People who learn to control inner experience will be able to determine the quality of their lives, which is as close as any of us can come to being happy. (Location 177)
“Ask yourself whether you are happy,” said J. S. Mill, “and you cease to be so.” (Location 178)
It is by being fully involved with every detail of our lives, whether good or bad, that we find happiness, not by trying to look for it directly. (Location 179)
Man’s Search for Meaning: “Don’t aim at success—the more you aim at it and make it a target, the more you are going to miss it. For success, like happiness, cannot be pursued; it must ensue…as the unintended side-effect of one’s personal dedication to a course greater than oneself.” (Location 181)
Contrary to what we usually believe, moments like these, the best moments in our lives, are not the passive, receptive, relaxing times—although such experiences can also be enjoyable, if we have worked hard to attain them. The best moments usually occur when a person’s body or mind is stretched to its limits in a voluntary effort to accomplish (Location 201)
A person who has achieved control over psychic energy and has invested it in consciously chosen goals cannot help but grow into a more complex being. (Location 263)
“Flow” is the way people describe their state of mind when consciousness is harmoniously ordered, and they want to pursue whatever they are doing for its own sake. (Location 266)
It is how people respond to stress that determines whether they will profit from misfortune or be miserable. Chapter 9 describes ways in which people manage to enjoy life despite adversity. (Location 277)
the universe was not created to answer our needs. Frustration is deeply woven into the fabric of life. And (Location 292)
