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"52 Alain de Botton Quotes & Sayings

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Born: 20 December 1969 | Philosopher | Author |

Most of what makes a book 'good' is that we are reading it at the right moment for us.

What makes Book Good Reading it
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One rarely falls in love without being as much attracted to what is interestingly wrong with someone as what is objectively healthy.

One rarely.falls In love Much attracted Interestingly wrong
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The moment we cry in a film is not when things are sad but when they turn out to be more beautiful than we expected them to be.

The moment Cry A film When things
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One of the best protections against disappointment is to have a lot going on.

Best protection Disappointment Have Going on
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We are all more intelligent than we are capable, and awareness of the insanity of love has never saved anyone from the disease.

More intelligent Capable Awareness Insanity
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Not being understood may be taken as a sign that there is much in one to understand.

Being understood Sign Much In one
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There is no such thing as work-life balance. Everything worth fighting for unbalances your life.

Such thing Work-life balance Worth fighting Unbalance
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What we seek, at the deepest level, is inwardly to resemble, rather than physically to possess, the objects and places that touch us through their beauty.

We seek Deepest level Resemble Physically
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Never too late to learn some embarrassingly basic, stupidly obvious things about oneself.

Never Too late Learn Embarrassingly basic
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The largest part of what we call 'personality' is determined by how we've opted to defend ourselves against anxiety and sadness"

Largest part Personality Determined Opted
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The difference between hope and despair is a different way of telling stories from the same facts.

Difference between Hope Despair Telling stories
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The pleasure we derive from journeys is perhaps dependent more on the mindset with which we travel than on the destination we travel to.

The pleasure We derive Journey Dependent more
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Do you love me enough that I may be weak with you? Everyone loves strength, but do you love me for my weakness? That is the real test.

Do you Love me Weak Everyone
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Must being in love always mean being in pain?
Must being In love Always mean In pain
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Everyone returns us to a different sense of ourselves, for we become a little of who they think we are.

Everyone Returns us Different sense Become
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The only people we can think of as normal are those we don't yet know very well.

Only people Can think Normal Yet know
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Feeling lost, crazy and desperate belongs to a good life as much as optimism, certainty and reason.

Feeling lost Crazy Desperate Good life
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Bitterness: anger that forgot where it came from.
Bitterness Anger Forgot Came from
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It is perhaps when our lives are at their most problematic that we are likely to be most receptive to beautiful things.

Our lives Most problematic Receptive Beautiful things
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One kind of good book should leave you asking: how did the author know that about me?
One kind Good book Leave you Asking
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Forgiveness requires a sense that bad behavior is a sign of suffering rather than malice

Forgiveness Requires Bad behavior Sign
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It is perhaps sad books that best console us when we are sad, and to lonely service stations that we should drive when there is no one for us to hold or love.

Sad books Best console Lonely service Love
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There may be significant things to learn about people by looking at what annoys them most.
Significant things Learn About people Annoy
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The telephone becomes an instrument of torture in the demonic hands of a beloved who doesn't call.

The telephone An instrument Torture Demonic hands
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The best cure for one's bad tendencies is to see them in action in another person.

Best cure Bad tendencies See them Anther person
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What kills us isn't one big thing, but thousands of tiny obligations we can't turn down for fear of disappointing others.

Kill us Big thing Thousand Tiny obligations
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Good sex isn’t just fun, it keeps us sane and happy. Having sex with someone makes us feel wanted, alive and potent

Good sex Keep us Sane Happy
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Dreams reveal we never quite get 'over' anything: it's all still in there somewhere.

Dreams Reveal Never quite There somewhere
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Love is an incurable disease. In love, there is permanent suffering. Those who love and those who are happy are not the same.

Love Incurable disease Permanent suffering Happy
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Maturity: knowing where you're crazy, trying to warn others of the fact and striving to keep yourself under control.

Maturity Knowing You're crazy Warn others
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As adults, we try to develop the character traits that would have rescued our parents.

As adult Develop Character traits Have rescued
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Those who divorce aren't necessarily the most unhappy, just those neatly able to believe their misery is caused by one other person.

Who divorce Necessarily Most unhappy Believe
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Only as we mature does affection begin to depend on achievement.

We matured Affection Achievement
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A notorious inability to express emotions makes human beings the only animals capable of suicide.

Notorious inability Expression emotions Human beings Animal
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Distress at losing an object can be as much a frustration at the intellectual mystery of the disappearance as about the loss itself.

Distress Losing An object Frustration
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The price we have paid for expecting to be so much more than our ancestors is a perpetual anxiety that we are far from being all we might be.

The price Have paid Expecting Ancestors
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The sole cause of a man's unhappiness is that he does not know how to stay quietly in his room.

Sole cause Man's unhappiness Know how Stay quietly
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Getting to the top has an unfortunate tendency to persuade people that the system is OK after all.

Getting The top Unfortunate tendency Persuade
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Despite the best efforts of critics and the hopes of authors, our tastes in books are probably as inherent and unbudgeable as those in food.

Best efforts Critics Hope Authors
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Journeys are the midwives of thought. Few places are more conducive to internal conversations than moving planes, ships or trains.

Journeys Midwives Thought Few places
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At the heart of every frustration lies a basic structure: the collision of a wish with an unyielding reality.

Heart Every frustration Basic structure Collision
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Politics is so difficult, it's generally only people who aren't quite up to the task who feel convinced they are.

Politics So difficult Only people Quite up
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It is in dialogue with pain that many beautiful things acquire their value.

Dialogue Pain Beautiful things Acquire
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When two people part, it is the one who is not in love who makes the tender speeches.

Two people [art In love Makes
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Though it may feel otherwise, enjoying life is no more dangerous than apprehending it with continuous anxiety and gloom.

Feel otherwise Enjoying life More dangerous Apprehending
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Beauty is a promise of happiness.
Beauty Promise Happiness
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There is a devilishly direct relationship between the significance of an idea and how nervous we become at the prospect of having to think about it.

Devilishly direct Direct relationship Nervous Prospect
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The materialistic view of happiness of our age starkly revealed in our understanding of the word "luxury.

Materialistic view Happiness Age starkly Revealed
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To appreciate life's small moments, it helps to have a sense the whole can never be made perfect.

Appreciate life Small moments Helps Made perfect
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Not everything which happens to us occurs with reference to something about us.

Not everything Happens With reference About us
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Alain de Botton Quotes & Sayings