Jonathan > Jonathan's Quotes

“suffering is universal. But victimhood is optional.”
― Edith Eger, The Choice

“Often, the little upsets in our lives are emblematic of the larger losses; the seemingly insignificant worries are representative of greater pain.”
― Edith Eger, The Choice: Embrace the Possible

“Magda is bruised and coughing, but her eyes shine. “I said, ‘No!’” she says. “I said, ‘No.’” For her, it is a marvelous beating. It is proof of her power. She held her ground while the guard lost control. Magda’s civil disobedience makes her feel like the author of choice, not the victim of fate.”
― Edith Eger, The Choice

“A good definition of being a victim is when you keep the focus outside yourself, when you look outside yourself for someone to blame for your present circumstances, or to determine your purpose, fate, or worth.”
― Edith Eger, The Choice: Embrace the Possible

“although it feels like the palette of human feelings is limitless, in fact every emotional shade, like every color, is derived from just a few primary emotions: sad, mad, glad, scared.”
― Edith Eger, The Choice

“I taught him a mantra for managing his emotions: notice, accept, check, stay.”
― Edith Eger, The Choice

“Viktor Frankl writes, Man’s search for meaning is the primary motivation in his life … This meaning is unique and specific in that it must and can be fulfilled by him alone; only then does it achieve a significance which will satisfy his own will to meaning. When we abdicate taking responsibility for ourselves, we are giving up our ability to create and discover meaning. In other words, we give up on life.”
― Edith Eger, The Choice

“We don’t know where we’re going, we don’t know what’s going to happen, but no one can take away from you what you put in your own mind.”
― Edith Eger, The Choice: Embrace the Possible

“You can’t change what happened, you can’t change what you did or what was done to you. But you can choose how you live now.”
― Edith Eger, The Choice

“It's easier to fool people than to convince them that they have been fooled.”
― Mark Twain

“Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.”
― George Carlin

“The most unfair thing about life is the way it ends. I mean, life is tough. It takes up a lot of your time. What do you get at the end of it? A Death! What’s that, a bonus? I think the life cycle is all backwards. You should die first, get it out of the way. Then you live in an old age home. You get kicked out when you’re too young, you get a gold watch, you go to work. You work forty years until you’re young enough to enjoy your retirement. You do drugs, alcohol, you party, you get ready for high school. You go to grade school, you become a kid, you play, you have no responsibilities, you become a little baby, you go back into the womb, you spend your last nine months floating …and you finish off as an orgasm.”
― George Carlin