Goals And Happiness Quotes & Sayings

I think success is finding happiness! Everyone certainly has different goals in life, and things that are important to them, and also things that are not important to them. — Meryl Davis

Dream your dream; and realize that you are more than just the dreamer, you are the point of origin for its reality. — Steve Maraboli

I'm not denying the importance of achieving one's goals, maintaining one's health, or keeping one's children clothed and fed - but most of us spend our time seeking happiness and security without acknowledging the underlying purpose of our search. Each of us is looking for a path back to the present: We are trying to find good enough reasons to be satisfied now. — Sam Harris

If yogis are to come to the realization of the interconnectedness of life, then we must free ourselves from the conditioning that has caused us to think it is all right to exclude all the other animals from our own goals of peace, freedom, and happiness. — Sharon Gannon

At any given moment, your circumstances can change. You may not be where you want to be right now. You may not even be doing what you prefer to do. But, if you change your way of thinking and realize that you have all the opportunities available to you just like each one of us. You can begin to focus on what you want to achieve and make it happen — Amaka Imani Nkosazana

Find what makes you happy and go for it with all your heart. It will be hard, but I promise it will be worth it. — Charlotte Eriksson

We can let our goals motivate and inspire us, but we don't want to let them determine our happiness or self worth. — Elaina Marie

There is no end in creativity. Hence, to strive towards an end result is a fool's errand. Set goals, make music and paint pictures, but know that the crux of your happiness balances delicately on the wings of the act of creativity itself. Not at the finish line. — Brandon Boyd

No, my son, do not aspire for wealth and labor not only to be rich. Strive instead for happiness, to be loved and to love, and most important to acquire peace of mind and serenity. — Og Mandino

Happy people can look back and say they chose their life, not settled for it. — Shannon L. Alder

Happiness is a different thing altogether. If you try to achieve it, you have every chance of failing. And besides, how would you ever know that you'd achieved it? Of course one can't blame people, especially unhappy people, for wanting to be happier and setting themselves goals in order to try to escape from their unhappiness. — Francois Lelord

Instead of admitting that happiness is an art of the indirect that is achieved or not through secondary goals, it is presented as if it were an immediately accessible objective, and recipes are provided. Whatever the method chosen, psychic, somatic, chemical, spiritual, or computer-based, the presupposition is everywhere the same: contentment is within your reach, all you have to do is undergo a "positive conditioning," an "ethical discipline" that will lead you to it. This amounts to an astonishing inversion of the will, which seeks to establish its protectorate over psychic states and feelings that are traditionally outside its jurisdiction. It wears itself our trying to change what does not depend on it (at the risk of not dealing with what can be changed). — Pascal Bruckner

I'm not saying you shouldn't pursue dreams and goals. Just don't forsake the present for the unknowns of the future. A lot of happiness is bypassed, overlooked, postponed to a time years from now that may never come. Don't bide your time and miss out on this moment for a tomorrow with no guarantee. — Kim Holden

The final moment of success is often no more thrilling than taking off a heavy backpack at the end of a long hike. If you went on the hike only to feel that pleasure, you are a fool. Yet people sometimes do just this. They work hard at a task and expect some special euphoria at the end. But when they achieve success and find only moderate and short-lived pleasure, they ask is that all there is? They devalue their accomplishments as a striving after wind. We can call this the progress principle: Pleasure comes more from making progress toward goals than from achieving them. — Jonathan Haidt

Success in life could be defined as the continued expansion of happiness and the progressive realization of worthy goals. — Deepak Chopra

In a nutshell, the fountain of happiness can be found in how you behave, what you think, and what goals you set every day of your life. — Sonja Lyubomirsky

Many of us slog through life without conscious awareness or intention. We set ourselves a course and we barrel ahead, without stopping to ask whether this path is fulfilling our most important goals. That's partly because many of us believe that happiness is not possible in the here and now. We think we need to struggle now so that we will be happy in the future. So we postpone happiness and try to run into the future and attain the conditions of happiness that we don't have now. — Thich Nhat Hanh

Most successful people find out that the attainment of their goals doesn't necessarily bring them the happiness and joy they assumed; their happiness is short-lived. — Frederick Lenz

I'm going to enjoy every second, and I'm going to know I'm enjoying it while I'm enjoying it. Most people don't live; they just race. They are trying to reach some goal far away on the horizon, and in the heat of the going they get so breathless and panting that they lose sight of the beautiful, tranquil country they are passing through; and then the first thing they know, they are old and worn out, and it doesn't make any difference whether they've reached the goal or not. — Jean Webster

