The darkest night is often the bridge to the brightest tomorrow. —Jonathan Lockwood Huie
You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream. —C. S. Lewis Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, “I will try again tomorrow.” —Mary Anne Radmacher Courage is the power to let go of the familiar. —Raymond Lindquist The greatest glory in living lies not in never failing, but in rising every time we fall. —Nelson Mandela Fall seven times, stand up eight. —Japanese Proverb The secret of getting ahead is getting started. The secret of getting started is breaking complex, overwhelming tasks into small manageable tasks, and then starting on the first one. —Mark Twain We must be willing to get rid of the life we’ve planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us. —Joseph Campbell Whatever you can do, or dream you can do, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it. Begin it now. —Johann Wolfgang von Goethe A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. —Lao Tzu Today is the first day of the rest of your life. —Anonymous
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By Leon Wallace, adapted
Everyone has to start over at some point. We all come to a place in life that we can’t continue. We come to a dead-end road. We come to a wall we can’t scale. We come to a hurt we can’t handle. We come to a problem we can’t solve, and so we must start over. How to start over is always the difficulty. What steps to take? What do we do first? Using the acronym START, here are five small steps that can help us take a giant leap forward. S-top living in the past. We have to quit blaming, quit pointing fingers, and quit making excuses. We have to start taking responsibility for where we are and where we have been. We have to quit looking for a scapegoat and start looking for a new road. Until we stop living in the past we can’t start over. T-ake an honest look at life. We have to realize that we are in control and we have the power that is needed. We were created with resilience and a great capacity to problem solve. We have a will and we will need to use it to move ahead. We must be honest about what is right in our life and what is wrong. A-llow others to lend a hand. We can do a lot on our own in starting over, but to truly succeed we will need the support and help of other people. We will have to let our guard down, be willing to share our problems, and listen to the good advice we receive. Without others, we will continue to smother any possibility of starting over and getting ahead. R-ecognize that starting over is not the only option, but the wisest option. We have to realize that if we continue to do what we are doing we will continue to struggle in the quicksand of life. Once we realize this is the best way, we are on our way to success. T-rust that God will help with the impossibilities we face in starting over. Our extremity is God’s opportunity. With faith, enthusiasm, and excitement, we can turn around, start over, and make the best life possible. We will be glad we did. Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore.—Andre Gide
You miss 100 percent of the shots you never take.—Wayne Gretzy Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending.—Maria Robinson By changing nothing, nothing changes.—Tony Robbins Today is the first day of the rest of your life.—Anonymous All great changes are preceded by chaos.—Deepak Chopra When in doubt, choose change. —Lily Leung If you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always gotten. —Tony Robbins Getting over a painful experience is much like crossing monkey bars. You have to let go at some point in order to move forward.—C.S. Lewis Sometimes good things fall apart so better things can fall together.—Marilyn Monroe All our dreams can come true—if we have the courage to pursue them. —Walt Disney Quote of the day:
“If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with success unexpected in common hours.” —Henry David Thoreau Think about it: A few weeks ago, I was taking the train to work like I usually do, and I realized that for some reason I always sat facing the back of the train so that as I looked out the window, I only saw where I had been, not where I was going. I have no idea what compelled me to always sit that way, but since the seat across from me was empty, I switched seats, and therefore, my vantage point. Although I’d never thought of the difference before that day, seeing what was coming up rather than what had already been had a huge impact on me. I noticed that when I sat facing the back of the train, all I really focused on was what was right next to the tracks—the graffiti-filled walls of warehouses, the guard rail next to the train, people’s back yards, etc. When I sat facing forward, the first thing that jumped out at me were the mountains. My viewpoint immediately changed from what was right in front of me to the bigger picture of where I was, and where I was headed. This simple experience can be related to life and the way we act. If we are always looking back at where we’ve been and what we’ve done, there’s no way we can see where we want to be or where we hope to end up. On the other hand, if we look forward and allow our minds to grasp the wonderful things we are capable of, we can plan for the future and be successful at it. We know where we’ve been. The key is to focus on where we’re going. (By David Mead, adapted) Quote of the day:
“Remember, if nothing ever changed, there’d be no butterflies.” – Author Unknown Think about it: I recently came across the above short quote. It made me stop and reflect on how important it is to continue to keep growing and changing—both personally and professionally. If I don’t, I’m in danger of stagnation, and I will probably end up feeling rather unfulfilled, regardless of how successful or accomplished my life may seem. I sat down and took a long and hard look at my situation, and I re-evaluated my current goals. Then I made a list of some things I definitely would like to change and improve in. It included a habit or two I know I need to break, and some personal and career goals I would like to reach. I also added some things to my list that would help improve the lives of others. The next question was how to go about making these changes. The articles and stories I found on personal change and how to make improvements were inspiring, and a number of them were especially helpful, and seemed practical and doable. Taking a little time to refocus on my life’s goals had a good effect on me. I felt challenged and refreshed. It’s not always easy to admit that we need to change in different areas, and making those changes can be even harder. But ultimately, like that little quote I read, we can’t do without change—or “there’d be no butterflies.” Whatever you do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius and power and magic in it.—Author unknown
