Catherine Brown > Catherine's Quotes

“There’s folks you just don’t need. You’re better off without em. Your life is just a little better because they ain’t in it.”
― William Gay

“It makes no sense to try to extend a friendship that was only meant to be a season into a lifetime.”
― Mandy Hale, The Single Woman–Life, Love, and a Dash of Sass: Embracing Singleness with Confidence

“Mindful is remembering that being alive is the ultimate gift. When we know we have a limited amount of time, we're more careful how we spend it.”
― Sam Horn, Someday Is Not a Day in the Week: 10 Hacks to Make the Rest of Your Life the Best of Your Life

“All of humanity's problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone.”
― Blaise Pascal, Pensées

“Live your life as a lonely stranger. As a wanderer filled with awe and wonder. Leave everything as you found it. For none of it belongs to you. Let the events happen around you, knowing that none of them are happening TO You. And you will live an equanimous life.”
― Kapil Gupta, Atmamun: The Path To Achieving The Bliss Of The Himalayan Swamis. And The Freedom Of A Living God.

“People often ask me what they can do to be moresuccessful. I say disconnect. Even if just for a few hours. Unplug. Turn off your phone and Wi-Fi. Focus. Write. Practice. Create. That’s what’s rare and valuable these
days.

You get no competitive edge from consuming the same stuff everyone else is consuming.”
― Derek Sivers, Hell Yeah or No: What's Worth Doing

“Learning without doing is wasted. If I don’t use what I learn, then it was pointless! How horrible to waste those hundreds of hours I spent learning, and not turn it into action.”
― Derek Sivers, Hell Yeah or No: What's Worth Doing

“Nothing is more exhausting than the task that’s never started.”
― Gretchen Rubin, Outer Order, Inner Calm: Declutter & Organize to Make More Room for Happiness

“Outer order isn’t a matter of having less or having more; it’s a matter of wanting what we have.”
― Gretchen Rubin, Outer Order, Inner Calm: Declutter and Organize to Make More Room for Happiness

“When deciding what to buy, remember that some things are easy to buy—but then we have to use them. If they're not used, they don't enhance our lives; they just contribute to guilt and clutter.”
― Gretchen Rubin, Outer Order, Inner Calm: Declutter & Organize to Make More Room for Happiness

“Just because we're busy doesn't mean we're being productive. Working is one of the most dangerous forms of procrastination.”
― Gretchen Rubin, Outer Order, Inner Calm: Declutter & Organize to Make More Room for Happiness

“One of the biggest wastes of time is doing something well that didn’t need to be done at all.”
― Gretchen Rubin, Outer Order, Inner Calm: Declutter & Organize to Make More Room for Happiness

“Rather than striving for a particular level of possessions—minimal or otherwise—it’s helpful to think about getting rid of what’s superfluous. Even people who prefer to own many possessions enjoy their surroundings more when they’ve purged everything that’s not needed, used, or loved.”
― Gretchen Rubin, Outer Order, Inner Calm: Declutter and Organize to Make More Room for Happiness

“now is always the best time to begin.”
― Gretchen Rubin, Outer Order, Inner Calm: Declutter and Organize to Make More Room for Happiness

“When I clean up that mess, I’m always surprised by the disproportionate energy and cheer I gain, plus I’m able to find my keys.”
― Gretchen Rubin, Outer Order, Inner Calm: Declutter and Organize to Make More Room for Happiness

“Something that can be done at any time is often done at no time. Do it now, or decide when you'll do it.”
― Gretchen Rubin, Outer Order, Inner Calm: Declutter & Organize to Make More Room for Happiness

“One of the biggest wastes of time is doing something well that didn't need to be done at all.”
― Gretchen Rubin, Outer Order, Inner Calm: Declutter & Organize to Make More Room for Happiness

“There's no "right" or "best" way to create a better life.
Nevertheless, while each of us may define and achieve outer order in different ways, it's clear that for most people, outer order does indeed contribute to inner calm.”
― Gretchen Rubin, Outer Order, Inner Calm: Declutter & Organize to Make More Room for Happiness

“If you need to buy things to store things, perhaps you have too many things.”
― Gretchen Rubin, Outer Order, Inner Calm: Declutter and Organize to Make More Room for Happiness

