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16 small insights that can make a big difference

One of the simplest ways to instantly shift your mood is to break into a big smile and hold it for 15–20 seconds.

Anoop Abraham

It’s said that a picture speaks a thousand words. Similarly, I believe that a single sentence can convey more wisdom than a thousand words.

Here are a few simple observations and realisations, condensed into a single sentence, that have helped me live better.

  • Most urges don’t last longer than 15 minutes; realising this simple truth can prevent you from doing things you may later regret.

  • To let go of negative feelings, the solution, as counter-intuitive as it may sound, is to accept them fully.

  • One of the best ways to break a bad habit is to replace it with a positive one.

  • The news and social media are junk food for the mind. Both provide instant gratification but offer little or no nourishment.

  • Sexual energy is so powerful that if you transmute it instead of dissipating it, your whole life could change within a matter of months.

  • One of the simplest ways to instantly shift your mood is to break into a big smile and hold it for 15–20 seconds.

  • Almost all our fears and worries are merely assumptions, rather than being based on proof or facts.

  • Reading good books is one of the best and cheapest investments you can make, both in terms of money and time, to radically improve the quality of your life.

  • To stop yourself from lashing out at someone, mentally count to 10 before responding.

  • Nobody judges you as harshly as you judge yourself.

  • Perfectionism can be deadly for creativity: a good idea decently executed is always better than a perfect idea that is never executed.

  • There is nobody you can’t empathise with once you’ve heard their story.

  • Saying, “I don’t have time,” usually means, “It’s not a priority.”

  • Your outside circumstances cannot make you feel a certain way; rather, it is how you perceive or interpret those circumstances that determines how you feel.

  • Forgiveness is a gift you give yourself; by clinging to feelings of resentment and anger, you hurt nobody but yourself.

  • Trying to please everyone all the time is an impossible task. Even the greatest works of art, music and cinema have their share of critics.

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