this is one of my favorite quotes, lessons, pieces of wisdom, whatever. a mentor of mine in business school said this version of it, but i’ve heard different variations. it’s based on a buddhist teaching and practices of mindfulness. i think this applies to almost any area of life - work, times of change, relationships. the essence is that you have to be deliberate about what you hold on to and what you let go of. maybe this means releasing the hold an awful boss had on you and embracing the lessons it gave you about management. maybe it means releasing the anger around a painful experience and embracing what it taught you about yourself. it's all about separating out what is productive to hold on to (the lesson), versus what just adds weight unnecessarily. i probably say this once a week. i guess you could say this is a boss aesthetic mantra.

original image (slightly edited by me) by (one of my favorite photographers) max wanger