Take the first step in faith. You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.—Martin Luther King A great accomplishment shouldn’t be the end of the road, just the starting point for the next leap forward. —Harvey Mackay Some stories don’t have a clear beginning, middle, and end. Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what’s going to happen next. Delicious ambiguity. —Gilda Radner Your past is important, but it is not nearly as important to your present as the way you see your future. —Tony Campolo Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today. Let us begin.—Mother Teresa One of the most tragic things I know about human nature is that all of us tend to put off living. We are all dreaming of some magical rose garden over the horizon—instead of enjoying the roses that are blooming outside our windows today.—Dale Carnegie Resolve to make at least one person happy every day, and then in ten years you may have made 3,650 persons happy, or brightened a small town by your contribution to the fund of general enjoyment.—Sydney Smith The only limits to the possibilities in your life tomorrow are the “buts” you use today.—Les Brown Quote of the day:
I think there is something more important than believing: Action! The world is full of dreamers. There aren’t enough who will move ahead and begin to take concrete steps to actualize their vision.—W. Clement Stone Think about it: The end of a year is a good time to take stock of things, a chance for us to reflect on all that has happened over the last twelve months. It can be a bittersweet time, as there are experiences and people that have moved into our past. But the end also brings a new beginning. Typically, the New Year is a time for resolutions and fresh starts, for looking forward to the future, for reviewing what worked last year and aiming to build on that. As we enter this new year, news of famine, strife, and disasters may seem to indicate that the world has never been in a worse shape or more divided. The future may seem bleak, and the challenges ahead daunting, but we don’t have to be discouraged. Gandhi wasn’t deterred by obstacles and circumstances: “It’s the action, not the fruit of the action, that’s important. You have to do the right thing. It may not be in your power, may not be in your time, that there’ll be any fruit. But that doesn’t mean you stop doing the right thing. You may never know what results come from your action. But if you do nothing, there will be no result.” With 2018 officially here, let’s all resolve to make our lives, and the lives of those around us, better. Let’s be a little more caring, a little more unselfish, a little more courteous. Let’s work smarter instead of longer. Let’s spend time with those we care about instead of with our latest app. Let’s give a little more to those who aren’t as fortunate as we are. Let’s forget past slights and let’s build bridges of friendship around us. Let’s learn from past mistakes. And of course, the best way to ensure success is to include God in the process, step by step. Let’s ask Him to show us what changes will be most beneficial, and to give us the strength, patience, determination, and whatever else we need to succeed each day. Every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end.—Seneca
Begin today. Declare out loud to the universe that you are willing to let go of struggle and eager to learn through joy.—Sarah Ban Breathnach Start wherever you are and start small. —Rita Baily Do not wait until the conditions are perfect to begin. Beginning makes the conditions perfect.—Alan Cohen I have always been delighted at the prospect of a new day, a fresh try, one more start, with perhaps a bit of magic waiting somewhere behind the morning. –J. B. Priestly The secret to living the life of your dreams is to start living the life of your dreams today, in every little way you possibly can.—Mike Dooley There are some things one can only achieve by a deliberate leap in the opposite direction.—Franz Kafka You don’t need endless time and perfect conditions. Do it now. Do it today. Do it for twenty minutes and watch your heart start beating.—Barbara Sher Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending. —Maria Robinson Nothing is predestined. The obstacles of your past can become the gateways that lead to new beginnings.—Ralph Blum Whatever you do or dream you can do—begin it. Boldness has genius and power and magic in it. —Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Quote of the day:
Don’t look further for answers: be the solution. You were born with everything you need to know. Make a promise to stop getting in the way of the blessing that you are. Take a deep breath, remember to have fun, and begin. —Jonathan H. Ellerby Think about it: No one knows what the future holds. We’re quick to wish someone happiness and all the best at the beginning of a new year, but we actually have very little control over how things will play out. It’s good to plan ahead and lay solid foundations in our personal and professional lives, but we know from the start that the future will have unforeseen events and circumstances that we may not be able to avoid or change. Perhaps in addition to wishing others happiness, we could also wish them courage and faith to face whatever the future may hold. Whether you are about to start a New Year, a new career, or another event that’s a first for you, the posts on this blog are sure to encourage you that every day can be a fresh new beginning. Here’s to faith and courage, and a bright and happy future! |
AuthorThe goal of the blog is to provide interesting, motivational, soul feeding material. All to help remind us that God loves us all and wants a personal relationship with each of us and will take care of us in times of trouble. I aspire to be a force for good by providing you with positive input. I encourage you to share the blog with others. Archives
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