7 Quotes By The Dalai Lama That Will Change Your Mind

Dalai Lama is the title given to the spiritual leader of Tibet and the Tibetan Buddhism. He is the head monk of Tibetan Buddhism and was responsible for governing Tibet until 1959.

For many decades, the Dalai Lama traveled the world to share his ideas about the environment, economics, women’s rights, violence, Buddhism, and many other topics. He is one of the most remarkable figures of our time and even received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989.

In his own words, the primary purpose of the Dalai Lama is the promotion of human values. In short, the Dalai Lama dedicates his life to teaching us how to be better humans and live happier lives.

“Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it.”

There’s no single definition for success we all could ever agree on. Yet, so many people are striving to achieve goals they’re not even excited about to impress others.

Burnout rates are at an all-time high, and more people than ever before are facing depressions. And paradoxically, many of those who experience mental issues seem to be doing well for a long time. They hide their insecurities and pain until it’s not possible anymore.

Many of these people are ambitious and work hard to achieve their goals. Yet, they aren’t aware of their why and what they’re willing to sacrifice for the sake of their goals.

Yes, you can work 16 hours a day to build a business besides your 9-to-5 job, but is it worth it? Do you really want to sacrifice your health and your social network to have more money or status?

If your answer is yes, go for it.

If you, however, realize that you neglected certain areas of your life for too long, you might want to take action before it’s too late.

How to apply it:

Achieving huge goals and milestones is great. But you should always ask yourself what you’re willing to give in order to be or have something.

Are you fine with damaging your health to make a few more bucks per month? Is it okay to kill your friendships because business meetings are more important?

Set your boundaries. Be aware of your goals, have plans on how to achieve them, but also know what you’re not willing to do to get there.

“Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them, humanity cannot survive.”

Too often, we get so caught up in our ego that we forget what life is actually all about: Love.

Showing love towards our fellows is more powerful than anything else, and it’s the core of happiness in life. While we all know how beautiful being loved and loving feels, we often forget prioritizing it.

Sometimes, life gets in our way, and we act as necessities are more important than love and compassion.

We all deserve and need love more than anything else to live happier, more fulfilled lives.

How to apply it:

Be compassionate towards yourself and others. Don’t judge anyone without knowing how life feels in their shoes.

You can hardly know the struggles of your fellows and how they’re suffering. Yet, you can always choose to show up with love and compassion.

We all want to have healthy relationships and be with people who make us feel appreciated. So why not put effort into making others feel great and being the first one to spread the love?

“We can never obtain peace in the outer world until we make peace with ourselves.”

So many people these days are working their asses off to achieve goals just to show off to others. Expensive cars, luxury handbags, travel pictures on social media,…These things are often dedicated to showing others how successful or happy we are.

What we forget too often is pausing and asking ourselves what’s truly going on inside our minds.

Does that vacation really lead to happiness, or is it just an escape from reality?

Do you really feel good about your expensive car or handbag, or is it only a way to show others that you’re doing well in life?

Too often, we fail to take a few calm moments and listen to our intuition. Instead, we get caught up in the fast-paced world, compare ourselves with others, ignore our inner voice, and lose all peace and alignment.

How to apply it:

Create routines that remind you to check in with your true self from time to time.

You don’t need to meditate for hours, but you should indeed take some time to listen to your inner voice:

• What is it that you truly want?
• Which experiences do you want to make?
• What are you doing every day, even though it doesn’t fulfill you?
• What do you want to get rid of?

Sometimes, answering these questions and practicing honest self-reflection can hurt a little. Yet, that’s where you find the most potential for growth and can start transforming your life.

“Remember that sometimes not getting what you want is a wonderful stroke of luck.”

Sometimes, the universe has better plans for you than you can even think of. Too often, we’re forcing life to happen in a particular way, yet this hardly results in happiness or success.

Living in ease and trusting in the universe is far more convenient than trying to control life.

Yes, making plans and being productive is important, but sometimes, you just don’t know how to cut the wheat from the chaff, but the universe does.

How to apply it:

Trust in the universe, and let go of believing that you need to control everything in your life.

1. A) You can’t control life anyway.

And B) The universe always knows better than you. It knows what’s good for you and what should stay away from you; all you need to do is trust.

“Peace does not mean an absence of conflicts; differences will always be there. Peace means solving these differences through peaceful means. Through dialogue, education, knowledge; and through humane ways.”

It took me quite long to understand that a good relationship is not one without disagreements. Instead, a difference of opinion can actually be an important part of strong partnerships.

Being in love and appreciating each other doesn’t mean agreeing with the opinion of your partner. On the contrary, different views can even be nourishing for a relationship.

