Personal growth
-
Deep thoughts, tough questions
“To find yourself, think for yourself.” ~Socrates The simplest truths are rarely as simple as they seem. Today’s quote from the philosopher Socrates is a case in point. “Thinking for yourself” gets tricky when you’re under the influence of family and friends, popular culture, cable news, and social media. There’s always a cacophony of voices sharing different views on everything from business to fashion to politics. You can try to find the courage to go deeper. Then you have to ask yourself some tough questions: Am I following my own heart or trying to fit in? Am I rebelling against something or living authentically on my own terms? How and…
-
Forgiveness
“Life appears to me too short to be spent in nursing animosity or registering wrongs.” ~Charlotte Bronte, Jane Eyre Responding to a recent “Life Lines” post about kicking our bad habits, a subscriber confided that giving up grudges tops her list of resolutions this year. We agreed that forgiveness is essential to our wellbeing — but not so easy to put into practice. Speaking for myself, I find it difficult to let go of righteous anger and resentment. But I’m trying. Everyone struggles with grudges, emotional wounds, and petty grievances. Yet we do so at great cost to our own health and wellbeing. As Anne Lamott writes in Traveling Mercies, “Not…
-
How do you spend your time?
“When I find that I don’t have time for what matters, I will stop doing (and thinking about) things that don’t.” ~Marc and Angel Chernoff When you set your goals for the new year, you might wonder how you’ll find time to accomplish them. Whether you want to start a fitness routine, reboot your social life, or read a new novel every week, you have to make room in your schedule. I once read an article suggesting that we list and evaluate all the habits and routines that prevent us from accomplishing our goals. For instance: How many hours do you spend watching TV, shopping online, or checking social media? You’ve…
-
The power of our thoughts
“We become what we think about.” ~Earl Nightingale (1931-1989) Today’s quote stops me in my tracks every time I read it. The author of this gem, Earl Nightingale, was a popular American radio host and author who focused on character development, motivation, and human behavior. During the early 1950s, he was also the voice of Sky King, the hero of an historic radio adventure series. Nightingale believed that our beliefs can be self-fulfilling prophecies. Just for starters, if we see ourselves as victims, we will remain victims. If we perceive ourselves as fortunate, good fortune will find us. If we see ourselves as capable or attractive, it’s likely that others…
-
The space between
“Wisdom means to choose now what will make sense later. I am learning every day to allow the space between where I am and where I want to be, to inspire me and not terrify me.” ~Tracee Ellis Ross So, the holidays are over, the Christmas elves are packed away, and our social schedule is winding down. For those who prefer a jam-packed calendar with no blank spaces, January is a month-long letdown. Like a heavy snowfall, the silence that blankets us after the holidays forces us to be still and let life unfold at a slower pace. Today’s quote embraces the value of patience — not easy to practice…
