Excerpt: …Bored? Instead of running from boredom, you should learn how to embrace it. Read our 25 quotes on being bored and find out why.
“Loneliness can be quelled quickly as we develop the most important relationship we have in our lives: the one with ourselves. Leaving the pack and going off script may reduce the number of people we have around us and limit the number of activities we participate in with others, but it’ll save us years of spinning our wheels finding no fulfillment in a cookie-cutter life. People every day choose the red pill and embrace the discomforts that come with straying from the norm. Spending time with other people who devote their lives to self-discovery will only enhance how far you can take your journey. We are a vast and endless universe.” ~ Humble the Poet, Things No One Else Can Teach Us (Page 87)
“To live is to deal with challenges and setbacks. No one is immune to the bullshit life flings our way; but our actions can make that bullshit better or worse. If you look back at your life, the biggest lessons you learned didn’t come from a Tumblr quote or celebrity PSA; they came from harsh reality checks when the shit hit the fan. That process isn’t going to get any more enjoyable as you grow, but if you anticipate the learning, then the moments you have in life end up being that much more enriched.” ~ Humble the Poet, Things No One Else Can Teach Us (Page 84)
“None of us knows how strong we are until being strong is the only option we have left. We spend so much of our lives avoiding discomfort that we don’t realize that in those uncomfortable situations, our best selves emerge.” ~ Humble the Poet, Things No One Else Can Teach Us (Page 63)
“The world doesn’t stop for our tragedies; it keeps moving, and we have to keep moving with it. Stop handling your tragedies like a child, and deal with them like an adult. Adults show up for work, children stay in bed.” ~ Humble the Poet, Things No One Else Can Teach Us (Page 62)
“You can’t be yourself if you don’t know who you are. So how do you know who you are? Everyone is a gooey batter of both nature and nurture, and every time shit hits the fan in our lives, we have an opportunity to get to know ourselves a bit better. It’s an exhausting experience, but it’s enriching. We learn about ourselves through all of our interactions with the world, both good and bad. So with everything you do, think about how it shapes who you are, and think about how who you are shapes your experience of everything you do.” ~ Humble the Poet, Things No One Else Can Teach Us (Page 57)
“At the end of the day, you can either focus on what’s tearing you apart, or what’s holding you together.”
Rob Dyer
There is a lot happening right now that can make us feel like we’re being torn apart. With the threat and spread of the Coronavirus (COVID-19), there is more and more happening each day that is moving us further and further apart and into smaller and smaller groups (even into isolation). Everything from the biggest organizational gatherings in the world to the most remote meetings in our own backyard are being postponed and cancelled to prevent the spread of the virus. During this time when we are being forced apart physically, we need to find ways to continue to come together mentally and emotionally.
Read More »Rob Dyer Quote on Staying Focused On The Right Things—Things That Bring Us Together“The monotony and solitude of a quiet life stimulates the creative mind.”
Albert Einstein
In lieu of recent events, it seems as though many of us are going to be experiencing more monotony and solitude than we otherwise might have expected or wanted. And while, yes, the unknowns associated with the Coronavirus (COVID-19) are certainly nerve-wracking and have been demanding our full attention, if you find yourself in a position of isolation or solitude—rather than looking at it as a prison from exploring the outside world, why not try looking at it as an opportunity to explore the depths of your inside world?
Read More »Albert Einstein Quote on Monotony and Solitude and How It Affects Creativity“The one quick comment I would make has to do with this idea that we who live day-to-day with whatever [mental health] diagnosis we have are acting courageously or are brave to face the world. I don’t experience it as an act of courage or bravery; I experience it more as an act of defiance. When I swing my legs over the edge of the bed to face the day, what drives me is a refusal to lay back down; a defiance of the diagnosis. Defiance is often rooted in anger and I certainly feel and show that anger from time to time. People sometimes feel the anger is directed towards them—but it isn’t. Defiance is a strategy for engaging this thing. Of course defiance takes huge amounts of energy to sustain and of course, since I never actually will overcome this thing, that means that from time-to-time I need to back down; move away; rest. It’s like wrestling with a bear. Sometimes you get the bear; sometimes the bear gets you. But that’s okay, because sometimes, you get the bear.”
Paul Hogan
I do not have a mental health diagnosis and I, therefore, have never had to confront the challenges associated with having one. I have known people who have had them, my dad being one of them, and have witnessed the challenges first hand, but it has always been from the outside looking in. I know that it is an entirely different world from the outside looking in than it is from the inside looking out. But it is through our attempt to share, to the best of our ability, what the hell is going on from the inside looking out that we may ever gain insight and move forward in our own lives. After all, what is insight other than thoughts of value that are gained from peering into each other’s inner worlds? Insight is what illuminates the way.
