Dostoevsky believed that what opposes love is not hatred, but rather deliberate calculation.

Man cannot live without a permanent trust in something indestructible within himself, though both the indestructible element and the trust may remain permanently hidden from him.

Everyone grows older. That cannot be helped. What I fear is letting a period of life pass without accomplishing what ought to have been done, letting it end in vague obscurity—for that is not something that cannot be helped. Looking back, there truly exists a strange sense of loss. A tactile emptiness. A certain feeling of floating, or drifting.

What true masters ultimately pursue is physical exercise, reading, stable relationships, long-termism, and a low-stimulation life. The first principle of happiness is inner order: prolonged solitude, sound sleep, freedom from the opinions of others, extensive reading, supreme focus, regular meals, and steady exercise.

All misery and suffering, pain and unworthiness, are also part of life. They are everywhere, yet not easily seen—not only because they originate within, but because most people try so hard to disguise them, and above all because it is so painful to admit their existence: that life ought to be bright, that life ought to be light.

The sea has always been serene. Every time, I was the only one in turmoil.

The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation.

In truth, everyone is a beast tamer, and that wild beast is none other than one's own temperament.

Having met many people, I must admit that those who naturally carry a sense of stability and order attract me most. The chaotic world seems irrelevant to them; they possess a stable routine, stable passions, stable reading habits, and stable values. They hold an internal anchor, untouched by the world outside.

Greatness is not shown by being at one extreme, but by touching both at once and filling all the space between.

I must let go of the things I wanted my "ideal self" to use, and accept who I truly am.

There are no solutions in life. There are forces in motion: we must create them, and the solutions will follow.