William B. Irvine Verified Quotes

“The easiest way for us to gain happiness is to learn how to want the things we already have.”

“Your primary desire, says Epictetus, should be your desire not to be frustrated by forming desires you won't be able to fulfill.”

“By contemplating the impermanence of everything in the world, we are forced to recognize that every time we do something could be the last time we do it.”

“We can either spend this moment wishing it could be different, or we can embrace this moment.”

“We humans are unhappy in large part because we are insatiable; after working hard to get what we want, we routinely lose interest in the object of our desire.”

“It is, after all, hard to know what to choose when you aren't really sure what you want.”

“We need, in other words, to learn how to enjoy things without feeling entitled to them and without clinging to them.”

“If you try to live without a philosophy of life, you will find yourself extemporizing your way through your days.”

“If you can bring yourself to laugh at the things that make most people cry, you have a powerful weapon to use against life's adversities.”