Why the stories we tell ourselves really matter, as does learning the ability to change them.

Happiness lies in the smallness of the gap between our expectations, and our reality. Now, we could lower our expectations to gain more happiness, but I believe that honing the ability to change our reality is a more enduring way of achieving that. And mindfulness can give you that power.

“All of humanity’s problems stem from our inability to sit quietly in a room alone.” These words feel like they were crafted specifically for our modern world. We don’t want to sit with our thoughts. Because doing so might lead to us questioning their weaknesses, or worse, their origins.

The question we should all be facing is not “what is the meaning of life?”. The questions we must ask of and explore within ourselves is: “What is the meaning I want to create for my life?” How we do that is difficult. But possible.

Happiness might just be hiding behind that choice. The relationship between choice and control steers our life's direction. And much of this balance lies in what we're willing to let go of, and let exist outside of our control.

Attention is the rarest and purest form of generosity. - Simone Weil. Imagining an impartial spectator encourages us to step outside ourselves and view ourselves as others see us. This is a brave exercise that most of us go through in life avoiding or doing poorly. But if you can do it and do it well, if you can hover above the scene and watch how you handle yourself, you can begin to know who you really are and how you might improve.