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A way of life that keeps saying 'Around the next corner, above the next step,' works against the natural order of things and makes it so difficult to be happy and good.
Benjamin Hoff
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Interpretation

What this quote means

Constantly seeking happiness in what's next can hinder our ability to appreciate the present.

This quote suggests that a life focused on constantly looking for happiness in future events or achievements can disrupt our ability to find joy in the present moment. It highlights the importance of recognizing and embracing the current experience rather than perpetually chasing after a distant promise of happiness.

Themes

HappinessContentmentPresentLifeJoy

In practice

Example use cases

During a motivational speech about mindfulness and being present.

More from Benjamin Hoff

Lots of people talk to animals... Not very many listen, though... That's the problem.
Benjamin HoffRead
The masters of life know the way, for they listen to the voice within them, the voice of wisdom and simplicity, the voice that reasons beyond cleverness and knows beyond knowledge.
Benjamin HoffRead
How can you get very far, If you don't know who you are? How can you do what you ought, If you don't know what you've got? And if you don't know which to do Of all the things in front of you, Then what you'll have when you are through Is just a mess without a clue Of all the best that can come true If you know What and Which and Who.
Benjamin HoffRead
The honey doesn't taste so good once it is being eaten; the goal doesn't mean so much once it is reached; the reward is no so rewarding once it has been given. If we add up all the rewards in our lives, we won't have very much. But if we add up the spaces *between* the rewards, we'll come up with quite a bit. And if we add up the rewards *and* the spaces, then we'll have everything - every minute of the time that we spent.
Benjamin HoffRead
We don't need to shift our responsibilities onto the shoulders of some deified Spiritual Superman, or sit around and wait for Fate to come knocking at the door. We simply need to believe in the power that's within us, and use it. When we do that, and stop imitating others and competing against them, things begin to work for us.
Benjamin HoffRead
And when you try too hard, it doesn't work. Try grabbing something quickly and precisely with a tensed-up arm; then relax and try it again. Try doing something with a tense mind. The surest way to become Tense, Awkward, and Confused is to develop a mind that tries too hard-one that thinks too much.
Benjamin HoffRead

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I had thought joy to be rather synonymous with happiness, but it seems now to be far less vulnerable than happiness. Joy seems to be a part of an unconditional wish to live, not holding back because life may not meet our preferences and expectations. Joy seems to be a function of the willingness to accept the whole, and to show up to meet with whatever is there. It has a kind of invincibility that attachment to any particular outcome would deny us.
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The good life is one inspired by love and guided by knowledge.
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Only the development of compassion and understanding for others can bring us the tranquility and happiness we all seek.
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A little wisdom, now and then

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