Think. Refrain. Steadfast. Fair
Goodness over greatness.
Attainment over obtainment
2 ears. 1 mouth, for concise brevity.
Follow your heart or follow your mind? They are one and the same, are they not? The mind can hold many thoughts at the same time and they needn’t be compatible. So what is it that must compel you?
All people are capable of goodness, even if by accident. All the same people are capable of behaving poorly as well, also by accident. You are one of those people. The difference between a good and bad person is only a matter of frequency.
Lives end. Stories do too. Your life. Your story. Deal with it.
The world is as it is supposed to be. Don’t wish for anything different. To do so is a waste of precious resources. Respond to the world as it is, not how you wish it to be.
Find your spark. Where did it go? It is something that is lost or squelched? If it is squelched, how do you get it back?
Beware the person is trying to intimidate you. They feel desperate and cornered, and this is the last tool at their disposal and they are out of ideas. A man without an idea is a mere chimp.
Be a good parent. A good husband. A good brother, uncle, and son. A good boss. A good citizen … a good person for everyone.
Wherever you travel, pack light in both your bags and in your mind. Only bring what you need, leave behind what you don’t. #minimalism
If they don’t give you a seat at the table, find different room with a different table and invite people to sit with you who are more worthy of energy.
We are all drinking the same water. Breathing the same air. When do we begin to behave like it?
Stop fearing what might happen in the future. It’ll be here soon enough and you can deal with it then.
Things will not get better in the way I want or maybe even need. Be pleasantly surprised if they do, but prepare for them to not to. This is the wisest path. Stop hoping. Hope is the path of the foolish optimist. … That doesn’t mean you should stop trying. Just recognize the task before you as Sisyphusian. Do your part. Do it well. Know that you’ll probably have to start anew next week, if not tomorrow.
Don’t be rigid. It is a sign of a lack of empathy and intellectual stagnation. If you haven’t changed you mind recently or learned something new, you are living the wrong life. Get back on the path of a life worth living. If not, you are just hurting yourself and your community; you are destroying the hive.
On making exceptions:
- We shouldn’t, but we do.
- Passes can be given, but they shouldn’t be free. A pass is a compromise. They need not be transactional, but they should be reciprocated.
- Who bends their rules for me?
- I can’t remember the last time I broke an important rule that I have for myself, shy of one that I repeat over and over again: Never let them betray you more than once. Sometimes people are important enough to us to give them more grace than you would almost any other. Maybe one day they won’t betray you, or maybe you will begin to expect them to.
- What will I not make exceptions for? The health and well-being of the kids. Them above all else.
- If I could give myself on exception to a self-imposed rule today, it would be to … nope. Not gonna do it.
- There are no loopholes, no easy solutions to difficult problems or circumstances. There are no exceptions to this rule. It is hard and fast. Remind yourself every day. Remain steadfast always.
- Perhaps I have suppressed memories to stop the dissonance, but struggle to think of a time when I broke one of my own rules aside from that one. But that rule only harms me, never someone else.