That is the most basic law of the Universe - cause and effect. If our actions are the result of our intentions to do good, to create harmony, to deal fairly, to love dearly, and to live the life of the superior person, can anything else happen except that, as a result of natural law, we reach the loftiest goals to which one can attain and lead lives of greatest happiness? — Wu Wei

Everyone needs peace of mind, inner-happiness and joyful relationships but most people don't prioritize these. Do you set goals or invest in learning to achieve these?
If you focus only on career, social and financial goals then you will never be fulfilled or fully successful! — Maddy Malhotra

Happiness lies not in the position, descent, or any property, but, that happiness lies in religion, science, manners, and achieve my goals. — Rifhi Siddiq

Don't go through life with a closed mind. Allow innovations and creativity to flow. We should always challenge ourselves to excel in more ways than one. Be open to ideas or suggestions on how to improve. And, the chances of reaching your goals will increase enormously. — Amaka Imani Nkosazana

The goals of true education are to teach acceptance, tolerance, and nonviolence. — Debasish Mridha

Welfare was not to be gauged in purely financial terms, or merely by reference to physical comfort. Welfare, happiness, well-being must embrace the philosophical concept of the good life. She listed some relevant ingredients, goals towards which a child might grow. Economic and moral freedom, virtue, compassion and altruism, satisfying work through engagement with demanding tasks, a flourishing network of personal relationships, earning the esteem of others, pursuing larger meanings to one's existence, and having at the center of one's life one or a small number of significant relations defined above all by love. — Ian McEwan

The fifties was chosen for the visual and audio aspects, because that was the decade in which the most people had self-identified as being happy. Which is one of the goals here: maximum possible happiness. Who wouldn't tick that box? When — Margaret Atwood

Achieving one's goal is the key to one's happiness and contentment. — Joey Lawsin

It is the thought that the least efficient way of of finding either happiness or pleasure is to pursue them. Put in terms of happiness, we can see it like this: To be happy you must quite literally "lose yourself". You must lose yourself in some pursuit; you need to forget your own happiness and find other goals and projects, other objects of concern that might include the welfare of some other people, or the cure of the disease, or simply in the variety of everyday activities with their little successes and setbacks. — Simon Blackburn

I learned that people everywhere are basically the same and have similar goals that we do. They want health and happiness and the opportunity to provide for their families. — Steve Kerr

Happiness decreases your ability to perform concrete goals, but since the concrete part of mini habits is, for example, just one push-up, it's still easy to do while in an abstract state of mind. It's so small that it requires very little mental energy and attention. And since happiness increases performance and focus on abstract goals, after your concrete goal, you can rely on your abstract goal of "being fit" to make you want to exercise more. — Stephen Guise

Stanford professor Jennifer Aaker's work shows that setting obtainable goals is key to happiness. Instead of perfection, we should aim for sustainable and fulfilling. — Sheryl Sandberg

For the most part, our jobs require us to use our skills, engage our minds, and pursue our goals - all things that have been shown to contribute to happiness. Of course, leisure activities can do this too, but because they're not required of us - because there is no "leisure boss" leaning over our shoulder on Sunday mornings telling us we'd better be at the art museum by 9 A.M. sharp — Shawn Achor

Flow is the process of achieving happiness through control over one's inner life. The optimal state of inner experience is order in consciousness. This happens when we focus our attention (psychic energy) on realistic goals and when our skills match the challenges we face. — Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

If all you do is set goals and achieve them then you have learned to be a doer. Happiness isn't at the end of the next goal. It is the journey of aligning your choices to mold your character into the type of person who lives their belief system, then creates a life purpose that reflects that same person. — Shannon L. Alder

Dear Charles, she wrote.
After writing to express my appreciation for all the generosity of our friends, I would be remiss indeed if I did not include a missive to you. Out of all the new blessings in my new life, the one I thank God for the most is you. I thank you for writing to me through Genteel Correspondence, and for choosing me out of all the other women eager for adventure in the wild west.
I thank you for your kindness, and your gentleness toward me. Only very strong men can be gentle. I thank you for sharing your home and your life with me. I thank you for inventing delicious breakfasts. And chicory flavored coffee. And prayers that ease my mind and inspire my spirit and lift my heart. For your smile and the way you hold your hat in your hands. For the things you say and how you say them.
Did you know that I pray for you each day? I do. I pray for your safety and happiness.
Yours in Christ,
Rose — Jan Holly

