Quote of the day:
"There is but one cause of human failure. That is man’s lack of faith in his true self.” – William James Reflection: If you've followed my writings you know that I believe that each of us has something not only unique about us, but that our unique gifts have the potential to provide great value to others. Therefore it is important to find out what our talents are and strengthen them. We all have some special talent, skill, or gift--something we do or some way we see things that is different or better than anyone else. If you can't figure out what your special talent is, interview your friends, family, and colleagues. They will tell you. Here are some questions you can ask: What do you think is my greatest strength? What is my biggest weakness? (Ask this only if you feel up to it, and ask them to tell you in a constructive way. Do not comment on anything they say. You are simply gathering opinions.) What do you see as my special talent or gift? What do I do naturally and effortlessly that is special? If I were on the cover of a magazine, what magazine would it be, and what would the story be about? Under what circumstances do I most fully express this gift or talent? The next step is to begin to honor your gift. Do one thing that will allow you to fully express your unique gift.
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Quote of the day:
“The things which the child loves remain in the domain of the heart until old age.” — Khalil Gibran Reflection: At some point in life, most adults have looked at a child playing blissfully and wished they could turn back the clock. Children at play look happy, carefree, and thrilled about life. They laugh a lot, are easily entertained, and get excited about the simplest things. Naturally, they have their problems and hurts too, but for the most part, children are resilient. Children live in the moment and generally spend more time being happy than adults do. Here are a few ways you can recapture this childhood magic.
Quote of the day:
“There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self.” — Ernest Hemingway Reflection: This story is a little longer than I usually post but I think it had a good lesson worth sharing. A young and successful executive was driving down a neighbourhood street, going a bit too fast in his new Jaguar. He was watching for kids darting out from between parked cars and slowed down when he thought he saw something. As his car passed, no children appeared. Instead, a brick smashed into the Jag's side door! He slammed on the brakes and backed the Jaguar back to the spot where the brick had been thrown. The angry driver then jumped out of the car, grabbed the kid and pushed him up against a parked car shouting, 'What was that all about and who are you? Just what the heck are you doing? That's a new car and that brick you threw is going to cost a lot of money. Why did you do it?' The young boy was apologetic. 'Please, mister...please, I'm sorry but I didn't know what else to do,' He pleaded. 'I threw the brick because no one else would stop...' With tears dripping down his face and off his chin, the youth pointed to a spot just around a parked car. 'It's my brother,' he said. 'He rolled off the curb and fell out of his wheelchair and I can't lift him up.' Now sobbing, the boy asked the stunned executive, 'Would you please help me get him back into his wheelchair? He's hurt and he's too heavy for me.' Moved beyond words, the driver tried to swallow the rapidly swelling lump in his throat. He hurriedly lifted the handicapped boy back into the wheelchair, then took out a linen handkerchief and dabbed at the fresh scrapes and cuts. A quick look told him everything was going to be okay. 'Thank you and may God bless you,' the grateful child told the stranger. Too shook up for words, the man simply watched the boy push his wheelchair-bound brother down the sidewalk toward their home. It was a long, slow walk back to the Jaguar. The damage was very noticeable, but the driver never bothered to repair the dented side door. He kept the dent there to remind him of this message: 'Don't go through life so fast that someone has to throw a brick at you to get your attention!' God whispers in our souls and speaks to our hearts. Sometimes when we don't have time to listen, He has to throw a brick at us. It's our choice to listen or not. Quote of the day:
"He that cannot forgive others breaks the bridge over which he must pass himself; for every man has need to be forgiven.” -- Thomas Fuller Reflection: Among people of the Jewish faith, the holiest day of the year is Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. It's a day set aside for prayer and fasting while people account for their sins and seek reconciliation with God. According to tradition, a person who sincerely repents on this day will be forgiven by God. But there's another part to this great day of healing. It involves being forgiven by those who have been offended. This can't happen until the offending person goes to the one who has been hurt and speaks healing words. Wouldn't it be nice if there was a National Day of Atonement, regardless of one’s faith, in which everyone made the effort to try and heal our broken relationships? Why wait for that? We can turn any day we want into a day to make amends. We already have the words, “Please forgive me and I forgive you.” We just need to say them. Is this your day of atonement? Quote of the day:
“I have always believed, and I still believe, that whatever good or bad fortune may come our way we can always give it meaning and transform it into something of value.” --Hermann Hesse Reflection: A major factor in making progress is shedding any mindset that holds you back, and taking on a new mindset that will have a positive effect on your behavior and outlook. We all have some wrong attitudes, so it behooves us to find out what those are and work to do whatever is necessary to transform them into positive ones. The definition of mindset is, “A set of beliefs or a way of thinking that determines somebody’s behavior and outlook.” What this means is that the way we look at things, our attitudes, the things we think and believe, determine our behavior. To illustrate this point, consider the story about two shoe salesmen who were sent to Africa. The first salesman wrote the home office saying, “Nobody wears shoes here,” and turned in his resignation. The second salesman was thrilled with the potential he found and wrote home saying, “Everybody in Africa needs shoes!” The first fellow’s mindset, his negative attitude‚ caused him to resign. He had the wrong outlook about the situation, and this way of thinking determined his behavior, which in this case was to give up in despair. Contrast this to the other fellow who had a positive mindset. “Everyone in Africa needs shoes!” What a difference! The positive mindset brought faith. Where one man saw an impossible situation, the other saw endless possibilities. Clearly, our mindset affects our outlook and, most importantly, our behavior. To get the most out of life and give the most in return, it’s important that we shed any negative mindsets that hold us back, and instead embrace new, positive mindsets that will change our behavior and performance for the better. A positive mindset will help us to act in a positive manner. What mindsets do you need to change? Quote of the Day:
