5 Quotes From Dalai Lama That Will Change Your Perspective

How you can learn and apply these great words of wisdom in your life

Dalai Lama is one of the most highly regarded inspirational leaders of the 20th century.

He is also one of the great moral leaders in the world today, known for his humanitarian and environmental leadership. He’s written many inspirational books and won the Nobel Peace Prize for his work in 1989.

His words of inspiration and wisdom have impacted millions of people around the world.

Here are five quotes from Dalai Lama you can use to learn and grow.

“The goal is not to be better than the other man, but your previous self.”

A lot of people try to compare themselves with others. They measure their success against the success of others. They work so hard to outdo others in an endless rat race.

But when you compare yourself to others, you take away focus from yourself. It’s hard for you to gauge your progress when you use other people as a benchmark for your success.

For example, as a new writer, if I started comparing myself with the top writers here on Medium, I’d quickly lose my motivation. I’d be depressed and start feeling low about myself.

That’s why the benchmark for my success is the improvement I make every day. If you can track the progress you make, it means you are on the right track.

To measure your success in anything, focus on the progress you are making. To do that, set small and realistic goals for yourself. Then, track your progress. Evaluate whether you’ve met your goals. If you’ve improved, that’s how you know you’re on the right track.

“A disciplined mind leads to happiness, and an undisciplined mind leads to suffering.”

The more disciplined you are, the more successful you will be in any venture you undertake. Your ability to maintain discipline allows you to push through and work on your skills consistently.

When you set goals but fail to follow through, it’ll eventually catch up with you. You’ll start to wonder why you are not where you want to be. That’s when frustration ensues. But if you’re disciplined, you’ll meet your goals and be successful.

A disciplined person takes responsibility for the choices they make in life. They know exactly what steps they need to take towards achieving their goals. They’re aware that if they want something in life, they must have a strong work ethic.

Ultimately, the results you show by being disciplined will create feelings of happiness and contentment.

“When you lose, don’t lose the lesson.”

Not all things go smoothly in our lives — we fall, we make mistakes, we fail. But obstacles should serve us well and allow us to extract valuable lessons we can apply later in life.

Failure is the stepping stone to success. We would never succeed in anything if we didn’t fail at something in the beginning.

When I came on Medium, I made plenty of mistakes along the way. Now when I think back, I’m so glad I did as it allowed me to pick up a vast amount of knowledge I didn’t have before.

When you make a mistake, stop, and reflect on your experience. Analyze the situation. Above all, think about the knowledge you’ve gained from it. These insights will help you avoid the same mistakes in the future.

Also, remember that even if you didn’t achieve something as fast as you thought you would, you’ve still learned a lesson or two along the way. The lessons you’ve learned will be invaluable to you in the future.

“Just one small positive thought in the morning can change your whole day.”

Starting your day with a negative mindset will impact your whole day. To work efficiently, you need to fill your mind with positive energy. Thinking more positively will set your day up for success.

When you wake up in the morning, take 10 minutes to meditate. Think of all the things you’re grateful for in your life.

Here are some things I’m grateful for that make me happy.

• I’m grateful for my health and that of my family
• I’m grateful I have food on my table and a roof over my head
• I’m grateful for being able to do what I love

Research shows that being positive will impact your productivity levels too. It can affect your motivation, concentration, and energy. When your mind is filled with positive thoughts, you’ll stay productive the whole day.

“We need to learn to want what we have, not to have what we want, to get stable and steady happiness.”

Often, to appreciate things in life, we need to focus on the little things that we take for granted. We can’t always have what we want and shouldn’t base our happiness on immediate gains. Instead, we can focus our attention on what we have at the moment.

I don’t have a stable job at the moment. So what? I can divert my attention and train my mind to live that way to compensate for it — at least for a while.

You might wish to have a perfect job, more money, and more freedom. But there’s time for everything and things you wish for don’t happen overnight. You must gradually work towards a more fulfilling life.

If you asked me what I want to have in life, I’ll probably give you an endless list. But I know I can’t have those things now, so I’ll wait patiently until I have them.

If I focused my attention on what I didn’t have, I’d be unhappy and miserable. That’s why I choose to focus on things that bring me joy and happiness instead of focusing on things that are beyond my reach.

The bottom line

We all can learn and benefit from the teachings of philosophers and inspirational leaders. Dalai Lama quotes pack wisdom and inspiration into words that can help us make our lives more meaningful and fulfilling. We can use and apply knowledge from his teachings to enhance our lives.