Home > Work > Freedom Without Permission: How to Live Free in a World That Isn't
1 " Positive assumptions are needed only when you have negative assumptions that you’re trying to overcome. But when you drop your assumptions altogether, your soul stands naked in the open fields of possibility. And what you choose to create from that space is up to you. "
― , Freedom Without Permission: How to Live Free in a World That Isn't
2 " Being realistic encompasses the negative, but it by no means excludes the positive. "
3 " Inner-freedom is less about feeling good and more about learning to develop a healthy and harmonious relationship with the variety of emotional states you're likely to occupy over the course of a lifetime. "
4 " Our feelings are not there to be cast out or conquered. They’re there to be engaged and expressed with imagination and intelligence. "
5 " The problem with feelings is neither that our moods fluctuate nor that our emotions seem to fail us. The greater dilemma is that most have only learned how to dance to one type of feeling. "
6 " Happiness is like a genre of music that nearly everyone knows how to dance to. Happiness has a very simple tempo, catchy phrasing, and memorable lyrics. It's the song at the wedding that makes everyone excited to run to the dance floor. "
7 " Emotional versatility is the art of making peace with the entire emotional spectrum by honing your capacity to channel various feelings along creative and constructive lines. It is not about controlling or condemning your feelings. It's about conducting your feelings in a self-edifying way. "
8 " In our effort to be honest about our problems, it is not necessary that we cease to be mindful of our potential. "
9 " Mental and emotional freedom is not the denial of truth — it’s the recognition that truth isn't something we need to run from or be afraid of. "
10 " Keeping it real" isn't just a matter of facing up to harsh facts. It also includes opening up to the plethora of possibilities that offer us ways of impacting the world in spite of adversity. "
11 " We must recognize that our frustrations are largely due to the fact that we have not learned how to "dance" to a large part of the emotional spectrum. Being emotionally versatile is like being a good dancer. Just as dancers must challenge themselves to master new moves with their bodies, we must challenge ourselves to learn new forms of psychological choreography. "
12 " Giving mental assent to people or systems that pretend to control you allows them to do just that. "
13 " The fact that our problems are real should never be mistaken for evidence that our power is fake. "
