Matthew Pearl Quotes

Is your cucumber bitter? Throw it away. Are there briars in your path? Turn aside. That is enough. Do not go on and say, "Why were things of this sort ever brought into this world?" neither intolerable nor everlasting - if thou bearest in mind that it has its limits, and if thou addest nothing to it in imagination. Pain is either an evil to the body (then let the body say what it thinks of it!)-or to the soul. But it is in the power of the soul to maintain its own serenity and tranquility. . . .

You just can't complain about being alive. It's self-indulgent to be unhappy. When asked how she has coped since husband's death.

I don't get upset over things I can't control, because if I can't control them, there's no use getting upset. And I don't get upset over things I can control, because if I can control them, what's the use in getting upset?

I try not to get depressed about stuff I can't do anything about.

We do not need to become unhappy just because things don't go our way.

You've achieved cheerfulness the day you realize that no matter what's happening around you, being anything other than cheerful will not make it better.

you fix what you can fix and you let the rest go. If there ain't nothin to be done about it it aint even a problem. It's just a aggravation.

Pain is inevitable, suffering is not.

But we must not suffer over the suffering.

I don't worry about the things I can't change.

Things are not as we would like them to be. There is only one way to deal with it, namely to try and be all right oneself.

I try not to worry about things I can't do anything about.

I don't get upset over things I can control, because if I can control them there's no sense in getting upset. And I don't get upset over things I can't control, because if I can't control them there's no sense in getting upset.

I learned not to get too happy about good news or too distraught about bad.

Let's say your child spills his or her milk, and it's the only milk you have left, and it seems you're at the end of your rope, just remember: that milk is already spilled. There is no sense in making a sad situation more stressful.

There are times for all of us when all the laughter seems to be gone, but we should not permit these periods to last too long. When we've lost our sense of humor, there isn't very much left. We become ridiculous. We must then go to war against the whole world, and that's a war we cannot win.

The secret of joy is the mastery of pain.

Walk away from it until you're stronger, All your problems will be there when you get back, but you'll be better able to cope.

I think having pointers and having guidance from mentors is very important, but it never actually embodies what you go through. And if something doesn't feel good, why do you repeat it? If you feel good bemoaning an audition for a week, go for it. But if you feel better bemoaning an audition that didn't go very well for 30 minutes because you believe in the craft and the process, then I suggest you do that. And that's what I suggest to myself. The alternative is way too painful and destructive.

Leaders must learn to discipline their disappointments. It's not what happens to us, it is what we choose to do about what happens that makes the difference in how our lives turn out.

Don't let yourself suffer needlessly, find a need to suffer.

Now I don't get upset by unpleasant things, I don't play the victim, and I'm always ready to come to terms with life.

I don't often get into a bad mood, since it does not help anything and clouds my judgment, but I can certainly see that sometimes things go terribly wrong. We need to understand the reasons for this and work towards building new conditions that will bring about better circumstances.