One kind of good book should leave you asking: how did the author know that about me?

One kind of good book should leave you asking: how did the author know that about me?

Alain de Botton

A good half of the art of living is resilience.

A good half of the art of living is resilience.

We keep a special place in our hearts for people who refuse to be impressed by us.

We keep a special place in our hearts for people who refuse to be impressed by us.

The best cure for one's bad tendencies is to see them in action in another person.

The best cure for one's bad tendencies is to see them in action in another person.

What should worry us is not the number of people that oppose us, but how good their reasons are for doing so.

What should worry us is not the number of people that oppose us, but how good their reasons are for doing so.

Reputation matters so much only because people so seldom think for themselves.

Reputation matters so much only because people so seldom think for themselves.

The fear of saying something stupid (which stupid people never have) has censored far more good ideas than bad ones.

The fear of saying something stupid (which stupid people never have) has censored far more good ideas than bad ones.

Not everyone is worth listening to.

Not everyone is worth listening to.

True love is a lack of desire to check one's smartphone in another's presence.

True love is a lack of desire to check one's smartphone in another's presence.

Envy: a confused, tangled guide to one's own ambitions.

Envy: a confused, tangled guide to one's own ambitions.

What is fascinating about marriage is why anyone wants to get married.

What is fascinating about marriage is why anyone wants to get married.

We will cease to be angry once we cease to be so hopeful.

We will cease to be angry once we cease to be so hopeful.

The greatest works of art speak to us without knowing us.

The greatest works of art speak to us without knowing us.

One of the better guarantors of ending up in a good relationship: an advanced capacity to be alone.

One of the better guarantors of ending up in a good relationship: an advanced capacity to be alone.

It is by finding out what something is not that one comes closest to understanding what it is.

It is by finding out what something is not that one comes closest to understanding what it is.

Work finally begins when the fear of doing nothing exceeds the fear of doing it badly.

Work finally begins when the fear of doing nothing exceeds the fear of doing it badly.

Though it may feel otherwise, enjoying life is no more dangerous than apprehending it with continuous anxiety and gloom.

Though it may feel otherwise, enjoying life is no more dangerous than apprehending it with continuous anxiety and gloom.

I learnt to stop fantasising about the perfect job or the perfect relationship because that can actually be an excuse for not living.

I learnt to stop fantasising about the perfect job or the perfect relationship because that can actually be an excuse for not living.

The difference between hope and despair is a different way of telling stories from the same facts.

The difference between hope and despair is a different way of telling stories from the same facts.