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We have a glass bowl storing my handwritten pieces of wisdom quotes that I compiled from books, websites, online forums, etc. We call it food for thought, which reminds us of staying on track.

Every morning before going to work, S picks a random quote, reads it out and I silently wait for what he will say. He usually says shortly like “good!” or “I like it!”. Our handsome cat, Sam always interrupts his breakfast in order to join the routine that we have been doing for the past 2 years.

One time, S was reading “If we encounter a man of rare intellect”, then he stopped abruptly and exclaimed “Me!”. The other half of the quote is “we should ask him what books he reads.” There was a pause of silence, the vacant look on S’s face revealed his stumped mind, which made me burst into laughter. I watched as he frantically rummaged his brain for the name of a book and finally said with levity, “The Three bears.” LOL!!!

Here is the list of our favorite quotes:

1. Whatever the present moment contains, accept it as if you had chosen it. Always work with it, not against it.
2. Every person that you meet knows something you don’t; learn from them.
3. Our anxiety does not come from thinking about the future, but from wanting to control it.
4. Respect for ourselves guides our morals; respect for others guides our manners.
5. So go on, get angry. But keep your mouth shut and go do your work.
6. There is no way to peace, peace is the way.
7. The secret to being productive is to work on the right thing – even if it’s at a slow pace.
8. When things change inside you, things change around you.
9. Who locks outside, dreams. Who looks inside, awakens.
10. Instead of worrying about what you cannot control, shift your energy to what you can create.
11. Think for yourself, not of yourself. Think of others, not for others.
12. The intelligent come to know the world. The wise come to know themselves.
13. To study Buddhism is to study ourselves. To study ourselves is to forget ourselves.
14. Courage is knowing what not to fear.
15. To live happily is an inward power of the soul.
16. Great thoughts speak only to the thoughtful mind, but great actions speak to all mankind.
17. Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.
18. I’d rather be the most helpful guy in the room than the smartest guy in the room.
19. The greatest challenge is to control oneself.
20. Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak. Courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.
21. Even if it’s hard, even if it’s boring, do the right thing.
22. Take a rest; a field that has rested gives a bountiful crop.
23. Almost everybody can stay excited for 2 or 3 months. A few can stay excited for 2 or 3 months but a winner will stay excited for 30 years or however long it takes to win.
24. Be a good person, but don’t waste your time trying to prove it.
25. Live your life in such a way that you neither hide nor have a wish to display your life to people.
26. You can’t enjoy wealth if you’re not in good health.
27. One who approaches life with force surely gets something. One who remains content where he is surely gets everything.
28. Do at least one task you don’t want to do everyday.
29. Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference.
30. Patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet.
31. Sleep is the best meditation.
32. Management is telling other what to do. Leadership is making them want to do it.
33. Keep your eyes on the stars and your feet on the ground.
34. For every minute you are angry, you lose sixty seconds of happiness.
35. Some of us think holding on makes us strong; but sometimes it is letting go.
36. Worrying doesn’t take away tomorrow’s troubles, it takes away today’s peace.
37. Peace is letting it be. Letting life flow, letting emotions flow through you.
38. Kids don’t remember what you try to teach them. They remember what you are.
39. A man with outward courage dares to die; a man with inner courage dares to live.
40. No one cares what you can do. Everyone cares what you can do for them.
41. A great man is always willing to be little.
42. Only make decisions that support your self-image, self-esteem, ad self-worth.
43. Once you have accepted your flaws, no one can use them against you.
44. I believe that the greatest gift you can give your family and the world is a healthy you.
45. Remain calm in every situation because peace equals power.
46. Maturity is the ability to postpone gratification.
47. I learned how to be happy because I know what unhappiness felt like.
48. Bored people expects. Wise people accept.
49. Focus on being productive instead of busy.
50. Life is not a test of intelligence, it’s a test of perseverance.
51. It is good to have a goal, but bad to let your goal have you. Focus is good, but focus that is too narrow becomes blindness.
52. Sometimes a man has to be big enough to know just how small he is.
53. Respect for ourselves guides our morals; respect for others guides our manners.
54. It doesn’t matter what you bear, but how you bear it.
55. We don’t mature through age; we mature in awareness.
56. Patience is not passive, on the contrary it is concentrated strength.
57. Be tolerant with others and strict with yourself.
58. What we fear doing most is usually what we most need to do.
59. Respect is how to treat everyone, not just those you want to impress.
60. If you remove pride from the equation, mistakes are simple accelerated learning.
61. Ego is false confidence, self-respect is true confidence.
62. The most important decision you make is to be in a good mood.
63. Your relationship with yourself sets the tone for every other relationship you have.
64. Man conquers the world by conquering himself.
65. Self-knowledge is the first step to maturity.
66. If you don’t give yourself a break, how can you expect other people to give you one?
67. Wise men speak because they have something to say; fools speak because they have to say something.