{"id":326,"date":"2023-01-08T18:14:54","date_gmt":"2023-01-08T23:14:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/j30k.com\/?p=326"},"modified":"2025-09-16T19:18:35","modified_gmt":"2025-09-17T00:18:35","slug":"maintaining-focus-through-a-daily-practice-of-reviewing-key-quotes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/j30k.com\/?p=326","title":{"rendered":"Maintaining Focus through a Daily Practice of Reviewing Key Quotes"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Over time, I\u2019ve collected a few quotes that are so concise and compelling that I\u2019ve established a practice of reviewing them as daily reminders. I\u2019ve found that these tidbits of wisdom, from very diverse sources, help me stay grounded and focused on what I\u2019ve deemed important. Those quotes and their personal meaning (with apologies to the originators\u2019 intended meanings) follow.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Are you living the life you chose?<\/p><\/blockquote>

– Jason Isbell, The Life You Chose<\/em><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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The song lyrics ask \u201cAre you living the life you chose? Are you living the life that chose you?\u201d For me, these lyrics are a clear reminder that our lives are shaped by the choices we make. In the absence of making intentional choices, our lives will be shaped by the decisions of others and happenstance. Each day I\u2019m reminded to be deliberate.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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When a lifetime is short, no rules apply<\/p><\/blockquote>

– Pascal Mercier, Night Train to Lisbon<\/em><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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This quote comes from a philosophy book presented as a novel, and of which I am an unabashed fan<\/a>. As a daily reminder, it reinforces the importance of not submitting to artificial rules or constraints. Behave in accord with my moral compass but don\u2019t waste time on the folly of conformity.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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The price of anything is the amount of life you exchange for it [paraphrased]<\/p><\/blockquote>

– Henry David Thoreau, Walden<\/em><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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This paraphrase of Thoreau\u2019s slightly wordier wisdom reminds me to expend energy on my priorities. And to eschew the pursuit of material goods that are unlikely to return long-term satisfaction commensurate with the time and energy required to acquire them.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Someone attached to externals is enslaved to whoever controls them<\/p><\/blockquote>

– Ward Farnsworth, The Practicing Stoic: A Philosophical User’s Manual<\/em><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Similar to Buddhism\u2019s premise that attachment leads to suffering or Fight Club\u2019s line \u201cthe things you own end up owning you\u201d, this Stoic quote is a reminder that to be a free and independent person, I must manage cravings for external things. In so doing, I can enable a life with a greater freedom to choose. I\u2019m not seeking abstinence from external attachments, only a clear and deliberate selectivity.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Be the poet of your own life: intentionally choosing who you become [paraphrased]<\/p><\/blockquote>

– Skye Cleary, How to Be Authentic: Simone de Beauvoir and the Quest for Fulfillment<\/em><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Writing about the philosopher\u2019s life, Cleary articulates an appealing vision for life. I embrace this as authoring my own life, through deliberate choices that create something I deem beautiful.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Die with memories, not dreams<\/p><\/blockquote>

– Anonymous<\/em><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Another reminder to avoid the Hedonic treadmill, this quote helps me focus on activities and experiences. Experiences provide long-lasting value \u2014 precious memories and lessons learned. This quote also reminds me to make journal entries so that the memories get cemented and stay accessible.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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I make no assertion that these particular quotes should have meaning to you. However, reviewing a small compilation of resonant quotes daily has benefited me greatly. Consider assembling your own list for regular review.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Over time, I\u2019ve collected a few quotes that are so concise and compelling that I\u2019ve established a practice of reviewing them as daily reminders. I\u2019ve found that these tidbits of wisdom, from very diverse sources, help me stay grounded and focused on what I\u2019ve deemed important. Those quotes and their personal meaning (with apologies to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":331,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-326","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-be-smart","category-wisdom"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/j30k.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/326","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/j30k.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/j30k.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/j30k.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/j30k.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=326"}],"version-history":[{"count":17,"href":"https:\/\/j30k.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/326\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":344,"href":"https:\/\/j30k.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/326\/revisions\/344"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/j30k.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/331"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/j30k.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=326"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/j30k.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=326"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/j30k.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=326"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}