Alan Cohen Quotes

For the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: 'If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?' And whenever the answer has been 'No' for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.

I went through a lot of my life not being mindful of how I was living it. I wasn't mindful environmentally, or whether I was on track.

A mentor long departed told me that the greatest gift in political life, in any life, is to view yourself objectively, at arm's length, to make an assessment of yourself. So whom do I rely on? I rely on myself.

I look back on my life like everybody does but not just career. I mean I look back on my life as a whole, so I don't think that I dwell there or anything and in terms of work I hope that there is a lot in front of me.

I think it's important to talk to your inner thing. The purpose is to go over the decisions that will affect my life and others. I pray that I don't make my decisions based on ego.

In your mid-30s, you have to take inventory, or you'll stumble.

I'm constantly on the hunt for insights about happiness or ideas about how to be happier - which probably makes me a somewhat tiresome companion at times.

I needed to take a break from performing, and from the Peas, to be happy. I craved female time, and time with my husband to feed my soul. My life now is about being balanced. I'm passionate about work and working out, seeing friends and family, and letting my hair down once in a while.

I just try to do my best and make the best judgments I can.

Through a long and painful process, I've learned that happiness is an inside job - not based on anything or anyone in the outer material world. I've become a different and better person - not perfect, but still a work in progress.

Although none of the rules for becoming more alive is valid, it is healthy to keep on formulating them.

I don't think my approach to acting is all necessarily in service of the character. I think, selfishly, I've put it in service of myself, my perspective on the world and helping my life.

I stand by every decision I've made throughout my career and my life, good or bad, up or down.

Every ten years a man should give himself a good kick in the pants.

As I've moved along - not only my life, but my career and things like that - you look at yourself and start going, 'Oh, man, are you still doing what you set out to do? Are the ideals you had still the same?' Sometimes you measure up and sometimes you don't.

I'm not at a point in my life when I'm analyzing too much.

The unexamined life is not worth living.

All work done mindfully rounds us out, helps complete us as persons.

The process of facing and selecting our possessions can be quite painful. It forces us to confront our imperfections and inadequacies and the foolish choices we made in the past.

If you want to live a memorable life, you have to be the kind of person who remembers to remember.

I've learned that the perfect picture that I hold in my mind of what my life looks like is constantly changing, growing, evolving. I remind myself that I am exactly where I need to be in my life; otherwise, I would surely be somewhere else.

At the age of 18, I made up my mind to never have another bad day in my life. I dove into a endless sea of gratitude from which I've never emerged.

I learned that working out gives me a space to get clear. It's not just about the body. It gives me space to process things and get clear in my mind about decisions and things I want to do.

Thirty was a big deal for me. It was the age where I reevaluated everything - how I approached life and how I thought about myself. When I look at my 20s, or when I look at any period in my life, I think about how much time I've wasted trying to find the right man.

Making better choices takes work. There is a daily give and take, but it is worth the effort.