29 Jan 2025 6:34 am
Hi everyone! I hope you’re all well. Today is Wednesday, and it’s time for my next post in the Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge hosted by Long and Short Reviews. If you’d like to participate in the challenge, you can find the list of topics for 2025 here, and if you would like to read what others have written about today’s topic, you can do so here.
Over the years, there have been many books that have made me think deeply, but none more so than those of the brilliant Matt Haig. Here are some of my favourites from his books.
Quotes from The Midnight Library
“The only way to learn is to live.”
“If you aim to be something you are not, you will always fail. Aim to be you. Aim to look and act and think like you. Aim to be the truest version of you. Embrace that you-ness. Endorse it. Love it. Work hard at it. And don’t give a second thought when people mock it or ridicule it.”
Quotes from The Comfort Book
“You were born worthy of love and you remain worthy of love. Be kind to yourself.”
“Self-forgiveness makes the world better. You don’t become a good person by believing you are a bad one.”
Quotes from Reasons to Stay Alive
“There is no standard normal. Normal is subjective. There are seven billion versions of normal on this planet.”
“You can be a depressive and be happy, just as you can be a sober alcoholic.”
Thank you, as ever, for spending your time here with me today. It really does mean a lot.
Until next time,
George
© 2025 GLT
Posted by georgelthomas
Categories: life, Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge
Tags: book quites, challenge, Matt Haig, Wednesday, Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge, Writer, writing
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I definitely like the ones from Reasons!
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By smellincoffee on 29 Jan 2025 at 11:19 am
It’s such a great book!
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By georgelthomas on 29 Jan 2025 at 11:47 am
Normal is subjective for sure!
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By lydiaschoch on 29 Jan 2025 at 12:55 pm
The two from The Comfort Book really hit home for me. They’re all great quotes and now I need to move him up my TBR!
My post
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By Aymee on 29 Jan 2025 at 4:26 pm
I love Matt haig. I think he writes in such a relatable way.
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By georgelthomas on 29 Jan 2025 at 4:27 pm
It sure sounds like it! And I left the wrong link earlier, sorry!
My post
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By Aymee on 29 Jan 2025 at 4:32 pm
Ah! I did wonder!
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By georgelthomas on 29 Jan 2025 at 4:33 pm
I’m not running on all cylinders this morning – wrote the post, forgot to post it! Hah!
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By Aymee on 29 Jan 2025 at 4:59 pm
I know the feeling! 🤣
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By georgelthomas on 29 Jan 2025 at 5:12 pm
Well all right then. I see I’m going to need to purchase a couple of new (to me) books. The Comfort Book and Reasons to Stay Alive…
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By Michael Mock on 29 Jan 2025 at 7:43 pm
They’re both very inspiring and hopeful books. I hope you enjoy them when you read them, Michael! 🙂
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By georgelthomas on 29 Jan 2025 at 8:02 pm
I like the billions of versions of normal…think we’re up to eight billion now…
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By Priscilla King on 29 Jan 2025 at 10:14 pm
I really like “normal is subjective.”
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By Kate Hill on 30 Jan 2025 at 4:08 am
Me too 🙂🙂
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By georgelthomas on 30 Jan 2025 at 5:50 am
And you’ve done it again! What great quotes you shared this week. I particularly loved the two from Reasons to Stay Alive (which I’ve been meaning to read for literally years now). I think a lot about how variable “normal” is in so many contexts – culturally, brain-functionally, even our baseline of what constitutes a “normal” range on the happiness to sadness spectrum.
Tangent here, but I once read that people who grow up in a stressful or traumatic environment have a set baseline for their nervous system that is very different to those who grow up in a more balanced environment. This means that when things are good, they actually find that more stressful than if there are a manageable level of difficult things, because it feels so foreign to them, even though it’s good. That felt very true to me, and really left me to think about what normal means to different people based on so many factors.