There's no reason why children in inner cities or rural areas do not receive the same quality education or opportunities as those in suburbs or wealthy neighborhoods. If we truly believe in giving all citizens a chance to pursue happiness and pursue their goals, then we cannot continue to marginalize entire groups of people. — Al Sharpton

My problem with the search for the badge of real is that it trades your goals and your happiness for someone else's. — Seth Godin

We need to set goals for ourselves. Start today ... if you don't have any goals, make your first goal getting some goals. You probably won't start living happily ever after, but you may start living happily, purposefully, and with gratitude ... Goals are gratitude in action. They give us the opportunity to build on what we already have. While achieving goals can be a lengthy process, we can learn to be grateful for each stage in the process of setting and meeting goals. — Melody Beattie

Only in a free society do individuals have the best chance to seek virtue, strive for excellence, improve their economic well-being, and achieve personal happiness ... The worthy goals of civilization can only be achieved by freedom loving individuals. When government uses force, liberty is sacrificed and the goals are lost. It is freedom that is the source of all creative energy. — Ron Paul

To embark on the journey towards your goals and dreams requires bravery. To remain on that path requires courage. The bridge that merges the two is commitment. — Steve Maraboli

We distill happiness from garnering joy in the ordinary fragments of life, while dedicating personal effort to creating a body of work that one can look back on their deathbed and be satisfied with achieving. Happiness comes from living beautifully, which necessarily involves reason in thought and speech (logos), and leading an ethical and virtuous life devoted to achieving worthy goals. — Kilroy J. Oldster

Happiness is the goal of all goals and ultimate purpose of our life. — Debasish Mridha

I accept everyone as a friend. In truth, we already know one another, profoundly, as human beings who share the same basic goals: We all seek happiness and do not want suffering. — Dalai Lama XIV

Excuses are a time thief. Have a goal, accept responsibility, and take action! — Steve Maraboli

Lasting happiness comes from steadily working to accomplish your goals and advancing in the direction of your life's purpose. — Robin Sharma

Spend some time observing babies. They don't work; they poop in their pants, and they have no goals other than to expand, grow and explore this amazing world. Be like that baby you once were, in terms of being joyful. — Wayne Dyer

Though we cannot understand "the meaning of all things," we do "know that God loveth his children" because He has said, "Behold, this is my work and my glory-to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man." Heavenly Father is able to accomplish these two great goals-the immortality and eternal life of man-because He is a God of creation and compassion. Creating and being compassionate are two objectives that contribute to our Heavenly Father's perfect happiness. Creating and being compassionate are two activities that we as His spirit children can and should emulate. — Dieter F. Uchtdorf

My plans for the future are to serve more and better, to worry less about the things that are unimportant, to let my wife and children know how much I love them, to openly support whatever I can see is good, to appreciate and to encourage everyone in the best way possible, and, in short, to do more of what makes life meaningful. — Norris B. Finlayson

If one is lucky, opportunity cost is all the price one pays. More often than not, there are other costs to gaining your freedom. Maybe it has to do with letting go of comfort and convenience, incurring a loss, or losing friends who are no longer aligned with your goals. Maybe it is a dramatic dislocation in the way you lead your life that renders you disoriented. Some of these experiences maybe painful. You may also find the pursuit of happiness is at times a lonely road. — K.J. Kilton

Then they'd brought in some top designers to consult on an overall look and feel. The fifties was chosen for the visual and audio aspects, because that was the decade in which the most people had self-identified as being happy. Which is one of the goals here: maximum possible happiness. Who wouldn't tick that box? — Margaret Atwood

Pour yourself completely into you and what brings you joy and moves you toward your goals. No one deserves your beautiful love and attention more than you! — Sheri Fink

Today is a new day! You have the opportunity to pick up life's pen and change your story. Become the hero; the greatest hero in your story, and you'll see how much more exciting your life will be. You will watch your goals and dreams transition from something you simply hoped for to something within your powerful grasp. — Steve Maraboli

I am ambitious. I set goals; not because I am ungrateful for what I have, but because I am happy with who I am. I enjoy the experience of rising above my perceived limitations and discovering new levels of my capabilities. — Steve Maraboli

Goals are only ever a guide; a winding, changing path. It's your heart that will really keep you on tack ... and nourished along the way. — Rasheed Ogunlaru

Dreams grow bigger and bolder every time you nourish them. — Toni Sorenson

You cannot wish for happiness but you can work towards your life goals and create lasting happiness. — Roopleen

Happiness is not to be achieved at the command of emotional whims. Happiness is not the satisfaction of whatever irrational wishes you might blindly attempt to indulge. Happiness is a state of non-contradictory joy - a joy without penalty or guilt, a joy that does not clash with any of your values and does not work for your own destruction, not the joy of escaping from your mind, but of using your mind's fullest power, not the joy of faking reality, but of achieving values that are real, not the joy of a drunkard, but of a producer. Happiness is possible only to a rational man, the man who desires nothing but rational goals, seeks nothing but rational values and finds his joy in nothing but rational actions. — Ayn Rand

You are designed for success. Life's tough, but you are greater than its challenges. No matter what you have been through, you're still here. You have a history of victory.

