It is difficult to make oneself concentrate for long periods.

让自己长时间聚精会神是很困难的。

《牛津词典》

Better in fact to make nothing of oneself than to make something of oneself.

事实上，不为自己做点什么，要比为自己做点什么更好。

youdao

Indeed, it is curious how instinctively one protects the image of oneself from idolatry or any other handling that could make it ridiculous, or too unlike the original to be believed in any longer.

说来也真奇怪，人们总是本能地保护自己的形象，不让偶像崇拜或是什么别的处理方式使它显得可笑，或者使它变得和原型太不相像以至于人们不相信它。

youdao

That's the whole thing about being a kook,I mean, being willing to be a beginner, make a fool out of oneself once in a while."

VOA: standard.2010.08.04

Later he came to see the ownership of such exalted things as "a nuisance" and the antiquarian enthusiasms they aroused as irrelevant: better to make them for oneself.

CNN: ASIANOW - TIME Asia | The Subtle Magic of Koetsu

Of interest though is that people in poorer countries who make downward social comparisons (comparing oneself to those who have even less vs. those who have more) are more satisfied with their lives than individuals making upward social comparisons.

FORBES: Why Consumers In Poor Countries Try Harder To 'Keep Up With The Joneses'

That sounds great, but the difficulty in actually procuring ingredients is compounded by the need to make a decision about what to cook, not to mention cooking it without dismembering oneself or creating small fires in an enclosed space.

FORBES: Connect