This list is 80% borrowed from brilliant minds in multiple sources and 20% from my own brain making accreditation difficult so I'll simply throw it out there as a group thank you to all who seek to enlighten their brethren! While the bolded 'truths' are someone else's, much of the explanation is mine. As such, they are thoughts that made me take stock of my personal how's and why's. I hope that they cause you to pause, and Lord willing, smile at the state of things you're responsible for.
Your obsession with finding happiness is what prevents its attainment.
Happiness is always present in your life ... it's just a matter of connecting to it and allowing it to flow through you that's challenging. True happiness is liking what you get, being grateful for life's pleasures, and being content with your efforts to bring happiness into the lives of others. In an analogy, it's like trying to get to tomorrow, but before tomorrow arrives, it's today. In the end, like your attitude, your happiness is 100% under your control and you won't FIND it anywhere.
Donating money does less than donating time.
Your material wealth won't make you a better or happier person.
Your achievements and successes won't matter on your deathbed.
Nobody cares how difficult your life is, and you are the author of your life's story.
You can't make everyone happy, and if you try, you'll lose yourself.
Stop trying to please, and start respecting your values, principles, and being. Trying to please others places the locale of the reward external. Living a grateful and generous life begets intrinsic rewards. Like Nike's famous ad campaign, JUST DO IT, but do it for how it makes YOU feel, not how it makes OTHERS feel.
Your obsession with finding happiness is what prevents its attainment.
Happiness is always present in your life ... it's just a matter of connecting to it and allowing it to flow through you that's challenging. True happiness is liking what you get, being grateful for life's pleasures, and being content with your efforts to bring happiness into the lives of others. In an analogy, it's like trying to get to tomorrow, but before tomorrow arrives, it's today. In the end, like your attitude, your happiness is 100% under your control and you won't FIND it anywhere.
Giving your time is a way to change your perception, creating a memory for yourself and others that will last forever. In today's society, it's a commonplace complaint that we haven't got time for this or for that, when in reality, we always have time to help. That's where the notion of random acts of kindness grew out of. As my mother has oft reminded me, once you give a gift away, you lose all power over it. If you donate money, you have zero say in how it is applied. If you gift yourself to someone, you have sole control on what, how, where, when and why.
Even if you're one of the lucky ones who achieves his or her materialistic dreams, money only amplifies that which was already present. There's a saying, "The guy who dies with the most toys still dies" so stuff will only bring fleeting moments of happiness while living with generosity and altruism will fill multiple hearts before the final bell tolls. I've played the Lottery game with my wife, especially when we take a stab at a super-mega jackpot potential, and you can ask her to confirm this, I've always maintained that the sheer joy of giving some of it away is a larger portion of the 'WHAT IF' for me. Sure, I like to be comfortable and secure as much as the next person, and you need SOME money to do that, but I don't think you need as much as many people think.
When your time has come to transition from this reality, you won't be thinking about that woulda, coulda, shoulda ... you'll be thinking about the relationships you've made. Start acting accordingly. True fulfillment is going bankrupt on the day you die. Trophies, medals, and certificates are meant to remind YOU of your life's accomplishments, not to remind others. In the end of this life, nobody gets out alive, and people will remember how you made them feel, not what you accomplished.
Stop looking for people to give you sympathy and start creating the life story you would want to read. When all is falling down around you, it is profoundly difficult to understand that you're not the only one experiencing hardship and strife. It's a human trait to look out for number one, but Life isn't about what happens, it's about how you react. Time wasted looking for sympathy is time lost for dealing with the issues and making lemonade out of lemons.
You can't make everyone happy, and if you try, you'll lose yourself.
Stop trying to please, and start respecting your values, principles, and being. Trying to please others places the locale of the reward external. Living a grateful and generous life begets intrinsic rewards. Like Nike's famous ad campaign, JUST DO IT, but do it for how it makes YOU feel, not how it makes OTHERS feel.
Your talent means nothing without consistent effort and practice.
Some of the most talented people in the world never move out from their parent's basement. Take a poll of the most successful athletes, business people, scientists, or humanitarians and you'll find that most will readily admit that they knew of many others with more natural talent, but they exceeded expectations through focus, determination, and belief. A great analogy is that single blade of grass that emerges from the cement sidewalk simply because it refused to give up.
Some of the most talented people in the world never move out from their parent's basement. Take a poll of the most successful athletes, business people, scientists, or humanitarians and you'll find that most will readily admit that they knew of many others with more natural talent, but they exceeded expectations through focus, determination, and belief. A great analogy is that single blade of grass that emerges from the cement sidewalk simply because it refused to give up.
Investing in yourself isn't selfish. It's the most worthwhile thing you can do.
Like the airlines always warn prior to take off, you have to put on your own oxygen mask to save the person sitting right next to you. You can't pour goodness out of an empty cup. The most empathetic, altruistic people are often guilty of burning the candle at both ends by putting themselves in harm's way through their sacrifice to others. Always make sure there's time in your day to recharge your own batteries before trying to boost the batteries of others.
Like the airlines always warn prior to take off, you have to put on your own oxygen mask to save the person sitting right next to you. You can't pour goodness out of an empty cup. The most empathetic, altruistic people are often guilty of burning the candle at both ends by putting themselves in harm's way through their sacrifice to others. Always make sure there's time in your day to recharge your own batteries before trying to boost the batteries of others.
Time is your most valuable asset ... you need to prioritize how you spend it.
You have the power and responsibility to decide what you do with the time you have, so choose wisely. What would bring greater benefit, an hour surfing Social Media or an hour of focused play with a child? How we choose to spend our 86 400 seconds each day will have a profound impact 7 days from now ... or 4 weeks from now ... or 2 years from now. As the saying goes, "Rome wasn't built in a day".
You have the power and responsibility to decide what you do with the time you have, so choose wisely. What would bring greater benefit, an hour surfing Social Media or an hour of focused play with a child? How we choose to spend our 86 400 seconds each day will have a profound impact 7 days from now ... or 4 weeks from now ... or 2 years from now. As the saying goes, "Rome wasn't built in a day".
You're going to die and you have no idea when.
Stop pretending that you're invincible. Acknowledge the fact of your own mortality, and then start structuring your life in the most meaningful way to you. Planning for tomorrow or anguishing over yesterday has the potential to rob you of today's gratification. Plan like you'll live forever, learn from what's already passed, but live like the right here, right now is the most important thing in the universe. Invest yourself in whole focus, shun distraction, and the plans of tomorrow will be built on the foundations of today. As Confucius wisely taught, "A journey of a 1000 miles begins with a single step" so focus what's right in front of you and stride out with purpose.
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