Oh for a book and a shady nook...

“Has anyone ever advised you to ‘be yourself’?”

I said I’d heard that a lot.

“What does it mean to be yourself?” he asked. “If it

means to do what you think you ought to do, then you’re

doing that already. If it means to act like you’re exempt

from society’s influence, that’s the worst advice in the

world; you would probably stop bathing and wearing clothes.

The advice to ‘be yourself’ is obviously nonsense. But our

brains accept this tripe as wisdom because it is more comfortable

to believe we have a strategy for life than to believe

we have no idea how to behave.”

 

 

Author: Paulo Coelho

"That is why it is so important to let certain things go. To release them. To cut them loose. People need to understand that nobody is playing with marked cards; sometimes we win and sometimes we lose. Don't expect to get anything back, don't expect recognition for your efforts, don't expect your genius to be discovered or love to be understood. Complete the circle. Not out of pride, inability or arrogance, but simply because whatever it is, no longer fits in your life. Close the door, change the record, clean the house, get rid of the dust. Stop being who you were and become who you are."