Personal growth
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Everything you love
“I am all the things I have ever loved.” ~Toni Morrison, American author “List Yourself” is one of my favorite writing practices, and it’s even easier than journaling. Pick up a brand-new journal and fill its pages with lists of all kinds — your favorite books and films, your biggest accomplishments, pet peeves, favorite recipes, people who’ve inspired you, places you’d like to visit, and so on. The practice of list-making might seem simplistic, but it can lead to self-awareness and discovery. When you make lists of all the things you love, for instance, you’ll see a unique self-portrait taking shape on the page, just as today’s quote suggests. Furthermore,…
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If you did it, you own it
“You can learn great things from your mistakes when you aren’t busy denying them.” ~Marc Chernoff, Marc & Angel Hack Life At some point, we all mess up. Humans make spelling errors, burn the dinner, neglect to return phone calls, forget birthdays, miss deadlines, and turn the wrong way on one-way streets. Sometimes we send embarrassing text messages to the wrong people. Oops. Sometimes we say or do things that hurt other people’s feelings. Nobody leaves this world flawless and error-free. Yet we all know a few folks who refuse to admit their mistakes. And then there are the ones who manage to screw up a good apology with a…
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How will you spend today?
“Your problem is how you are going to spend this one odd and precious life you have been issued. Whether you’re going to spend it trying to look good and creating the illusion that you have power over other people and circumstances, or whether you are going to taste it, enjoy it, and find out the truth about who you are.” ~Anne Lamott Statistics show that social media abuse inhibits our creativity, triggers periods of depression, stirs feelings of inadequacy, and can fuel aggression — just for starters. We make some dubious trade-offs when our time is consumed by social media use. Not that we shouldn’t enjoy a few of…
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Compass of the heart
“It is the wilderness in the mind, the desert wastes in the heart, through which one wanders lost and a stranger. When one is a stranger to oneself, then one is estranged from others, too. If one is out of touch with oneself, then one cannot touch others.” ~Anne Morrow Lindbergh, Gift from the Sea Anne Morrow Lindbergh earned her reputation as a fearless aviator and explorer. At the same time, the diaries and books she wrote were maps of her emotional journey. In her nonfiction classic, Gift from the Sea, Lindbergh charted new ways to navigate the challenging terrain of marriage, work, and motherhood. Written and published in the 1950s,…
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Kitchen creativity
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How to fix things
“Make every effort to change things you do not like. If you cannot make a change, change the way you have been thinking. You might find a new solution.” ~Maya Angelou Self-improvement involves effort as well as introspection. But when something is broken beyond repair, or a bad situation seems totally out of control, the best thing I can do is adjust my attitude. I can change how many calories I consume in a day, for instance, but I can’t change the weather report. Likewise, I can’t change the rude behavior of strangers, but I can make a bigger effort to practice courtesy and kindness wherever I go. I’ve wasted a…
