Things that surprise(d) me

Certain things surprised me when I found them out for the first time.

• I used to enjoy being miserable. Only wanting to not be miserable was sufficient to start being happy.
• It takes effort to relax. By default we’re stressed both physically and mentally. (It takes awareness, to be precise. But for many, awareness requires effort.)
• Often, not yielding to peer pressure and following your instinct is the right thing to do. But it takes courage to follow your instincts especially your belief contradicts popular beliefs.
• Accepting misery is a path to joy.
• Even after so much change, I still haven’t accepted myself just as what I am.
• I have become, or I am doing, everything I used to hate in the past. Yet, it’s not all that bad.

From a Mike Robbins talk

I listened to a talk by Mike Robbins. Two points that I found interesting from the talk:

• One of the most selfish things you can do is to be miserable. You’ll make everyone who cares about you unhappy, just by being unhappy yourself.
• The answer is always a ‘No’ if you don’t ask.