Book Freak #21
Mister Rogers' Advice for Living
Book Freak is a weekly newsletter with cognitive tools you can use to improve the quality of your life.
In this issue of Book Freak we present tips by Fred “Mister” Rogers, from his book, You Are Special.
Accept the ambiguities
“I’ve often hesitated in beginning a project because I’ve thought, “It’ll never turn out to be even remotely like the good idea I have as I start.” I could just “feel” how good it could be. But I decided that, for the present, I would create the best way I know how and accept the ambiguities.”
Establish an atmosphere that encourages growth
“There’s a world of difference between insisting on someone’s doing something and establishing an atmosphere in which that person can grow into wanting to do it.”
Forgive yourself: even Mister Rogers wasn’t perfect
“Mutually caring relationships require kindness and patience, tolerance, optimism, joy in the other’s achievements, confidence in oneself, and the ability to give without undue thought of gain. We need to accept the fact that it’s not in the power of any human being to provide all these things all the time. for any of us, mutually caring relationships will always include some measure of unkindness and impatience, intolerance, pessimism, envy, self-doubt, and disappointment.”
Book Freak is one of four newsletters from Cool Tools Lab (our other three are the Cool Tools Newsletter, Recomendo, and What’s in my bag?).
08/12/19
