Quotes from Arthur C. Brooks

The moment my head emerged I had the sensation of being reborn.

Bridging, like warm-heartedness, takes courage.

Consider J. S. Bach, whom we met earlier. He loved his work, and enjoyed his early success, but he knew what mattered most.

The decline problem is a double whammy, then: we need ever-greater success to avoid dissatisfaction, yet our abilities to stay even are declining. No, it's actually a triple whammy, because as we try to stay even, we wind up in patterns of addictive behavior such as workaholism, which puts strivers into unhealthy relationship patterns at the cost of deep connection to spouses, children, and friends.

Many success addicts confess that they feel like losers when they see someone else who is yet more successful.

However, loneliest of all are those who are married but with an "absent spouse." (Workaholics, take note: your spouse is probably lonely—and suffering as a result.)

The total amount of time spent posting comments online correlated positively with sadism, psychopathy, and Machiavellianism. This was especially true for those who relished "trolling," the anonymous posting of negative and destructive comments. The participants who listed trolling as their favorite activity earned the highest scores on those unsavory psychological measures.

Wrapped up in their fear of falling behind, success-addicted workaholics—like all people controlled by their addictive behavior—leave little room in their lives for friends or family.

Admiring you shall find Their roots are intertwined Insep'rably.[53]

the more willing we should be to listen and engage—especially if the person with whom we are in conversation will challenge our deeply held—even our most cherished and identity-forming—beliefs. . .

Leaders are particularly prone to loneliness, in no small part because real friendships at work are difficult or impossible with people under one's authority and supervision.

And this leads me to underscore once again the truth that nature is not destiny and, sometimes, we must fight our natural instincts if we want to be happy.

researchers have long found that social comparison lowers our happiness.[29] But you hardly need a study to tell you that—just spend a few hours browsing Instagram and see how bad you feel about yourself. This is because you are comparing your success with your perception of others' success, as depicted in information of dubious accuracy. Nothing good comes of this.

To go from strength to strength requires learning a new set of life skills.

he found himself dispensing wisdom more than knowledge—advice about life and leadership.

But love is reserved for people, not things; to misplace your love is to invite frustration and futility—to get on the hedonic treadmill and set it to ultra-fast.

If you love things, you will strive to objectify yourself in terms of money, power, pleasure, and prestige—idols all. You will worship yourself—or, at least, a two-dimensional cutout of yourself.

Research shows that insults actually intensify people's opposition to one's point of view.

And what I have presented here shows that when it comes to faith, many people do change with age.

Rule 2. Don't attack or insult. Don't even try to win.

Rule 5. Tune out: Disconnect more from the unproductive debates.

Success addicts experience withdrawal as well.

Allowing that change to happen and developing our inner life helps us get onto the second curve.

Over the next two hours, Acharya explained the ancient Indian teaching that a proper life must be lived in four stages—these are the ashramas. Ideally, ashramas last twenty-five years each.