“Too many people overvalue what they are not and undervalue what they are.” — Malcolm Forbes Reflection: Have you ever asked yourself, "What is my greatest weakness?" Probably the greatest human weakness is self-depreciation, that is, selling oneself short. Self-depreciation manifests in countless ways. For example, John sees a job advertisement in the paper. It is exactly what he would like, but he does nothing about it because he thinks, "I'm not good enough for that job, so why bother?" Or Joan would like to have a date with Jim, but she doesn't make herself available because she thinks she is not pretty enough. For thousands of years philosophers have given this good advice: “Know thyself.” Yet most people, it seems, interpret these wise words to mean “know only thy negative self.” Most self-evaluation consists of making long mental lists of one's faults, shortcomings and inadequacies. It's a good thing to be aware of our inabilities, as this shows us the areas in which we need to improve. However, it is not good to focus solely on our negative characteristics, as this will tend to minimize our worth in our own eyes. Know your weak areas, and focus on them only with the intent to improve, but also know your worth, look for the good in yourself and show it to others. Quote of the day:
“Take calculated risks. That is quite different from being rash.” --General George S. Patton Reflection: There is a fine balance between acting too quickly and waiting too long. It is important to carefully make a decision by gathering all the facts available, and then make an informed decision, but once made, swift action should be taken. Titus, the emperor of Rome understood this principle. His symbol was the image of a dolphin wound around an anchor, which was inscribed on coins during his reign. The anchor represented delay and unchanging conviction. The dolphin was regarded as the swiftest and most mercurial creature of the sea. Together they symbolized the failure that comes from rushing into something, and the failure that is the result of hesitation or undue caution. Through the years, the dolphin and the anchor have been used as his family crest, with the explanatory motto Festina Lente, "Hasten Slowly." It expresses moderation between two opposing ideas. It means the medium between acting too quickly and waiting too long. As I see it what the quote and story is saying is we should take time to carefully ascertain the pros and cons of a decision but once a decision is made, action should be taken or as Patton puts it take calculated risks. Quote of the day:
“The greatest discovery of my generation is that a human being can alter his life by altering his attitudes.” — William James Reflection: Choosing a positive attitude is a process. We don't just choose it once and expect everything to be perfect from that moment on. We will still experience setbacks, delays, accidents, frustrations, arguments, fatigue, and fear. The secret is how we choose to react to these experiences. Do we want to let them ruin our day, or do we choose to pick ourselves up and look hopefully to the future again? We do have the power to choose. You may have noticed that each experience often determines the quality of the next experience, causing a chain reaction in our lives. If one little thing goes wrong, it can throw off our plans for the rest of the day. In this context, it's easy to see how a positive attitude can be powerful. Rather than allowing one incident ruin our day, with a positive attitude we are able to shrug it off and continue on without a hitch. By choosing a positive attitude each day, we are actually attracting more positive experiences, and reducing the likelihood of negative ones. I like this thought! Today I choose to attract more positive experiences. If you do the same, let me know what positive happenings come your way. Quote of the day:
“If you look for perfection, you’ll never be content.” — Leo Tolstoy Reflection: Have you ever been frustrated by the imperfections of others and wished that things could just be perfect? Did you ever wonder why do things like personality clashes, carelessness, inconsideration, injustice, pessimism, and put-downs have to exist? These things are real, and they are wrong! I wish they did not exist. If everyone, myself included, could just get their act together, our lives could be one of blissful perfection. Perfection, I often reason, is the only thing that can ever relieve my irritations. Boy, has my thinking been wrong. What we really need is more love and tolerance. As I ponder more about the lack of perfection in others as well as myself, I realize how much we’d be missing if I and everyone around me were perfect from the start. We’d miss the unpredictability of life that adds a sense of surprise; the joy of forgiving and being forgiven; the strong, abiding bonds of friendship that are formed through adversity, and positive character traits that are formed much the same way. So, what to do? I have decided to stop looking for perfection as Mr. Tolstoy suggests. Adding negative thoughts to a negative situation never brings positive results. I have determined to look for, and find, positive opportunities and experiences in every situation, even those that are hidden behind a mask of imperfection. If we look beyond difficulties, losses, hurts, and lacks, in the day-to-day circumstances we encounter, our journey through life will be joyous and filled with surprise. Instead we can think of each imperfect experience as a clue in a treasure hunt, the door to a secret vault where we will find beautiful treasures. Look for and list the hidden treasures in both people and situations that irritate you, and soon you will realize what a jewel they are. Quote of the day:
“When God made you, he threw away the mold. There never has been or ever will be another person like you.” -- Robert F. Kennedy Consider: The well known Chinese conductor stood with his arms raised before his orchestra, ready to begin the final rehearsal before the year's most important musical event. He lowered his baton, and the huge hall was filled with the glorious strains of the organ, the mighty echo of the drums, the clash of cymbals and the haunting melancholy of the stringed instruments. To the few people who were privileged to watch the rehearsal, the orchestra had never sounded better. Suddenly, the conductor thundered "Stop!" There was an astonished silence. Then he demanded: "Where is the piccolo?" The piccolo player had kept silent because he thought the absence of his small instrument would go unnoticed, but the trained ear of the conductor had missed the delicate tones of the little instrument because the music was incomplete and imperfect without it. Some of us may not have many or great talents, but each of us has a role to play. Have you become a silent onlooker thinking that your contribution is not worthwhile? Let’s get back in the symphony of life. We need you. |
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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