So ignore the haters, the doubters, and free yourself from the emotional saboteurs. Don't ever forget that you are beautiful, you are capable, you are worthy... you are enough.

Set healthy standards and stick to them. Don't settle. Set healthy goals and follow them. Let your behavior speak the love and passion in your heart. Live life to the fullest... make each day worth remembering... Dream BIG & dare to go for it... Be unapologetically you! — Steve Maraboli

As with all things in the physical plane, nothing is permanent, and the only thing we can truly count on is change. Things come and go, people are born and die and move in and out of our lives. The dreams and goals of today will one day either materialize or evolve into something different with time. If we become rigidly attached to any of this, we set ourselves up for the inevitable suffering that will ensue when the thing, person or idea flows out of our lives, or our desire for it shifts. — Dashama Konah Gordon

Happiness is a choice you make when you allow faith through the entry gate and fear through the exit gate. — Roopleen

We are built to conquer environment, solve problems, achieve goals, and we find no real satisfaction or happiness in life without obstacles to conquer and goals to achieve. — Maxwell Maltz

Stop looking back on your life and wishing it was different because pursuing that kind of mental activity will never lead to any worthy accomplishment. Think about what 'can be' rather than what 'was'. — Hina Hashmi

Happiness requires changing yourself and changing your world. It requires pursuing your own goals and fitting in with others. Different people at different times in their lives will benefit from drawing more heavily on one approach or the other. — Jonathan Haidt

The idea that someone could, or would want to, experience uninterrupted happiness over a period of days, let alone years, is ludicrous.

Anyone who feels pleasant and bubbly all the time is either mentally disabled or hooked on crack.

Money, on the other hand, is steady. You can spend it, invest it or light a little bit on fire in an intern's ass. Either way, money gets to sleep over.

Money is a resource that makes it easier for you to find your purpose and achieve your goals, not because you are buying happiness, but because you are eliminating the desperation that drains happiness and distracts you from your purpose. — Ari Gold

Don't throw away another day! No more procrastinating! Only YOU can make it happen. So, UN-ASS the couch and make it happen! — Steve Maraboli

If Epicurus were speaking to you at this moment, he would urge you to simplify life. Here's how he might put it if he were standing here today : Lads,your needs are few, they are easily attained, and any necessary suffering can be easily tolerated. Don't complicate your life with such trivial goals as riches and fame: they are the enemy of ATARAXIA. Fame,for example,consist of the opinions of
others and requires that we must live our life as other wish. To achieve and maintain fame, we must like what others like and shun whatever it is that they shun. Hence, a life of fame or a life in politics? Flee from it. And wealth? Avoid it! It is a trap. The more we acquire the more we crave, and the deeper our sadness when our yearning is not satisfied. Lads, listen to me: If you crave happiness, do not waste your life struggling for that which you really do not need. — Irvin D. Yalom

All I can say is if one was tea, the other coffee. If one was smoke, the other cigar. There is absolutely nothing in common between them except they both fought to win. — Parul Wadhwa

I don't know how it is, but I am so tired of commonplace happiness and commonplace goals. — Jens Peter Jacobsen

Happiness isn't found in some finite checklist of goals that we can diligently complete and then coast. It's how we live our lives in the process. That's why the four pillars of happiness are faith, family, community and meaningful work. Those are priorities we have to keep investing in. — Arthur C. Brooks

Do not postpone your happiness to "achievement" of goals.
It is not worth postponing your happiness, even for a moment ...
Learn to "be happy" first, and then go about achieving your goals ... — Manoj Arora

This Creative Mechanism within you is impersonal. It will work automatically and impersonally to achieve goals of success and happiness, or unhappiness and failure, depending upon the goals which you yourself set for it. Present it with success goals and it functions as a Success Mechanism. Present it with negative goals, and it operates just as impersonally, and just as faithfully as a Failure Mechanism. — Maxwell Maltz

