Joyce Liu

“If I don’t respond, will there be negative repercussions? Are they trying to make their problem my problem? Am I being baited into an argument? Is this distracting me from more important tasks? Sometimes the unnecessary stress in our life is our own doing, because we intentionally engage with the people or situations creating it. Although we often don’t mean to, we find ourselves instinctually catching the ball out of habit or obligation or because of our history with that person (ex-spouse, childhood friend, overbearing parent). You may not be able to control what another person says or does, but you can always control your response, or lack thereof, to it. If you don’t like drama, then don’t invite it in.”
― Evy Poumpouras, Becoming Bulletproof: Protect Yourself, Read People, Influence Situations, and Live Fearlessly

“Yet if you want to go deeply into any subject, you need a lot of time, and in particular you need the privilege of wasting time. You need to experiment with unproductive paths, to explore dead ends, to make space for doubts and boredom, and to allow little seeds of insight to slowly grow and blossom. If you cannot afford to waste time - you will never find the truth.”
― Yuval Noah Harari, 21 Lessons for the 21st Century

“Once you begin creating and enforcing boundaries, there’s something you need to know. Not everyone will like it. Some will even hate it. But they’ll still respect you for it.”
― Jefferson Fisher, The Next Conversation: Argue Less, Talk More

“Forgiveness is giving up all hope of a different past.”
― Viola Davis, Finding Me