Quotes from Too Soon Old, Too Late Smart: Thirty True Things You Need to Know Now

It is possible to live without criticizing and directing everyone around us.

If every misfortune can be blamed on someone else, we are relieved of the difficult task of examining our own contributory behavior or just accepting the reality that life is and has always been full of adversity.

The three components of happiness are: * something to do * someone to love * something to look forward to

Any relationship is under the control of the person who cares the least.

A conviction that there exists somewhere the person who will save us with his or her love. Much of the infidelity that is the hallmark of unhappy marriages rests on this illusion.

We are what we do. We are not what we think, or what we say, or how we feel. We are what we do.

Given love and support, most children grow into happy, productive adults independent of whatever theory of parenting they were raised with.

Only bad things happen quickly. All the happiness-producing processes in our lives take time, usually a long time: learning new things, changing old behaviors, building satisfying relationships, raising children. This is why patience and determination are among life’s primary virtues.

The problem with longing for paradises is that it distracts us from our efforts to extract pleasure and meaning from the present.

Enjoy life even as we are surrounded by evidence of its brevity and potential for disaster.