Today is the Chinese New Year! Whether you celebrate it or not, I’m into any holiday that allows you to refocus and start again. So, to usher in the Year of the Dragon, here are some Chinese proverbs to give you wisdom and guidance. Enjoy.

One kind word can warm three winter months.

A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.

Keep a green tree alive in your heart and a songbird may come to sing there.

You cannot prevent the birds of sorrow from flying over your head, but you can prevent them from building nests in your hair.

If you are patient in one moment of anger, you will escape a hundred days of sorrow.

Be not afraid of growing slowly, be afraid only of standing still.

The gem cannot be polished without friction, nor man perfected without trials.

Better to light one small candle than to curse the darkness.

Tell me, I’ll forget. Show me, I may remember. But involve me, and I’ll understand.

Want more? I also wrote Chinese New Year: 12 Ways to Thrive in the Year of the Dragon.