The depression one is also true. When I was dealing with post-partum depression and then regular old kind, I definitely did have lots of moments – even days, sometimes – of happiness. I just also felt like I was completely drained of energy and the will do do anything most of the time as well. Which is part of what makes it difficult, sometimes, to realize that depression is what is being experienced. As usual, you’ve given me lots to think about in one short post, and I’m sharing it all with you here. You’re welcome. 🤣
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By RAIN CITY READS on 30 Jan 2025 at 5:49 am
And you’ve done it again! What great quotes you shared this week. I particularly loved the two from Reasons to Stay Alive (which I’ve been meaning to read for literally years now). I think a lot about how variable “normal” is in so many contexts – culturally, brain-functionally, even our baseline of what constitutes a “normal” range on the happiness to sadness spectrum.
Tangent here, but I once read that people who grow up in a stressful or traumatic environment have a set baseline for their nervous system that is very different to those who grow up in a more balanced environment. This means that when things are good, they actually find that more stressful than if there are a manageable level of difficult things, because it feels so foreign to them, even though it’s good. That felt very true to me, and really left me to think about what normal means to different people based on so many factors.
The depression one is also true. When I was dealing with post-partum depression and then regular old kind, I definitely did have lots of moments – even days, sometimes – of happiness. I just also felt like I was completely drained of energy and the will do do anything most of the time as well. Which is part of what makes it difficult, sometimes, to realize that depression is what is being experienced. As usual, you’ve given me lots to think about in one short post, and I’m sharing it all with you here. You’re welcome. 🤣
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By RAIN CITY READS on 30 Jan 2025 at 5:49 am
I can relate to what you said about growing up in stressful or traumatic environments. I think that’s very true. The chaos is the norm, so one becomes one of those “good in a crisis” people because it sort of feels natural. That’s so interesting.
The depression thing is one of the reasons I love Matt Haig. I was once told I couldn’t possibly be depressed because I smiled at a psych evaluation. Matt made me feel normal and seen. Thanks so much for your comment! 🙂
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By georgelthomas on 30 Jan 2025 at 5:56 am
Yeah, it has taken a lot of work for me to be okay when things are going well rather than bracing for impact. It definitely changes how you are at baseline, for sure! Though I don’t know if I’m that great in a crisis either…. lol.
Oh my lord, I am so sorry that happened to you. It’s never okay for your pain to be invalidated, but by a trained professional?? That’s so harmful, and they should know better. It seems like you have found better support, and tools that work for you. But it’s not okay if that delayed finding that support! ❤
(Also I’m not sure if it’s just me, but if my comment above posted twice, could you delete the extra one? I don’t know how that happened!)
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By RAIN CITY READS on 31 Jan 2025 at 7:34 am
Thank you! Yep, I definitely found much better support over the last few years. I think a lot of mental illness or rather trying to be mentally well is trial and error. It’s hard to find the right ‘thing’ that helps you to feel ‘normal’. Thankfully, for me, it’s so far so good.
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By georgelthomas on 31 Jan 2025 at 7:44 am
Can’t hit reply for some reason, so this is in continuation! I’ve found that it’s also helped to create more realistic expectations of both myself, and the tools that I have. I find that things circle around, and it’s not like in movies where there’s a big moment and then whatever was causing the trauma is “dealt with.” Rather, you get better at dealing with the triggers and emotional cycles over time so they don’t have such huge impacts.
Likewise the tools also change as you do – what worked for me at one point might not be as effective a few years later and I’ll need to find some new ones to add. It’s never done, I guess is what I’m saying, but we get better at handling things if we’re working on it!
I’m so glad that you have things that help and that you feel more normal – I think that’s also key. So many people have mental health issues – I’d wager more do than don’t, and a lot who don’t know people in their lives who do. But it’s not something that everyone is open about, and so it can feel like you’re alone in it. I am glad that more and more people are sharing their experiences and it does make it feel more “normal.” You’re definitely not alone!
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By RAIN CITY READS on 31 Jan 2025 at 8:55 am
I completely agree about learning to better deal with triggers and trauma. If only it were like the movies. I’d have been ‘cured’ long ago!
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By georgelthomas on 31 Jan 2025 at 9:06 am