“Once I’ve cleared away the things I don’t need, use, or love, my surroundings reveal to me, and to others, the things that matter most to me. Careful curation means that my space and my possessions reflect my truest identity.”
― Gretchen Rubin, Outer Order, Inner Calm: Declutter and Organize to Make More Room for Happiness

“What we do every day matters more than what we do once in a while..”
― Gretchen Rubin, Outer Order, Inner Calm: Declutter & Organize to Make More Room for Happiness

“It’s easier to keep up than to catch up...”
― Gretchen Rubin, Outer Order, Inner Calm: Declutter & Organize to Make More Room for Happiness

“By getting rid of the things I don’t use, don’t need, or don’t love, as well as the things that don’t work, don’t fit, or don’t suit, I free my mind—and my shelves—for what I truly value. And that’s true for most people.”
― Gretchen Rubin, Outer Order, Inner Calm: Declutter and Organize to Make More Room for Happiness

“Getting in control of our possessions makes us feel more in control of our fates. If this is an illusion, it's a helpful illusion--and it's a more pleasant way to live.”
― Gretchen Rubin, Outer Order, Inner Calm: Declutter & Organize to Make More Room for Happiness

“Actually spending ten minutes clearing off one shelf is better than fantasizing about spending a weekend cleaning out the basement.”
― Gretchen Rubin, Outer Order, Inner Calm: Declutter and Organize to Make More Room for Happiness

“Having less often leads us to use our things more often and with more enjoyment, because we're not fighting our way through a welter of unwanted stuff.”
― Gretchen Rubin, Outer Order, Inner Calm: Declutter & Organize to Make More Room for Happiness

“It’s been freeing to focus on what works for me rather than what’s wrong with me.”
― Gretchen Rubin, The Four Tendencies: The Indispensable Personality Profiles That Reveal How to Make Your Life Better

“A simple way to start is to sit down with your child, or, if you’re an adult, sit down with your spouse or some other adult (it’s best to do this with another person, as the interaction makes for more creative, spontaneous, playful, and thorough answers), and respond to the following questions. Have the person asking the questions write down your answers, because this is an important document to save: What three or four things are you best at doing? What three or four things do you like doing the most? What three or four activities or achievements have brought you the most praise in your life? What are your three or four most cherished goals? What three or four things would you most like to get better at? What do others praise you for but you take for granted? What, if anything, is easy for you but hard for others? What do you spend a lot of time doing that you are really bad at? What could your teacher or supervisor do so that your time could be spent more productively? If you weren’t afraid of getting in trouble, what would you tell your teacher or supervisor that he or she doesn’t understand about you?”
― Edward M. Hallowell, ADHD 2.0 : New Science and Essential Strategies for Thriving with Distraction—From Childhood Through Adulthood

“The only thing more overwhelming than the need for order was the difficulty of getting there.”
― Jaclyn L. Paul, Order from Chaos: The Everyday Grind of Staying Organized with Adult ADHD

“•I lost money in every way possible: I misplaced checks and sometimes found them when they were too old to take to the bank. If I did find them in time, I missed out on the interest they could’ve made in my savings account. I paid late fees on bills, even though I had money in the bank — I’d just forgotten to pay them or lost the bill in my piles. I bought new items because they were on sale with a rebate, but forgot to mail the rebate form. •I dealt with chronic health worries because I never scheduled doctor’s appointments. •I lived in constant fear of being “found out” by people who held me in high regard. I always felt others’ trust in me was misplaced. •I suffered from nonstop anxiety, waiting for the other shoe to drop. •I struggled to create a social life in our new home. I either felt I didn’t have time because I needed to catch up and calm some of the chaos, or I wasn’t organized enough to make plans in the first place. •I felt insecure in all my relationships, both personal and professional. •I had nowhere to retreat. My life was such a mess, I had no space to gather my thoughts or be by myself. Chaos lurked everywhere. •I rarely communicated with long-distance friends or family. •I wanted to write a book and publish articles in magazines, yet dedicated almost no time to my creative pursuits.”
― Jaclyn Paul, Order from Chaos: The Everyday Grind of Staying Organized with Adult ADHD