Reminders

Sometimes people need someone to believe in them. And then they can do amazing things

A still from <n>Terrence Malick</n>'s 2015 film <n>Knight of Cups</n>, featuring actor <n>Christian Bale</n>.

I'm in shape because I built a system that forgives mistakes--and demands returns.

Wear Sunscreen.



If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it. The long-term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists, whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience. I will dispense this advice now.



Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth. Oh, never mind. You will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they’ve faded. But trust me, in 20 years, you’ll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can’t grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked. You are not as fat as you imagine.



Don’t worry about the future, or worry, but know that worry is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubble gum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind. The kind that blindside you at 4 p.m. on some idle Tuesday.



Do one thing every day that scares you.



Sing.



Don’t be reckless with other people’s hearts. Don’t put up with people who are reckless with yours.



Floss.



Don’t waste your time on jealousy. Sometimes you’re ahead, sometimes you’re behind. The race is long and, in the end, it’s only with yourself.

Remember compliments you receive. Forget the insults. If you succeed in doing this, tell me how.



Keep your old love letters. Throw away your old bank statements.



Stretch.



Don’t feel guilty if you don’t know what you want to do with your life. The most interesting people I know didn’t know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives. Some of the most interesting 40-year-olds I know still don’t.



Get plenty of calcium. Be kind to your knees. You’ll miss them when they’re gone.



Maybe you’ll marry, maybe you won’t. Maybe you’ll have children, maybe you won’t. Maybe you’ll divorce at 40, maybe you’ll dance the funky chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary. Whatever you do, don’t congratulate yourself too much, or berate yourself either. Your choices are half chance. So are everybody else’s.



Enjoy your body. Use it every way you can. Don’t be afraid of it or of what other people think of it. It’s the greatest instrument you’ll ever own.



Dance, even if you have nowhere to do it but your living room.

Read the directions, even if you don’t follow them.



Do not read beauty magazines. They will only make you feel ugly.

Get to know your parents. You never know when they’ll be gone for good. Be nice to your siblings. They’re your best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future.



Understand that friends come and go, but with a precious few you should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and lifestyle, because the older you get, the more you need the people who knew you when you were young.



Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard. Live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft.



Accept certain inalienable truths: Prices will rise. Politicians will philander. You, too, will get old. And when you do, you’ll fantasize that when you were young, prices were reasonable, politicians were noble and children respected their elders.



Respect your elders.



Don’t expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you have a trust fund. Maybe you’ll have a wealthy spouse. But you never know when either one might run out.



Don’t mess too much with your hair or by the time you’re 40 it will look 85.



Be careful whose advice you buy, but be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia. Dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it’s worth.



But trust me on the sunscreen.



Mary Schmich

Don’t let a man tell you he doesn’t want you more than once.

You're definitely in a position to judge. You're fucking this guy. It's just for safety reasons.

Values involve trade-offs. To care deeply about one thing, you have to by definition not care about other things or devalue the contradiction of the thing you care about.

Am I good at it and can I get better?

Do I enjoy the work?

Do I care about the results of my job?



If the answer is no to any one of those three it'll put you in a disengaged existence.

Those who don’t move don’t notice their chains.

Ships are safe at harbor, but that’s not what they’re built for.

Everything I lose creates space for everything I need

We end something when we lose logical hope that it’ll get any better.

You are not your thoughts. You are the awareness that observes your thoughts.

Try on the clothes you love before you look at the price tag.

You can be the right package at the wrong address.

Making the most out of any opportunity is a better skill than picking the opportunity

Don't believe you have to do some traditional career path to make a ton of money.

In Colombia, we kiss for everything because a kiss can mean so many different things.

It can be the start of something new.
It can be how we say, "this is the person that I love."
It can be romantic.
It can also be worth waiting for.

Don’t look back. You’re not going that way.

There’s a difference between how you feel about somebody and how they make you feel. In every healthy relationship you need both of them to be positive.

Not believing in yourself is the most selfish thing you could ever do.

The three grand essentials of happiness are something to do, someone to love, and someone to hope for.

Values answer the question: What matters, what is worth pursuing, and what kind of person do I want to become?

If all you optimize for is money, you’re optimizing for the accumulation of a tool — nothing more.



So you might as well learn the skill to use it.

The key to succeeding in a relationship is not finding the right person; it's learning to love the person you found.

Work like it’s up to you pray like it’s up to God.

A goal without a deadline is just a dream.

Life is a series of walking away from really good things. That is how you live fully.

Regret is just procrastination that lasts too long

It's impossible for someone who destroys your mental health to be the love of your life. Obsessing over someone isn't love, it's fear disguised as affection. Healthy love is supposed to heal us in the long run.