Sharon Salzberg is a spiritual leader and meditation teacher who helped introduce Buddhist practices into Western culture in the 1970s. After a tumultuous childhood, Salzberg discovered meditation as a way to temper the chaos in her life. Her interest led her first to India for years of study, and then back to the U.S., where she co-founded the Insight Meditation Society. This quote comes from Salzberg’s book “Lovingkindness,” which encourages self-compassion as the first step to changing our perspective. We have more control over our outlook than we think, if we can learn to choose where to focus our energy.