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It is important that man dreams, but it is perhaps equally important that he can laugh at his own dreams.
Lin Yutang
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Interpretation

What this quote means

Dreams are essential for aspiration, but self-awareness and humor about them are equally important.

This quote emphasizes the significance of having dreams and aspirations in life while also highlighting the importance of maintaining a sense of humor about those dreams. It suggests that dreaming is a vital part of the human experience, but the ability to laugh at our ambitions reflects a healthy perspective that can lead to greater wisdom and resilience.

Themes

DreamsHumorSelf-AwarenessAspirationLife

In practice

Example use cases

During a motivational speech about pursuing goals, one could use this quote to remind the audience about the value of humor in their journey.

More from Lin Yutang

Reality - Dreams = Animal Being Reality + Dreams = A Heart-Ache (usually called Idealism) Reality + Humor = Realism (also called Conservatism) Dreams - Humor = Fanaticism Dreams + Humor = Fantasy Reality + Dreams + Humor = Wisdom
Lin YutangRead
True peace of mind comes from accepting the worst. Psychologically, I think it means a release of energy.
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All women's dresses, in every age and country, are merely variations on the eternal struggle between the admitted desire to dress and the unadmitted desire to undress.
Lin YutangRead
This I conceive to be the chemical function of humor: to change the character of our thought.
Lin YutangRead
If you can spend a perfectly useless afternoon in a perfectly useless manner, you have learned how to live.
Lin YutangRead
It is that unoccupied space which makes a room habitable, as it is our leisure hours which make life endurable.
Lin YutangRead

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