Ways of shaping my thoughts.

6 lanterns

No control: I don't have control over much in life. Pretty much none, if I think hard enough. Roll with it. I also don't have control over people. Some people are just who they are, being themselves. Roll with it. Or with situations that arise, like mom getting ill. Life is out of my control. Don't get stressed about situations arising - situations arise no matter what. All I can control, is my reaction, and hopefully I can get better at controlling that.
Comparison is the thief of joy: Whether to people, or places, or time. Comparing myself to my peers (people) also increases stress. The grass is not greener (place). Comparing to the past (time) or future, is usually unhelpful too.

—Theodore Roosevelt

I am not constant: My passions, my concentration, various emotions and feelings, come and go in waves. I'm not very much in control of many of these things - so take advantage of them when they are there. For example, take advantage of when I'm alert and concentrating to learn, and when I'm tired and dull to do something commensurate with that mood.
I am small: I'm small. My problems are too. Remember that feeling when in an airport travelling the world. I am insignificant. It's amazing. See the world for the big thing it is. Don't let a multitude of small things make my world small. Don't narrow my vision. See wide. Most people do not care about anything I do.
Distance: I often don’t need to react to anything immediately, despite the feeling that I should. I often react better with more time, more context, more thought. I don’t need to have a take about something immediately(or ever), or a solution to something, immediately. Sometimes I need distance.

—Daniel Steinberg

Look for beauty: It’s often available, but I sometimes have to look past the familiar.

—Jon Mountjoy