The vital difference between dreamers and achievers boils down to some very basic, simple habits. People with clear, *written-out* goals who consistently honor their defined priorities tend to get results faster than others, and enjoy a greater level of happiness and long-term success in all areas of life. Yet most of us have never been formally taught a system of goal-setting and mastery that can be applied to health and fitness. — Chalene Johnson

He wagged his tail, and his whole body tingled. He realized the emptiness inside was not filled with happiness. Blue felt a glow within that was a result of more than just the warm sunshine on a spring day.
It was more than just the gentle tumble of the waterfall, or the wind or the sound of birds. It was much, much more he knew. He looked about him and he knew he had found what he had been looking for.
He had found more than his true heart's desire ...
He had found a forever home! — Michael Delaware

Stop living within the confines of how others define you! You weren't created to live their life; you were created to live yours - so LIVE it! You can reignite that fire within and bring the passion back into your goals, dreams, ambitions, careers, and relationships by reclaiming control of your own life. Be unapologetically YOU! — Steve Maraboli

Everyone's goals are the same with very small differences. I mean, the goal of a socialist and the goal of a libertarian are exactly the same. The goals are happiness and security and freedom, and you balance those. — Penn Jillette

Only when men are connected to large, universal goals are they really happy-and one result of their happiness is a rush of creative activity. — Joyce Carol Oates

The Christmas presents once opened are Not So Much Fun as they were while we were in the process of examining, lifting, shaking, thinking about, and opening them. Three hundred sixty-five days later, we try again and find that the same thing has happened. Each time the goal is reached, it becomes Not So Much Fun, and we're off to reach the next one, then the next one, then the next.
That doesn't mean that the goals we have don't count. They do, mostly because they cause us to go through the process and it's the process that makes us wise, happy, or whatever. If we do things in the wrong sort of way, it makes us miserable, angry, confused, and things like that. The goal has to be right for us, and it has to be beneficial, in order to ensure a beneficial process. But aside from that, it's really the process that's important. — Benjamin Hoff

When you fill life with mourning and complaints, your accomplishments will be a little lower than success. — Auliq Ice

Don't be afraid to have goals and dreams. Even in the face of haters and those who do not believe in you, don't stop dreaming. — Auliq Ice

The goal of all goals is happiness, and our emotions are like road signs on that journey toward the goal of happiness. — Deepak Chopra

We seek goals as if their achievement will grant magical happiness and unending fulfillment, but is that ever the case? — R.A. Salvatore

Value all relationships for the lessons they teach. Make sure you learn the lessons well. If not you will repeat those mistakes over and over.
Focus on the kind of relationship you do want! Surround yourself with people who manifest those characteristics. Avoid and eliminate negativity at all cost.
Become a producer of that which is positive.
Look for the good in every situation and praise it. talk about it & be about it. Be about only good things.Create and manifest around you joy and peace and happiness. Let the presence of God be your model. Gods' kingdom consists of 3 things, righteousness, peace and joy in Gods words. When you become a positive producer, you will begin to attract what you produced
positives! — Stella Payton

Our goal of all goals and ultimate purpose of life is happiness. — Debasish Mridha

Man becomes fit and functionally valid only when, along with scholarship and expert skills, he has imbibed these values. The person who is wedded to Truth and Love would need nothing more for peace and happiness. When Creation is witnessed through these values, it becomes holy scripture, an inspiring lesson and guide,. Therefore I exhort you: Let Truth and Love be the goals for all your efforts and studies. — Sathya Sai Baba

Let the old year be gone and with it your old habit of getting in your own way! This is your year! It will reveal itself to you one day at a time. In each day you will have countless opportunities to have your actions reflect your goals. Don't throw away another day/another year. Make each day count! If you see something different for yourself in the future, you have to do something different for yourself in the present. Let today be the day you interrupt your thoughts of "I should" with your actions of DOING! — Steve Maraboli

To a significant degree, the commitments we make in life define us. They reveal our interests, passions and goals, and give important clues in discerning meaning and finding happiness in life. While many seem to struggle with the archetypal human question, "who am I?" one simple look at who and what you're devoted to, what takes up your time and fires your imagination can clarify your life direction. It can help you to make authentic decisions that are rooted in your deepest convictions. We are happiest when we are in harmony with our passion. — Monks Of New Skete

