Your mistake was not in imagining things you could not know—that is, after all, what imagination is for. Rather, your mistake was in unthinkingly treating what you imagined as though it were an accurate representation of the facts.

Impact is rewarding. Mattering makes us happy.

Most of us appear to believe that we are more athletic, intelligent, organized, ethical, logical, interesting, open-minded, and healthy-not to mention more attractive-than the average person.

If you are like most people, then like most people, you don't know you're like most people.

We don't believe other people's experiences can tell us all that much about our own. I think this is an illusion of uniqueness.

Arthritic toothless people who love orgasms are more likely to reproduce than are limber, toothy people who do not.

Your emotions are meant to fluctuate, just like your blood pressure is meant to fluctuate. It's a system that's supposed to move back and forth, between happy and unhappy. That's how the system guides you through the world.