[quote]121. Think not lightly of evil, saying, "It will not come to me." Drop by drop is the water pot filled. Likewise, the fool, gathering it little by little, fills himself with evil. 122. Think not lightly of good, saying, "It will not come to me." Drop by drop is the water pot filled. Likewise, the wise man, gathering it little by little, fills himself with good. [/quote] -Quotes taken from the Dhammapada, a book of Buddhist sayings. I think every day should be treated as a step along the staircase of life. (Cue the Led Zeppelin) If you are not improving yourself in some manner, you are not making any advances upwards, you are simply wasting time, something humans intrinsically have very little of. I view the top of this staircase to be true happiness, whether that comes in some form during your life time or if it's being content with your entire life on your death bed, it's subjective really, but it's ultimately the goal. Now what does "improving myself" or "advancing up" mean? Well, again that is pretty subjective to the person in hand, but personally I define it as gaining perspective and working towards goals. This doesn't necessarily equate to big steps either, but an action, large or small, that changes you positively. As one of my inspirations tweeted recently, "Please: Do everything you possibly can in one lifetime." It simply makes no sense to me to muddle about in negativity no matter how bad your situation is. You can always change it, you can always improve your perspective. Want more respect from that asshole boss? Take initiative, look into possible solutions to an issue at work. Make him respect you. Network with other people. No lunch should be wasted hiding from your coworkers, use the break as a business meeting. You can't accomplish every goal by yourself. Create a network and use it. Feeling animosity towards someone? Take some time to think about their perspective, and why they did what they did to agitate you. I've found myself to become very tolerant towards opposing views by practicing this, and through that, I've opened myself up to learning from people that I wouldn't have even listened to before. Every single person on this pale blue dot has in their brain something that you can gain, something you can learn. If you disagree with their ideology, you're still gaining a perspective on the opposing side of your ideology. The wider your perspective, the less biased and more intelligent you can be. You aren't stupid. Everyone is smart in their own manner. But regardless of that, the best thing you can do is learn something new everyday. Read a book. Read a magazine. Read a scientific journal on a topic that interests you. Watch a TED talk. Solve a Rubik's cube. Talk to your elders, ask them about the past. Go to an art museum. Play a new sport. Whatever it takes. "You can do anything you want in life." It's a statement most of our parents probably told us, and a statement that most of us look back and think "yea bullshit." Is it bullshit because it's false, or is it bullshit because you've made it false?