Feeling lost, crazy and desperate belongs to a good life as much as optimism, certainty and reason. Alain de Botton More Quotes by Alain de Botton More Quotes From Alain de Botton Taking architecture seriously therefore makes some singular and strenuous demands upon us...It means conceding that we are inconveniently vulnerable to the colour of our wallpaper and that our sense of purpose may be derailed by an unfortunate bedspread Alain de Botton demand purpose mean Let's say you went to Harvard or Oxford or Cambridge, and you said, 'I've come here because I'm in search of morality, guidance and consolation; I want to know how to live,' - they would show you the way to the insane asylum. Alain de Botton motivation inspiration oxford What we find exotic abroad may be what we hunger for in vain at home. Alain de Botton exotic home may If optimism is important, it's because many outcomes are determined by how much of it we bring to the task. It is an important ingredient of success. This flies in the face of the elite view that talent is the primary requirement of a good life, but in many cases the difference between success and failure is determined by nothing more than our sense of what is possible and the energy we can muster to convince others of our due. We might be doomed not by a lack of skill, but by an absence of hope! Alain de Botton good-life skills views Every adult life could be said to be defined by two great love stories: the story of our quest for sexual love and the story of our quest for love from the world. Alain de Botton adults love two The only possible way to begin a book is to tell oneself that its eventual failure is guaranteed — but survivable. Alain de Botton oneself book way The degree of sympathy we feel regarding another's fiasco is directly proportional to how easy or difficult it is for us to imagine ourselves, under like circumstances, making a similar mistake. Alain de Botton degrees imagine mistake We are sad at home and blame the weather and the ugliness of the buildings, but on the tropical island we learn that the state of the skies and the appearance of our dwellings can never on their own underwrite our joy nor condemn us to misery. Alain de Botton dwelling islands home We are continuously challenged to discover new works of culture—and, in the process, we don’t allow any one of them to assume a weight in our minds. Alain de Botton new-work mind culture Anxiety is the handmaiden of contemporary ambition. Alain de Botton contemporary anxiety ambition I am conscious of trying to stretch the boundaries of non-fiction writing. It's always surprised me how little attention many non-fiction writers pay to the formal aspects of their work. Alain de Botton writing trying attention Status anxiety definitely exists at a political level. Many Iraqis were annoyed with the US essentially for reasons of status: for not showing them respect, for humiliating them. Alain de Botton anxiety annoyed political It's very hard to respect people on holiday - everybody looks so silly at the beach, it makes you hate humanity - but when you see people at their work they elicit respect, whether it's a mechanic, a stonemason or an accountant. Alain de Botton hate silly beach Many moments in religion seem attractive to me even though I can't believe in any of it. Alain de Botton attractive moments believe The inability to live in the present lies in the fear of leaving the sheltered position of anticipation or memory, and so of admitting that this is the only life that one is ever likely (heavenly intervention aside) to live. Alain de Botton leaving memories lying We wanted to test each other's capacity for survival: only if we had tried in vain to destroy one another would we know we were safe. Alain de Botton tests survival safe It is not necessarily at home that we best encounter our true selves. The furniture insists that we cannot change because it does not; the domestic setting keeps us tethered to the person we are in ordinary life, who may not be who we essentially are. Alain de Botton encounters self home He was marked out by his relentless ability to find fault with others' mediocrity - suggesting that a certain type of intelligence may be at heart nothing more or less than a superior capacity for dissatisfaction. Alain de Botton mediocrity heart may There are people who say, 'Oh this guy is quite thick.' I think the reason is that, increasingly, I don't mind being simple in terms of literary expression. Others say, 'No, no, no. He went to Cambridge. He got a good degree. He must be Einstein.' Alain de Botton simple expression thinking That said, deciding to avoid other people does not necessarily equate with having no desire whatsoever for company; it may simply reflect a dissatisfaction with what—or who—is available. Cynics are, in the end, only idealists with awkwardly high standards. In Chamfort's words, 'It is sometimes said of a man who lives alone that he does not like society. This is like saying of a man that he does not like going for walks because he is not fond of walking at night in the forêt de Bondy. Alain de Botton men night people
