Adaptation seems to be, to a substantial extent, a process of reallocating your attention.

We don’t choose between experiences, we choose between memories of experiences. Even when we think about the future, we don’t think of our future normally as experiences. We think of our future as anticipated memories.

When action is needed, optimism, even of the mildly delusional variety, may be a good thing.

We are far too willing to reject the belief that much of what we see in life is random.

Friends are sometimes a big help when they share your feelings. In the context of decisions, the friends who will serve you best are those who understand your feelings but are not overly impressed by them.

you know you have made a theoretical advance when you can no longer reconstruct why you failed for so long to see the obvious.

I don't try to be clever at all. The idea that I could see what no one else can is an illusion.