Work Quotes

“Perhaps one of the reasons we don't enjoy all these activities as much as we could is because we think activities need to be exciting for us to enjoy them. Many people confuse joy and happiness with excitement. But excitement is not the same as happiness. With joy and happiness we have a sense of satisfaction. There's a feeling of satisfaction in being in the here and now, when you recognize you have so many conditions for happiness in the present moment, whether you're sitting, walking, standing, or working.”
― Thích Nhất Hạnh, Work: How to Find Joy and Meaning in Each Hour of the Day

“When we wake up in the morning, the first thing we can do is to be aware of the gift that life is offering us. We have a gift of twenty-four hours. We can become aware that we are awake, aware of our breath, aware of the sun and the sky outside, and aware of being alive. We can feel grateful for this. We can say to ourselves, Waking up, I see the blue sky.
I join my palms in gratitude. Feeling grateful for what we already have, being aware that we have more than enough conditions for happiness in the present moment is very important. It is good to start the day with this sort of awareness.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh, Work: How to Find Joy and Meaning in Each Hour of the Day

“If we practice for five or ten minutes every day, we’ll naturally remember how to practice when we most need it, and we can survive the onslaught of a strong emotion very easily.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh, Work: How to Find Joy and Meaning in Each Hour of the Day

“When you put a piece of bread into your mouth, chew only your bread and not your projects, worries, fears, or anger.”
― Thích Nhất Hạnh, Work: How to Find Joy and Meaning in Each Hour of the Day

“If you take good care of the present, there is no need to worry about the future.”
― Thích Nhất Hạnh, Work: How to Find Joy and Meaning in Each Hour of the Day

“Words can travel thousands of miles. May my words create mutual understanding and love. May they be as beautuful as gems, as lovely as flowers.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh, WORK: How To Find Joy And Meaning In Each Hour Of The Day

“Drinking a cup of tea in the early morning, you might like to recite: Sitting peacefully, I smile. The new day begins. I make a vow to live deeply, mindfully.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh, WORK: How To Find Joy And Meaning In Each Hour Of The Day

“Waking up, I see the blue sky. I join my palms in gratitude for the many wonders of life. Feeling grateful for what we already have, being aware that we have more than enough conditions for happiness in the present moment is very important. It is good to start the day with this sort of awareness.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh, WORK: How To Find Joy And Meaning In Each Hour Of The Day

“When you practice mindfulness and generate peace and joy, you become an instrument of peace, bringing peace and joy to yourself and to others.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh, WORK: How To Find Joy And Meaning In Each Hour Of The Day

“Every ordinary act can be transformed into an act of mindfulness: brushing your teeth, washing the dishes, walking, eating, drinking, or working. And of course mindfulness is not just mindfulness of positive things. When joy manifests, we practice mindfulness of joy. But when anger manifests, we practice mindfulness of anger. Whatever strong emotion arises, if we learn to practice mindfulness of that emotion, acknowledging the emotion and not suppressing it or acting on it, then transformation occurs and we are able to find more joy, peace, and awareness.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh, WORK: How To Find Joy And Meaning In Each Hour Of The Day

“Mindfulness is the act of bringing one’s full attention to what is happening in the present moment. We bring our minds back to our bodies, and come home to the present moment. It begins with mindful awareness of our breathing: our in-breath and out-breath.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh, WORK: How To Find Joy And Meaning In Each Hour Of The Day

“Our personal lives are not separate from our working lives.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh, Work: How to Find Joy and Meaning in Each Hour of the Day

“We live in a time and place where it is not easy to find a job. We know, however, that our well-being depends not just on having a source of income, but on having a job in which we can cultivate joy and happiness, a job which is not harmful to humans, animals, plants, or the Earth. Ideally, we are able to find a job and work in such a way that our work is of benefit to the Earth and to all living beings.”
― Hanh, WORK: How To Find Joy And Meaning In Each Hour Of The Day

“If you’re lost in the past, or if you’re carried away by the future, you’re not really living your life. Only by deeply touching the present moment can you touch true life and be truly alive.”
― Hanh, WORK: How To Find Joy And Meaning In Each Hour Of The Day

“My true home is not in the past, not in the future. My true home is life itself—it is in the here and now.”
― Hanh, WORK: How To Find Joy And Meaning In Each Hour Of The Day

“If you take good care of the present, there is no need to worry about the future. By taking care of the present you are doing everything you can to assure a good future.”
― Hanh, WORK: How To Find Joy And Meaning In Each Hour Of The Day

“Deep listening simply means listening with compassion. Even if the other person is full of wrong perceptions, discrimination, blaming, judging, and criticizing, you are still capable of sitting quietly and listening, without interrupting, without reacting. Because you know that if you can listen like that, the other person will feel enormous relief. You remember that you are listening with only one purpose in mind: to give the other person a chance to express themselves,”
― Thich Nhat Hanh, Work: How to Find Joy and Meaning in Each Hour of the Day

“Many of us continue to run even in our sleep. We can never rest. In our dreams, in our nightmares, we continue to run.”
― Thích Nhất Hạnh, Work: How to Find Joy and Meaning in Each Hour of the Day