‘Everything that we have done cannot be undone. No achievement can be taken away’

‘News about our amazing plastic brain supports the view that what we can be is much more diverse than we think’

‘The dentist’s receptionist may not be the best person in whom to confide our deepest worries’

‘Studies have found that people who do acts of kindness experience increased happiness and well-being’

‘How, without being rude, do you discourage a friend who wants to be in touch much more than you’d like?’

‘You might escape from pain and loss by cultivating a disinterested detachment. But for me this comes at too high a cost’

‘Being online offers pleasures that demand little time and effort, when most of what is valuable requires a fair bit of both’

Conviction is overrated and the value of ‘knowing your own mind’ misunderstood

‘The main quality you need to develop is compassion — for yourself and your child’

‘Gloom is easily mistaken for intellectual depth. Have you ever seen a photo of a smiling existentialist?’

‘Sometimes it pays to take charge of a situation instead of just letting it run its course’

‘We need to stop attempting to escape and to turn towards our experience’

It’s not just friends who can leave us red-faced but even compatriots who behave badly abroad