Umberto Eco said: “There is nothing more difficult to define than an aphorism.” I say Umberto was overthinking things; they’re pithy antidotes to rambling that help one navigate the chaos of the world. Or, at the very least, I believe they’re a good way to condense and organise ideas. This list of personal aphorisms expands below at my leisure…
“If you must be serious, have a sense of humour about it.”
“Before you speak, remember to shut your mouth.”
“Don’t commit to things too freely when you’re having a great time. You will most likely have to fulfil them when you aren’t.”
“Few things reveal character as quickly as a sudden and unexpected violation of convenience.”
“Plan for the sake of direction, but with an indifference to destination.”
“To bond quickly with a person, discover who it is that you are both happy to disparage.”
“More weaknesses are revealed through attempts to hide them than by weakness alone.”
“Most people are predictable in their opinions, yet unpredictable in their principles. The aim is to be the opposite.”
“People are more interested in your art when it makes them feel important.”
“Beware those who flaunt their moral compass, for they may delight in using it to ruin you.”
“We’re so used to convenience that we mistake it for inconvenience.”
“It’s not hard to be yourself. It’s hard to become the person you imagine yourself to be.”
“Little waves of criticism might knock an artist off balance, but it’s an ocean of indifference that drowns them.”
“What we think will make people find us interesting is often what makes them find us irritating.”
“It’s difficult to be corrupted if you’re not keeping score.”
“Most people who appear to ignore you never noticed you in the first place, and that’s the real tragedy.”
“It takes motion for stars to align.”
“To slowly drown your spirit, seek to please a cynic.”
“Presume that success yet to be tested by volatility rests on uncertain foundations.”
“To predict the worst case scenario makes you a genius, to prepare for it makes you a nut.”
“Complexity can save us from getting bored, but the basics can save us from getting nowhere.”
“It’s not a true bond until you’ve fallen out with the person in an unfamiliar city.”
“Every word beyond the core information is an additional chance for someone to misinterpret you.”
“The path where there is resistance is the path where there is discovery.”