Just One Thing Quotes

“Neurons that fire together, wire together.”
― Rick Hanson, Just One Thing: Developing a Buddha Brain One Simple Practice at a Time

“In your own mind, what do you usually think about at the end of the day? The fifty things that went right, or the one that went wrong? Such as the driver who cut you off in traffic, or the one thing on your To Do list that didn’t get done . . . In effect, the brain is like Velcro for negative experiences, but Teflon for positive ones. That shades implicit memory—your underlying feelings, expectations, beliefs, inclinations, and mood—in an increasingly negative direction. Which is not fair, since most of the facts in your life are probably positive or at least neutral. Besides the injustice of it, the growing pile of negative experiences in implicit memory naturally makes a person more anxious, irritable, and blue—plus it gets harder to be patient and giving toward others. But you don’t have to accept this bias! By tilting toward the good—toward that which brings more happiness and benefit to oneself and others—you merely level the playing field. Then, instead of positive experiences washing through you like water through a sieve, they’ll collect in implicit memory deep down in your brain.”
― Rick Hanson, Just One Thing: Developing a Buddha Brain One Simple Practice at a Time

“Being for yourself simply means that you care about yourself. You wish to feel happy instead of worried, sad, guilty, or angry. You want people to treat you well instead of badly. You want to help your future self—the person you’ll be next week, next year, next decade—to have as good a life as possible.”
― Rick Hanson, Just One Thing: Developing a Buddha Brain One Simple Practice at a Time

“There are three fundamental phases to psychological and spiritual growth: being with difficult material (e.g., old wounds, anger); releasing it; and replacing it with something more beneficial.”
― Rick Hanson, Just One Thing: Developing a Buddha Brain One Simple Practice at a Time

“Life is like a vast landscape with both soft grass and sharp thorns; impatience rails at the thorns; patience puts on a pair of shoes.”
― Rick Hanson, Just One Thing: Developing a Buddha Brain One Simple Practice at a Time

“Listen to the still, quiet voice of conscience, so different from the pounding scorn of the critic.”
― Rick Hanson, Just One Thing: Developing a Buddha Brain One Simple Practice at a Time

“you have got to be on your own side. Not against others, but for yourself.”
― Rick Hanson, Just One Thing: Developing a Buddha Brain One Simple Practice at a Time

“If you keep going, you might not reach your goal—but if you stop, you’ll never reach it.”
― Rick Hanson, Just One Thing: Developing a Buddha Brain One Simple Practice at a Time

“Neurons that fire together, wire together.” This saying from the work of the psychologist Donald Hebb means that active synapses—the connections between neurons—get more sensitive, plus new synapses grow, producing thicker neural layers.”
― Rick Hanson, Just One Thing: Developing a Buddha Brain One Simple Practice at a Time

“Impatience combines all three ingredients of toxic stress: unpleasant experiences, pressure or urgency, and lack of control.”
― Rick Hanson, Just One Thing: Developing a Buddha Brain One Simple Practice at a Time

“To identify a high-quality supplement—whose daily dose probably involves two to three capsules—look for one that has about five to ten times the “daily values” (DVs) of B vitamins and 100 percent of the DVs of minerals. Also take two to three capsules a day of high-quality fish oil, enough to get at least 500 milligrams of both DHA (decosahexaenoic acid) and EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid); check the label. If you don’t want fish oil, an alternative is a combination of flax oil and DHA from algae, but fish oil is the most effective way to get omega-3 oils into your body and brain.”
― Rick Hanson, Just One Thing: Developing a Buddha Brain One Simple Practice at a Time

“Any single time of taking in the good will usually make just a little difference. But over time those little differences will add up, gradually weaving positive experiences into the fabric of your brain and your whole being.”
― Rick Hanson, Just One Thing: Developing a Buddha Brain One Simple Practice at a Time

“Lasting, good relationships typically need at least a 5:1 ratio of positive to negative interactions (Gottman 1995).”
― Rick Hanson, Just One Thing: Developing a Buddha Brain One Simple Practice at a Time

“I’ve heard people talk like making efforts inside the mind is some kind of lightweight activity, but in fact it’s always a matter of resolve and diligence—and sometimes it’s very challenging and uncomfortable. Practice is not for wusses. You will earn its benefits.”
― Rick Hanson, Just One Thing: Developing a Buddha Brain One Simple Practice at a Time

“People recognize that they’ve got to make an effort over time to become more skillful at driving a truck, running a department, or playing tennis. Yet it’s common to think that becoming more skillful with one’s own mind should somehow come naturally, without effort or learning. But because the mind is grounded in biology, in the physical realm, the same laws apply: the more you put in, the more you get back. To reap the rewards of practice, you need to do it, and keep doing it.”
― Rick Hanson, Just One Thing: Developing a Buddha Brain One Simple Practice at a Time

“Getting excited about something together is bonding; shared enthusiasm makes a movie, concert, political rally, conversation, or lovemaking a lot more rewarding.”
― Rick Hanson, Just One Thing: Developing a Buddha Brain One Simple Practice at a Time