However, what matters is being respectful and peaceful during all these disagreements, no matter if it’s towards your emotional partner, your co-workers, parents, kids, or friends.

Conflicts are a usual part of our lives, and they’re not harmful per se. Different opinions can even enrich our lives and lead to a colorful world; given, we manage to deal with them out of love instead of anger.

How to apply it:

You don’t need to avoid disagreements. Arguments can hold massive potential for personal growth if you deal with them effectively.

Whenever you find yourself fighting someone’s opinion with anger, remind yourself that we’re all one. You can find a piece of yourself within every other human being on this planet.

And if an opinion or statement led to negative emotions, the odds are high that there’s something within you that needs healing. That’s why you should always be open to disagreements but avoid looking down at others. Instead, choose peace, love, communication, and education.

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

Having idols and accountability buddies is great, comparing yourself to others, however, is a straight way to misery.

Your days should not be about comparison but about living your best life. By looking at other people’s accomplishments, you’re probably comparing your day #1 with their day #500.

By looking at others, you’ll only see the tip of the iceberg, think that being successful was easy for them and lose your own determination too quickly.

By focusing on yourself instead of others, however, you’ll find effective ways to reach goals that are true to yourself.

Every day is an opportunity for massive growth, yet, the only person you should compare yourself to is you.

How to apply it:

Don’t fall into the trap of comparison. Instead, be clear about what you want to achieve in life and make a plan on how to get there.

Checking in with yourself to see how far you’ve come is the most excellent motivator and the most realistic feedback you can get.

Look at others to find inspiration, to learn, and to improve your own craft, but don’t compare yourself to them. They’re not walking in your shoes, and neither do you know how their life looks like behind the scenes. All you can do is focusing on your own improvement by giving your best and becoming a better version of you.

“Every day, think as you wake up, today I am fortunate to be alive, I have a precious human life, I am not going to waste it. I am going to use all my energies to develop myself, to expand my heart out to others; to achieve enlightenment for the benefit of all beings. I am going to have kind thoughts towards others, I am not going to get angry or think badly about others. I am going to benefit others as much as I can.”

Great days often start with great thoughts. As the Dalai Lama states, each day we wake up to is a blessing we should be grateful for.

Yes, you might have problems to solve, and yes, there might be hard things going on in your life, but as long as you wake up with a roof over your head and have access to clean water, food, and heat, you’re better off than the majority of the world’s population.

Life is not always easy, and it won’t ever be, but your thoughts play a massive role in what you attract and how you feel.

You can be in debt and have the most wonderful life because you trust in the universe and chose happiness over misery. But you can also have a million dollars on your bank account and drown in despair.

Success and happiness are defined in your head: If you chose love and peace, you’ll attract more of it.

And the best news? You can choose to love and enjoy your life every freaking day.

Every time you open your eyes, you can decide to have a good day. You can choose to embrace all misfortune with love and curiosity instead of responding with anger.

How to apply it:

Start each of your days consciously.

If you’re too busy for an extended morning routine, get up ten minutes earlier and invest those into yourself instead of scrolling through news feeds.

Being blessed is a decision you can make on each of your days: The more gratitude you feel, the more blessings will come your way.

Bottom Line

While the current Dalai Lama might be the last one ever, his teachings will stay with humankind forever. To this date, he helped millions of people find peace within themselves and spread positivity among various cultures and communities regardless of religious affiliations.

Instead of promoting Buddhism itself, the Dalai Lama is raising priceless human values that can help all of us to lead happier, more fulfilled lives.

Whenever you feel stuck, remind yourself of his priceless lessons to find some direction and meaning in whatever you’re doing:

• Judge your success by what you had to give up: What do you genuinely want to achieve and what are you willing to quit to get there?
• Love and compassion are necessities: Are you surrounding yourself with enough love, or are you neglecting it for the sake of less important issues?
• In order to make peace with the outer world, make peace within yourself: Take time to practice self-reflection regularly and make sure to know yourself better than anyone else.
• Trust in the universe and that sometimes, not getting what you want is a stroke of luck: Instead of pushing forward, step aside and lean back from time to time.
• Learn to solve conflicts peacefully: Instead of avoiding difficulties, educate yourself, and find humane ways of dealing with disagreements.
• Always aim to be better than your previous self: Stop comparing yourself to anyone else than you and always strive to be a better version of your former self.
• Take time to practice gratitude every morning: Every morning is a precious gift to our lives; instead of worrying about upcoming tasks and difficulties, honor the day and aim to be the best person you can possibly be.