Interpreters package and then sell, rent, or impose upon us artificially flavored illusions of truth, salvation, enlightenment, and happiness that are built upon their goals. That twisted information and those errant goals and are often very different from those of the original teachers that these interpreters are borrowing moral authority from. Following our own inner guidance would yield better results than following the village idiot. Neither Buddha nor Jesus was waiting for a Buddha or a Jesus to come solve their personal problems or those of humanity. The key to whatever we need is within us. The job of uncovering it is ours to do. — Doug "Ten" Rose

If you have a big idea or plan that you desire to execute, don't depend solely on others to appreciate your efforts. You must have the ability to encourage yourself. At times seeking encouragement from others can lead to disappointment which sometimes leads you to neglect your obligation. Never build your hopes and dreams based primarily on the accolades from others. You may discover a rude awakening. — Amaka Imani Nkosazana

How much longer will you sit back and wait for your dream to spontaneously come true? Too many days, weeks, months, and years have passed! Do not be unresponsive to your own dreams. Now, set a course of action that will lead to bringing your dream into reality. — Steve Maraboli

Have the imagination, create the vision, go with passion, and take the action; you will achieve all of your goals. — Debasish Mridha

Our evolved natures should be treated with respect, but not with deference. We did not evolve to be happy: rather we evolved to be happy, sad, miserable, angry, anxious, and depressed, as the mood takes us. We evolved to love and to hate, and to care and be callous. Our emotions are the carrots and sticks that our genes use to persuade us to achieve their ends. But their ends need not be our ends. Goodness and happiness may be goals attainable only by hoodwinking our genes. — Stephen C. Stearns

Today you will have countless opportunities to take action towards any dream or goal you've ever had. No matter how long you've waited, it's never too late. Let today be the day you give life to your dreams and goals. Don't throw away another day! — Steve Maraboli

If people are like plants, what are the conditions we need to flourish? In the happiness formula from chapter 5, H(appiness) = S(etpoint) + C(onditions) + V(oluntary activities), what exactly is C? The biggest part of C, as I said in chapter 6, is love. No man, woman, or child is an island. We are ultrasocial creatures, and we can't be happy without having friends and secure attachments to other people. The second most important part of C is having and pursuing the right goals, in order to create states of flow and engagement. In the modern world, people can find goals and flow in many settings, but most people find most of their flow at work. — Jonathan Haidt

fear can only be created by an enclosed mind happiness and laughter are all measures of are success when the reality are goals are all the same death

so the reality of success can be seen as a disguise to protect from the fear which is death — Richard Kent

I believe all religions pursue the same goals, that of cultivating human goodness and bringing happiness to all human beings. Though the means may appear different, the ends are the same. — Dalai Lama

When your every thought and your every action is directed to your ultimate life goals, you become unstoppable and assured of great success and happiness. — Robin Sharma

Don't you dare focus your energy on the 99 reasons something can't be done. Focus on the one thing you can do and the 99 won't matter. — Toni Sorenson

To become happy in life you need to master the eleven skills: know your life compass, change your thinking, change your beliefs, accept your limits, take responsibility for your life, use positive language, change your habits, manage negative emotions in a wise way, set compelling goals, master time management and face life challenges — Victoria Herocten

Before embarking on a voyage, first speak with the ancient sailors, listen to and understand the winds, then patiently make a boat and sail. Yet, even then, be open to other dreams, changes, circumstances. Throughout our lives, we limit ourselves to fixed goals, only to get on the local ferry and just travel the distance between two known points. Yet, we create an illusion of freedom and choice, accompanied by a sense of independence. Thus, we carefully study weather reports, ride on the port side on odd numbered days, starboard on holidays, have tea at fixed times, never speak with those who wear glasses, always smile at those who wear green and of course allow ourselves just the slight possibility of a dream about jumping ship and going off to our island one day.
C'est la vie? Our predictably totalitarian lives are an insult to the human spirit. — Gunduz Vassaf

On his thirteenth birthday he had seen a film in which the central character was a painter who, unable to sell his work, grew cold and hungry as he went from one unsuccessful interview to the next; eventually he had become a vagrant, sleeping in the streets of the city where once he had walked in hope. Hawksmoor left the cinema in a mood of profound, terrified apprehension and, from that time, he was filled with a sense of time passing and with the fear that he might be left discarded on its banks. The fear had not left him, although now he could no longer remember from where it came: he looked back on his earlier life without curiosity, since it seemed to lack intrinsic interest, and when he looked forward he saw the same steady attainment of goals without any joy in their attainment. For him, the state of happiness was simply the state of not suffering and, if he cared for anything, it was for oblivion. — Peter Ackroyd