Read More »Paul Hogan Quote on Dealing With A Mental Health Diagnosis“Sticking things out is overrated, particularly if you stick out the wrong things. In fact, I think you’d be much better off quitting most of what you do so you have the resources to get through the hard slog I call the Dip. The challenge, then, is to not quit in the Dip, but instead to quit everything else so you have the focus to get through the slog of what matters.”
Seth Godin, Whatcha Gonna Do With That Duck?
What should we stick out and what should we quit? I can tell you that the list of things we should stick out is far smaller than the list of things we should quit. And after some reflection, what you might find is that your list of things that you’ve been sticking out is WAY bigger than you might have imagined it to be and the things you SHOULD be sticking out might not even be making it to your daily to-do list at all. My instinct tells me that the follow 6 things are worth sticking out without explaination: Reading, Writing, Exercising, Meditating, Learning, and Connecting.
Read More »Seth Godin Quote on Quitting—Quitting More So You Can Focus More On What Matters [Plus 30 Things to Consider Quitting]“Winners never quit and quitters never win.” ~ Vince Lombardi
I disagree. In fact, I believe that winners actually quit more than those who lose. The difference is that they know what to quit, when to quit, how to quit, and have the courage and discipline to do so. Of course, Lombardi is likely referring to the idea that winners never quit in pursuit of their primary goal(s) in life and those who do quit in pursuit of their primary goal(s) will never win at them—this might be obvious.
Read More »Vince Lombardi Quote on How Winners Never Quit—And Why I Disagree“The decisions we can’t make with confidence end up being made for us.” ~ Humble the Poet, Things No One Else Can Teach Us (Page 56)
“All of our emotions have value, and as unpleasant as some are, they’re reminders that we’re alive and have a whole lot going on inside. Why not approach life with curiosity and wonder, instead of dread and fear. We don’t avoid movies because we know they’ll end. We enjoy the journey they take us on. Our journey is life, and no one makes it out alive; the finish is death, so let’s enjoy life while we can, with those we love, while they’re still here.” ~ Humble the Poet, Things No One Else Can Teach Us (Page 46)
“Sometimes when things feel too heavy, I ask myself, ‘Will this matter in three hundred years?’ and I think about the fact that no one I know will be around then—none of their judgments, opinions, debts, or drudges—and that I should enjoy this journey while I’m still healthy enough to do so. In three hundred years it won’t matter that I wasn’t invited to this or that event or included on this or that list or was able to connect with this or that person. It won’t matter that I showed up wearing a mustard stain on my outfit or that I didn’t proofread my text message before I hit ‘send.’ Figuring out what will matter in three hundred years will result in a much shorter list—almost next to nothing.” ~ Humble the Poet, Things No One Else Can Teach Us (Page 37)
“The way to attract good luck is to be reliable in a valuable area. The more you repeatedly deliver value, the more people seek you out for that value. Your reputation is a magnet. Once you become known for something, relevant opportunities come to you with no extra work.” ~ James Clear, Blog
“Work is finding yourself alone at the track when the weather kept everyone else indoors. Work is pushing through the pain and crappy first drafts and prototypes. It is ignoring whatever plaudits others are getting, and more importantly, ignoring whatever plaudits you may be getting. Because there is work to be done. Work doesn’t want to be good. It is made so, despite the headwind.”
Ryan Holiday, Ego is the Enemy
Why do all of this work at all? Why show up when it’s raining and cold? Why push through writing tasks when Netflix is one click away? Why keep working when you’re getting praised and approved of for what you’ve already done? Why not stay indoors, become complacent, relax, and soak in the compliments you’ve already received? …Well, because that’s not how your best work comes to life—that’s why. And that task of bringing to life your best work, may be your most important calling on this earth.
Read More »Ryan Holiday Quote on Producing Good Work—Despite The Challenges
Excerpt: Letting go of who you think you’re supposed to be and embracing who you are is hard. These quotes from The Gifts of Imperfection will help…
“Maybe life isn’t about avoiding the bruises. Maybe it’s about collecting the scars to prove we showed up for it.”
Unknown
Good judgement comes from bad judgement remembered. Bad judgement happens when we interact with the world in a way that doesn’t align with the nature of reality. The only way we can ever know if our judgement is “good” or “bad” is by interacting with the world. Reality is the judge and the jury. By avoiding reality, we avoid finding out. By not finding out, we avoid getting bruised, yes, but we also avoid the deeply felt lessons that only those bruises can ever deliver—the lessons that only reality can teach us.
Read More »Quote About Showing Up For Life—On Collecting Scars Not Avoiding Bruises
