Good Words from Good Books

"You are not fool's gold, shining only under a particular light.  Whomever you become, whatever you make yourself into, that is who you always were.  It was always in you."  [quoting Dr. Kerry of BYU] p. 242 "To admit uncertainty is to admit weakness, to powerlessness, and to believe in yourself despite both...In this frailty there is strength: the conviction to live in your own mind, and not someone else's.  I have often wondered if the most powerful words I wrote that night [were] I don't know.  I just don't know.  Not knowing for certain, but refusing to give way to those who claim certainty, was a privilege I had never allowed myself."  p. 197 *It was interesting to see how the author's experiences affected her life and her faith.  It helps me remember to try not to judge because I have no idea what people have gone through and why they do some of the things they do. 

Habits of a Happy Brain: Retrain Your Brain to Boost Your Serotonin, Dopamine, Oxytocin, and Endorphin Levels "Each time you have an experience, your senses take in the world and trigger electricity in your brain.  That electricity flows in your brain like water flows in a storm--it finds the path of least resistance.  The paths you've already built give your electricity a place to flow, and that shapes your response to the experience...Some of your neural trails develop into superhighways because you've activated them repeatedly and neurochemically."  p. 20 "When you understand your brain, you realize [disappointments] come from you rather than from the thing itself."  p. 90 "We humans have the power to shift our attention from a circuit activated by the outside world to a circuit we activate internally."  p. 125 "Electricity flows through your neural pathways, but you always have the power to redirect the flow.  This is the core of

"When you expect everything, it's hard to be grateful for anything." p. 27-28 Money can make us superficially happy, but gratitude contributes to our overall well-being.  And having more money doesn't make us more grateful.  p. 125-6 "Gratitude is stopping to appreciate the goodness already in your life."  p. 126 "Nothing is enough for the man to whom enough is too little."  p. 128 (from Epicurus) "If you trade your expectations for appreciation, the world instantly changes."  p. 149 (from Tony Robbins) "Instead of being afraid of food because it might make me fat, every meal became a celebration."  p. 229 (Regarding the 'Gratitude Diet') "If you're in a negative mood, you want something that will make you feel better right now.  When you're in a positive mood, you think more about how you'll feel in the long term."  p. 222 "Gratitude was a way of finding good in everything."