
I always find it interesting to see which articles resonated most with you all (and which ones flopped), and I hope you find this list helpful too.
The 10 Best Articles of 2016
1. Make Your Life Better by Saying Thank You in These 7 Situations
This post explains the power of a simple phrase: thank you. It also discusses a variety of situations when we should say thank you, but usually say something else instead.
2. The Evolution of Anxiety: Why We Worry and What to Do About It
This article discusses how our evolutionary instincts clash with the modern world and what this means for anxiety, stress, and worry. I'm proud of this one because of how I was able to blend science, practical application, and fun hand-drawn images. My best articles tend to be ones that are educational, entertaining, and useful.
3. The Akrasia Effect: Why We Don't Follow Through on What We Set Out to Do and What to Do About It
This article shares the story of the famous author, Victor Hugo, and the totally-strange-but-somehow-effective strategy he used to overcome his chronic procrastination. Throughout the post, I weave in some interesting scientific insights about why we procrastinate and what we can do about it.
4. The Downside of Work-Life Balance
A few years ago, I came across this interesting concept about work-life balance called The Four Burners Theory. In this article, I finally got around to writing about it, and I lay out three different approaches I have used for dealing with the fundamental tradeoffs of life and work.
5. Motivation is Overvalued. Environment Often Matters More.
The power of the environment is one of my favorite themes when it comes to discussing our habits and behavior. This article examines how environment has shaped the course of humanity over the centuries and then dives into the practical application of these ideas for our modern world.
6. The 3 Stages of Failure in Life and Work (And How to Fix Them)
For one of my longest and most comprehensive articles of the year, I decided to discuss the 3 stages of failure. The examples I use primarily draw from the business world, but many of the lessons hold true for life as well. In addition to describing the symptoms, I try to offer practical strategies for fixing each of the 3 stages of failure.
7. Motivation: The Scientific Guide on How to Get and Stay Motivated
Throughout the second half of the year, I focused on creating a variety of comprehensive guides on various topics related to habits and human performance. One of the best ones was this guide on motivation. In fact, if you search "motivation" in Google, this article will likely come up #1 or #2.
8. The Science of Sleep: A Brief Guide on How to Sleep Better Every Night
Another one of my comprehensive guides dived into the science of sleep. In this 4,600-word beast, you will not only find out how much sleep you actually need and how sleep works, but also proven ideas for how to get better sleep each night.
9. Healthy Eating: The Beginner's Guide on How to Eat Healthy and Stick to It
This guide takes a different stance on healthy eating. Rather than focusing on telling you what to eat or how much to eat, this guide explains why we eat the way we do and what to do about it. It focuses on behaviors like why we tend to eat so much junk food and why we overeat so frequently, and then lays out simple strategies for overcoming these unhealthy habits.
10. The Proven Path to Doing Unique and Meaningful Work
Finally, we have an article that shares some brilliant advice that comes from a Finnish photographer named Arno Rafael Minkkinen. In this article, I explain the philosophy Minkkinen used to make it through the difficult portions of his career and ultimately produce unique and meaningful work. No matter what profession you are in, his advice is valuable.
My Best Articles of All-Time
Looking for more good articles to read? Check out the complete archive of the best articles I've written.
Thanks for reading!
More by James Clear
My best articles: Browse my best writing by category and title.
My reading list: 100+ good books to read across a wide range of topics.
The Habits Seminar: My best-selling course on habits and human behavior.
Something really interesting
"People are going to be most creative and productive when they're doing something they're really interested in. So having fun isn't an outrageous idea at all. It's a very sensible one."
-John Sculley
Happy person
"A happy person is not a person in a certain set of circumstances, but rather a person with a certain set of attitudes."
-Hugh Downs
As strong as your purpose
You are only as strong as your purpose, therefore let us choose reasons to act that are big, bold, righteous and eternal.
-Barry Munro
Point of view
Art should be like a holiday: something to give a man the opportunity to see things differently and to change his point of view.
-Paul Klee, painter (18 Dec 1879-1940)
Focused, Dedicated and Disciplined
No steam or gas drives anything until it is confined. No life ever grows great until it is focused, dedicated, disciplined.
-Harry Fosdick
Greatest Returns
"My best investment is my imagination, because it has never failed to bring me my greatest returns!"
- Randy Castillo
Where you are?
"One of the oldest human needs is having someone to wonder where you are when you don't come home at night."
-Margaret Mead, anthropologist (16 Dec 1901-1978)
Born to control
Immense power is acquired by assuring yourself in your secret reveries that you were born to control affairs.
-Andrew Carnegie
Universe & atoms
"The universe is made of stories, not of atoms."
-Muriel Rukeyser, poet and activist (15 Dec 1913-1980)
Second Government
A great writer is, so to speak, a second government in his country. And for that reason no regime has ever loved great writers, only minor ones.
-Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, novelist, Nobel laureate (11 Dec 1918-2008)
Successful X unsuccessful
Successful people are always looking for opportunities to help others. Unsuccessful people are always asking, 'What's in it for me?'
-Brian Tracy
Reproach
Those who put out the people's eyes, reproach them for their blindness."
-John Milton, poet (9 Dec 1608-1674)
Kinder than
"The real index of civilization is when people are kinder than they need to be."
-Louis de Bernieres, novelist (b. 8 Dec 1954)
Timid & Confident
"A timid question will always receive a confident answer."
-Charles John Darling, lawyer, judge, and politician (6 Dec 1849-1936)
Work left Unfinished
"Can anything be sadder than work left unfinished? Yes, work never begun."
-Christina Rossetti, poet (5 Dec 1830-1894)
Word & keyboard
"Uttering a word is like striking a note on the keyboard of the imagination."
-Ludwig Wittgenstein, philosopher (1889-1951)
Power of dreams
Never underestimate the power of dreams and the influence of the human spirit. We are all the same in this notion: The potential for greatness lives within each of us.
-Wilma Rudolph
-Wilma Rudolph
Live in terms of strong points.
Live in terms of your strong points. Magnify them. Let your weaknesses shrivel up and die from lack of nourishment.
-William Young Elliott
disturb the world around you
"The question is whether or not you choose to disturb the world around you, or if you choose to let it go on as if you had never arrived."
-Ann Patchett, writer (b. 2 Dec 1963)
...will not do much
If you limit your actions in life to things that nobody can possibly find fault with, you will not do much.
-Charles Dodgson
Necessary to succeed.
| I've always thought I could do whatever was necessary to succeed. |
| – Michael Jordan |
Paint in your mind
If you paint in your mind a picture of bright and happy expectations, you put yourself into a condition conducive to your goal.
-Norman Vincent Peale (1898-1993)
The great thing about getting older is that you don't lose all the other ages
The great thing about getting older is that you don't lose all the other ages you've been.
-Madeleine L'Engle, writer (1918-2007)
Never desert your own line of talent.
Never desert your own line of talent. Be what nature intended you for, and you will succeed.
-Sydney Smith
Live up to one's opportunities
The greatest achievement of the human spirit is to live up to one's opportunities and make the most of one's resources.
-Vauvenargues
Good excuse
If God exists, I hope he has a good excuse.
-Woody Allen, author, actor, and filmmaker (b. 1 Dec 1935)
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