Short and sweet
I've always been drawn to aphorisms — truths of the world compressed into a diamond of wisdom.
The best aphorisms have a way of staying with you and unfolding with time. Whether or not you agree with them, they can make you reconsider your initial position.
Recently, I picked up Gretchen Rubin's [Secrets of Childhood: Simple Truhs for Our Complex Lives](tab: https://gretchenrubin.com/books/secrets-of-adulthood/).This is her collection of insights gleaned from not only her own experiences but also of wiser others. Secrets of Adulthood is divided in 4 main (+ 1 bonus) sections containing related themes:
- Cultivating Ourselves — on expanding our inner selves
- Facing Perplexities of Relationships — on dealing with everything from friendship to love
- Making Things Happen — on how we can create change in the world
- Confronting Life's Dilemmas — on dealing with the harder things like pain
- (Bonus) Simple Secrets of Adulthood — a breezy list of lifehacks
There were quite a few gems that resonated with me. Here are some favourites:
- Accept yourself, and expect more from yourself
- We can't make people change. But when we change, our relationships change — and so others may also change. (100% true in my experience!)
- Pouring out ideas is better for the imagination than doling them out by the teaspoon
- When a decision matters a great deal to someone else, but doesn't matter much to you, let them have their way
- If you don't know what to do with yourself, go outside or go to sleep
This is a book you can choose to dip in and out, or read all the way through. Overall, an easy read that is well-worth your time.
✅ Day 3 done