Tags
Daily Ramblings – Bonus – Ted Talk – 12 Truths by Anne Lamott
10 Saturday Jun 2017
Posted in Ted Talk
Tag Archives: wisdom
Daily Ramblings – Daily Quotes
18 Thursday May 2017
Posted in Quotes
Tags
“The very first condition of lasting happiness is that a life should be full of purpose, aiming at something outside self.” – Hugh Black
“One advantage of talking to yourself is that you know at least somebody’s listening.” – Franklin P. Jones
“Give light and people will find the way.” – Ella Baker
We are all unique and each of us fulfills a purpose. Perhaps you are a housewife, a writer, a gamer, a poet, a singer, etc. Whatever role you fill, realize it is exactly what you are supposed to be doing. If you aren’t happy with your current circumstances change them, but realize that the change doesn’t require a change in your outer world, but your inner one. Happiness is available to you today, but so is sadness. It is your choice.
My Dad made a statement to me when I was younger and complaining about work. He said, “Son, work is only work if you think of it as work. If you think of it as fun, work becomes fun.” It is our internal attitude. It is our awareness, our consciousness, that makes life a joy or drudgery. Change the way you look at your world and your world will change.
Until tomorrow…
Daily Ramblings – Daily Quotes
08 Monday May 2017
Posted in Quotes
Tags
“You can tell whether a man is clever by his answers. You can tell whether a man is wise by his questions.” – Naguib Mahfouz
I’ve had numerous professors bring this up during class. This is a quote that demonstrates that thinking, learning, and discovery are much more important than knowing the answers. Interestingly, this leads to another famous quote: “The more you know, the more you know you don’t know and the more you know that you don’t know.” – David Byrne
“To enjoy good health, to bring true happiness to one’s family, to bring peace to all, one must first discipline and control one’s own mind. If a man can control his mind he can find the way to Enlightenment, and all wisdom and virtue will naturally come to him.” – Buddha
Our mind is an excellent tool, but a horrible master. Keep the mind focused on the good, the beautiful, and on others. Never let the mind focus on the self–this is when the trouble comes.
“Talent is God given. Be humble. Fame is man-given. Be grateful. Conceit is self-given. Be careful.” – John Wooden
This is a terrific quote from John Wooden, who had his fair share of talent while coaching over the years. This is all about being thankful for the gifts we are given and avoiding the vices that typically come with success and fame.
Hope you are having a terrific Monday!!
Until tomorrow…
Daily Ramblings – Daily Quote
01 Monday May 2017
Posted in Quotes
“The liar’s punishment is not in the least that he is not believed, but that he cannot believe anyone else.” – George Bernard Shaw
“I learned long ago, never to wrestle with a pig. You get dirty, and besides, the pig likes it.” – George Bernard Shaw
“Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance.” – George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw is the author of today’s quotes. The first relates to personal character. We all tend to criticize others who reflect the truth of who we are. Whenever I hear someone knock someone else or criticize what someone else does, I automatically begin looking for that same thing in the person who is launching the criticism. This truism rarely misses its mark. Try this out sometime. If you are truly aware of yourself, try this anytime you criticize someone. You’ll be amazed at what you discover.
The second quote is plain funny, but there is wisdom here as well. Think about arguing with someone who enjoys arguing for arguing sake. I think this is what George was referring to when he wrote this quote.
The third quote is particularly appropriate in light of today’s “fake” news. I’ve never been a big news reader, partly because it is always biased and overblown to get ratings (regardless of the political camp). Instead, I read a lot of books. They are more entertaining, insightful, and I always learn a great deal. If I do look at the news, it is normally the news links on my iPhone or Google News when I’m on my computer. That takes about 5 minutes 😊.
See you tomorrow!!
Daily Ramblings – Daily Quotes
21 Friday Apr 2017
Tags
A superior man is modest in his speech, but exceeds in his actions.” – Confucius
“Actions prove who someone is, words just prove who they want to be.” – Unknown
“Actions speak louder than words, but not nearly as often.” – Mark Twain
If you want to avoid being fooled by someone, watch what they do and ignore what they say. All of these quotes are ones I’ve come across from time-to-time, but I never really applied them until I was in the Army for about 10 years. This was also the time I finished Steven Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. Every action you take is a demonstration of what you really want, who you really are, and what you are committed to. Use these quotes as a way to gauge your own commitment. Do you do what you say you will do (to yourself) or are you just talking to make yourself feel good? You can apply these to goals you’ve set for yourself, things you’d like to do for yourself or others, habits you’d like to be rid of or build, anything at all.
One of the things I truly believe in is the conscience. We all have this internal compass that tells us what is right and what is wrong. This “voice” is also good at telling us what we should be doing. If you really listen to this voice, it will get louder as time passes. If you ignore it, it will become so silent that you won’t hear it at all. We all know smoking, drinking alcohol, doing drugs, and eating refined sugars and flours are horrible for us, but we continue to do what we know deep down is totally wrong because we are too weak to change the patterns we’ve established for ourselves. This is where your actions are louder than your words, even the ones you tell yourself.
As a veteran of the Army for over 20 years, one of my regrets was the use of tobacco. The Army is full of folks who chew tobacco, smoke tobacco, and “dip” tobacco. Dipping is the use of snuff like Skoal or Copenhagen tobacco. This is what I used to do for the greater part of my 21-year career. I’m not proud of it. It literally took me 10 tries over a 12-year period to break this habit. I wanted to quit and I did. The same goes for alcohol. The Army likes to drink, so does corporate America. What did I do? I drank right along with everyone. Again, another habit I wanted to quit, not just for personal reasons, but also for spiritual ones. Alcohol was much easier to quit than tobacco.
The point I’m trying to make here is that we all have our vices. They aren’t just about the physical things. What about addictions to junk food, caffeine, soda, refined sugar, and flour? Whatever your addictions or bad habits are, commit to dropping the ones that are the worst for you and stick with quitting them. You have to want it more than someone else. You can have someone nag you all day long, but if you don’t want to quit, you’ll just do it when they aren’t around, or leave them instead of the habit.
The key is to really commit to something you want to do, not what someone else wants you to do. If you want to exercise, don’t talk about it–do it. If you want to quit smoking or limit your alcohol intake, don’t talk about it–do it. If you want to start some big project like writing a book, starting a blog, or run a marathon, don’t talk about it–do it. It’s a great way to really measure what you really want vs. what you are just dreaming about. Get out there and execute. The integration this brings (when you actually do what you say you are going to) is very liberating.
As a reminder, the workout section of my blog will begin on Monday, the 24th. I hope this inspires some people to get out there and exercise. It is so important to remain healthy and enjoy a really good quality of life.
I’ll be back again tomorrow with more quotes…
