Comprehensive Vocabulary and Principles for Personal Development and Wisdom

Principles and morals

Based on a group of people; can be influenced by both friends and foes.

Preoccupation with thoughts

Distracts you from action and can lead to being dismissive of others.

Grit

The ability to keep going when faced with difficulties.

Contentment

Making dreams your master will cause stress and lead to blaming others.

Resilience

The ability to recover from setbacks and keep moving forward.

Character

What you do when you're alone speaks volumes about your character.

Sunk cost fallacy

When we put a lot of time, effort, money into something that is failing, we don't pull back hoping it will work out.

Ibn Qayyim's advice

Thoughts become ideas, ideas become drives, drives become passions, passions become actions, actions become habits.

Sabr

Patience; standing a trial or tribulation with grace.

Temperance

Moderation and self-control; the opposite of hedonism.

Fortuna

The concept of fortune and its arbitrary nature.

Affluence

Different levels of comfort and difficulty experienced by people.

Punishment (fine)

Legal consequences for wrongdoing.

Punishment (shame)

Social consequences for one's actions.

Punishment (guilt)

Internal consequences based on personal principles.

Sensitivity (taqwa)

Barring yourself from disappointment for Allah's sake.

Sensitivity (ihsan)

Being obsessed with pleasing Allah.

Advice from Polonius

Don't be late to important things.

Watch out for your character

Be mindful of your actions and words.

Keep your virtue

Maintain your standards regardless of your company.

Dreams and reality

If you can dream and not make dreams your master, you will succeed.

Meeting with Triumph and Disaster

Treat both impostors just the same.

Control desires

Think about the future and resist whims.

Talk with crowds

Keep your virtue and don't lower your standards.

Fill the unforgiving minute

Make meaningful efforts with your time.

Be familiar, but not too familiar

Maintain your principles in friendships.

Don't be argumentative

Listen to people's opinions and avoid quarrels.

Your interactions with those in positions of authority & respect

Deal with the elders with the utmost respect.

Compassion towards young people

Because you have more wisdom, power, & because you were once in their position.

Don't overuse your palm

By making new acquaintances if you haven't tried & tested them.

Better to be a warrior in a garden

Than a gardener in a war.

Stoicism

To become stoic, learn second-order thinking.

Don't develop habits that are expensive

It's better to lend/borrow when you're wealthy.

Neither a borrower nor a lender be

For loan oft loses both itself and friend.

Be true to yourself

This above all: to thine own self be true.

What you wear

Is a representation of you.

Fear of death

Not a sign of lack of spirituality.

Indifferent to death

Due to lack of contemplation.

Gossamer

Something very light, thin & delicate.

Tippet

A woman's long scarf or shawl worn around neck/shoulder.

Tulle

Soft fine material like net, used for making veils & dresses.

Cornice

Horizontal molded projection crowning a building or structure.

Surmised

To assume something is true without evidence.

Death in Emily Dickinson's poem

Is approached lovingly as a transition.

Rigor mortis

When your body contracts in, your temperature goes down.

The Cornice in the Ground

Description of the grave.

Catholic belief about the righteous

Those who are righteous stay with God.

Mockery of the wise

Forward-thinking individuals fixated on calendars.

The great

Are the legends; movers & shakers of society.

The wise

Are the intellectuals.

The good

Are those wrapped in serving others.

Vicissitudes of time

Difficulties of time.

Traffic in mockery

Everyone does it; we're all occupied in mockery.

Legacy

The result of taking on responsibility to make things right.

Discernment

Ability to see what others can't see.

Erudite

One with scholarly and refined education, achieving mastery

Harangue

Lecture at length in an aggressive way (especially to persuade or express disapproval)

Cantankerous

Habitually argumentative, uncooperative, and difficult to deal with

Curmudgeon

Ill-tempered person who is easily irritated and generally disagreeable (especially an old man)

Ennui

Dissatisfaction or exhaustion/lethargy caused by boredom or lack of occupation

Gregarious

Fond of and seeking the company of others

Haughty

One with a blatantly arrogant, superior and condescending demeanor

Implacable

Unable to be soothed

Myopic

So focused on one small thing that the whole picture can't be seen

Pernicious

Intending to cause harm, especially in a gradual or subtle way

Slipshod

Showing lack of care, thought, or organization

Temerity

Excessive or foolish boldness (internal attitude)

Tenacious

Adhering closely to something one hold dear and not willing to let go

Foible

A small flaw or peculiarity in one's character

Impetuous

Acting quickly without thought or care

Demure

(Especially of a woman) shy, modest, or classy

Sycophant

Someone who uses insincere flattery to get what they want from an authority figure

Abhor

To hate with disgust and with a passion

Acrimony

Tense bitterness or ill-feelings (especially in a relationship)

Anodyne

Something that kills pain

Bemoan

To express discontent or sorrow over something

Bovine

In the manner of a cow

Contrite

Deeply remorseful and embarrassed over a bad action

Palpable

(Of a situation) able to be touched or felt

Placid

Not easily upset or excited

Reticent

Not revealing one's thoughts, feelings, or emotions

Solace

Comfort in a time of stress or sadness

Visceral

From the gut- purely emotional, reaction

Bilk

Obtain or withhold money from (someone) by deceit or without justification; cheat or defraud

Atrophy

To gradually decline waste away due to not being used

Augment

Make (something) greater by adding to it; increase

Engender

To cause or give rise to

Egalitarian

Relating to the idea of all people deserving equal rights

Exonerate

Remove blame or guilt for a wrongdoing

Nefarious

Wicked or criminal

Noxious

Harmful, poisonous, or very unpleasant

Quaff

To drink quickly, eagerly, and usually in large amounts

Adiaphora

When something is morally neutral

Apatheia

State of mind; not being disturbed by one's passions (not being a slave to one's desires)

Diamôn

Divine spirit that lives within human beings that connects us with nature/ God

Doxa

A widespread view, belief, or opinion (especially one that is weak/ false)

Eudaimonia

The good/ content spirit; a flourishing state of being

Ketalepsis

Clear comprehension and cognitive grasp that leads to conviction

Nomos

Law or convention

Paideia

The rearing of the ideal member of society