Quotes from Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life

Reconnect with nature. Though most people live in cities these days, human beings are made to be part of the natural world. We should return to it often to recharge our batteries.

The American Institute of Stress investigated this degenerative process and concluded that most health problems are caused by stress.

Stress promotes cellular aging by weakening cell structures known as telomeres, which affect cellular regeneration and how our cells age.

Nietzsche’s famous aphorisms: “He who has a why to live for can bear with almost any how.”

If you keep your mind and body busy, you’ll be around a long time.

God, give us grace to accept with serenity the things that cannot be changed, Courage to change the things which should be changed, and the Wisdom to distinguish the one from the other.

Live in the moment. Stop regretting the past and fearing the future. Today is all you have. Make the most of it. Make it worth remembering.

Stay active; don’t retire. Those who give up the things they love doing and do well lose their purpose in life. That’s why it’s so important to keep doing things of value, making progress, bringing beauty or utility to others, helping out, and shaping the world around you, even after your “official” professional activity has ended.

Stoics practiced something like negative visualization: They imagined the worst thing that could happen in order to be prepared if certain privileges and pleasures were taken from them.

It is much more important to have a compass pointing to a concrete objective than to have a map.