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Scilla Elworthy Quote on Controlling Anger (Rather Than Letting It Control You)

    “Anger is like gasoline.  If you spray it around and somebody lights a match you’ve got an inferno.  [But] if we can put our anger inside an engine, it can drive us forward.”

    Scilla Elworthy

    Beyond the Quote (Day 9)

    I got really angry tonight.  In an effort to save your time (and save myself from getting worked up again) I’ll spare you the details.  Long story short I’m experiencing really frustrating car issues and really frustrating customer service.

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    James Clear Quote on The Importance Of Systems For Success

      “You do not rise to the level of your goals.  You fall to the level of your systems.”

      James Clear, Atomic Habits

      Beyond the Quote (Day 8)

      Before the start of every competition, it’s safe to assume that every competitor has the same goal—to win.  And yet, not all of them do—only one person wins.  Is it the case that the person who wins has a bigger desire to win than the rest? Possibly, but not indefinitely. It is certainly the case that people with greater desires to win have lost. Size of desire, in and of itself, is not the difference maker in winning and losing. So, what is?

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      David Bowie on Aging Being An Extraordinary Process

        “Aging is an extraordinary process whereby you become the person you always should have been.”

        David Bowie via Happiness is a Choice You Make

        Beyond the Quote (Day 7)

        It must have been around my mom’s 50th birthday when I asked her, like any good kid would on their parent’s birthday, how it felt to be so old.  Expecting an uproar of mixed emotions and frustration, I was surprised when she rebutted calmly that for her, each decade has gotten better than the last—and that she was… Excited!  Not quite your everyday answer.  She explained that while youth has its perks, age brings with it insight and wisdom that allows you to connect more deeply with who you are and what your purpose might be—which, for her, has been the most valued experience of life overall.

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        Leo Babauta Quote on Not Making Exceptions—Ever

          “Exceptions lead to more exceptions. It’s really easy to justify not doing [a] new habit (or doing an old habit you’re trying to quit) by saying, ‘Just one time won’t hurt.’ Except that it will, because now you think it’s OK to make exceptions. And now you don’t really trust yourself to stick to your promise to yourself. It’s much more effective to not make exceptions — catch yourself if you’re thinking about it and trying to justify it, and remember your motivations. When I quit smoking, I told myself Not One Puff Ever (NOPE).”

          Leo Babauta, Zen Habits

          Beyond the Quote (Day 6)

          The habit changes that I have had the most success with incorporating into my lifestyle have been the ones that I have been the most strict with myself about.  When I started drinking coffee black, I told myself No Cream or Sugar Ever.  When I cut out donuts from my diet, I told myself Not One Bite Ever.  When I stopped drinking alcohol, I told myself Not One Sip Ever.  When I committed to going vegan, I told myself No Meat or Dairy Ever.  Like Babauta, I made sure there were no exceptions or ‘gray-areas’ to these habit changes—and while that might sound harsh and intense, I actually feel like it made the habit change process easier.

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          Iain Thomas Quote on How The World Becomes Better

            “Let me tell you how the world becomes better.  The world becomes better when good people like you look at themselves and decide what kind of life they want to live, and what they’re willing to do to make it that way.  This does not mean you need to fight more.  It means you need to find ways to fight less.  Sometimes, our immediate response to the way the world is, is anger, and the world is the way it is, because sometimes our immediate response to it is, anger.”

            Iain Thomas, Every Word you Cannot Say (Page 30)

            Beyond the Quote (Day 5)

            The way to peace, is peace.  The way to war, is war.  Peace, is not a means to the outcome of war.  War, is not a means to the outcome of peace.  Peace is the way.

            The way to happiness, is happiness.  The way to anger, is anger.  Happiness is not a means to the outcome of anger.  Anger, is not a means to the outcome of happiness.  Happiness is the way.

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            Stephen Cope Quote on Being Yourself and How You Can’t Be Anyone You Want To Be

              “You cannot be anyone you want to be.  Your one and only shot at a fulfilled life is being yourself—whoever that is.  Furthermore, at a certain age it finally dawns on us that, shockingly, no one really cares what we’re doing with our life.  This is a most unsettling discovery to those of us who have lived someone else’s dream and eschewed our own: No one really cares except us.  When you scratch the surface, you finally discover that it doesn’t really matter a whit who else you disappoint if you’re disappointing yourself.  The only question that makes sense to ask is: Is your life working for you?”

              Stephen Cope, The Great Work Of Your Life

              Beyond the Quote (Day 4)

              If your life isn’t working for you, then who is it working for?  Are you working to please yourself or someone else? Are you fulfilling dreams that are uniquely your own or dreams that were bestowed upon you by your parents? Do you feel a sense of growth and contribution when you work or do you feel a sense of dread and purposelessness?

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              Proverb About Small Steps Versus Giant Leaps and Having An ‘All-Or-Something’ Mindset

                “It is better to make many small steps in the right direction than to make a great leap forward only to stumble backward.”

                Proverb

                Beyond the Quote (Day 3)

                When it comes to following through with new goals or resolutions, don’t be an all-or-nothing; be an all-or-something.  An all-or-nothing is the type of person who is either all-in or all-out.  Either everything they planned is unfolding perfectly and is being executed flawlessly, or it’s not and they place blame, come up with excuses, and quit.

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