Skip to content

The Dalai Lama on Patience and How Maintaining Emotional Balance is a Sign Of Strength

    “Many people think that patience is a sign of weakness. I think this is a mistake. It is anger that is a sign of weakness, whereas patience is a sign of strength.”

    The Dalai Lama

    Beyond the Quote (279/365)

    Patience is a sign of a strong, well controlled inner emotional climate. A climate that can be maintained independently of what’s happening on the outside. A climate that can be controlled, manipulated, and adjusted only by the person themself. A climate that nobody else can control, manipulate, or adjust even if they wanted or tried to. It is a sign of strength, self-understanding, and balance. But how to get there?

    Read More »The Dalai Lama on Patience and How Maintaining Emotional Balance is a Sign Of Strength

    Ruth Bader Ginsburg Quote on Intentionally Being A Little Deaf Towards Thoughtless Or Unkind Words

      Ruth Bader Ginsburg Quote on Intentionally Being A Little Deaf Towards Thoughtless Or Unkind Words

      “Another often-asked question when I speak in public: ‘Do you have some good advice you might share with us?‘ Yes, I do. It comes from my savvy mother-in-law, advice she gave me on my wedding day. ‘In every good marriage,’ she counseled, ‘it helps sometimes to be a little deaf.’ I have followed that advice assiduously, and not only at home through fifty-six years of a marital partnership nonpareil. I have employed it as well in every workplace, including the Supreme Court of the United States. When a thoughtless or unkind word is spoken, best tune out. Reacting in anger or annoyance will not advance one’s ability to persuade.”

      Ruth Bader Ginsburg, My Own Words

      Beyond the Quote (260/365)

      In every relationship in life, I think it helps to be a little deaf. And I, nor RBG, mean this in a demeaning, belittling, dismissive way for the other person. We mean it in a self-loving kind of way. We choose to be a little deaf towards the thoughtless and unkind types of remarks. The remarks that are not backed by thought, but are rather reactive, emotional, and are lacking of reason or fact. The remarks that do not serve the higher purpose of advancing the argument, but rather attack the person and are derogatory or unkind in nature. Those are the types of thoughts that should fall on deaf ears.

      Read More »Ruth Bader Ginsburg Quote on Intentionally Being A Little Deaf Towards Thoughtless Or Unkind Words

        “My mother was very strong about my doing well in school and living up to my potential. Two things were important to her and she repeated them endlessly. One was to ‘be a lady,’ and that meant conduct yourself civilly, don’t let emotions like anger or envy get in your way. And the other was to be independent, which was an unusual message for mothers of that time to be giving their daughters.”

        Ruth Bader Ginsburg, My Own Words

        Henry Longfellow Quote on Rain and What The Best Thing To Do When It’s Raining Is…

          “For after all, the best thing one can do when it is raining, is to let it rain.”

          Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

          Beyond the Quote (259/365)

          You can curse the clouds. Yell at the wind. Blame the rain for ruining your day. You can close your blinds and hide under your blankets. You can turn the TV up real loud so you don’t hear the thunder. You can even browse some “sunny 70” exotic destination locations on IG. But, whether you confront the rain with anger and hostility or dig your head into the pit of your couch and pretend like it doesn’t exist, one thing is for sure—it’s going to keep on raining.

          Read More »Henry Longfellow Quote on Rain and What The Best Thing To Do When It’s Raining Is…

          Quote from The New Mutants Movie on the Two Bears Inside (and How To Control The Evil Bear In You)

            Quote from The New Mutants Movie on the Two Bears Inside and How To Control The Evil Bear In You

            Excerpt: ‘Inside every person there are two bears, forever locked in combat for your soul. One bear is all things good, compassion, love, trust. The other is all things evil, fear, shame, and self-destruction.’ — This quote from The New Mutants Movie lays the foundation for a deeper discussion about what’s going on inside of ourselves. Enjoy!

            Read More »Quote from The New Mutants Movie on the Two Bears Inside (and How To Control The Evil Bear In You)

            Humble the Poet Quote on Emotional Intelligence and How To Deal With “Less Desirable” Emotions

              “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.”

              Humble the Poet, Things No One Else Can Teach Us (Page 46)

              Beyond the Quote (237/365)

              Emotions are a signal of the state of your being. Many people categorize emotions as being either “positive” or “negative.” I think this is a dangerous practice that can lead you to suppress, ignore, invalidate, or even deny very valid signals from your body. Better to look at some emotions as being more desirable than others. States of happiness, excitement, enthusiasm, and joy, of course, are typically more desirable than sadness, anxiousness, or anger. But, don’t get it twisted. Sadness, anxiety, or anger are not “negative” emotions, per se.

              Read More »Humble the Poet Quote on Emotional Intelligence and How To Deal With “Less Desirable” Emotions

              Kobe Bryant Quote on Keeping Calm and Centered in Basketball and in Life

                “The game is full of ebbs and flows—the good, the bad, and everything in between. With all that was going on around me, I had to figure out how to steel my mind and keep calm and centered. That’s not to say my emotions didn’t spike or drop here or there, but I was aware enough to recalibrate and bring them back level before things spiraled. I could do that in a way others couldn’t, and that was really key for me.”

                Kobe Bryant, Mamba Mentality (Page 175)

                Beyond the Quote (226/365)

                And so it is for life, eh? The game of life is full of ebbs and flows—the good, the bad, and everything in between. I think 2020 highlights that in more intense ways than in many years of recent past—especially for Kobe—may he rest in peace. And while it’s natural to hope that things go back to “normal” and that the ebbs and flows “level out” so that they may be more easily managed—it would be unrealistic and naive to expect it to actually happen. The ebbs will continue to ebb and the flows will continue to flow, like they always have and like they always will. So, what then are we to do?

                Read More »Kobe Bryant Quote on Keeping Calm and Centered in Basketball and in Life

                Eckhart Tolle Quote on Feeling Small and How To See Yourself Differently

                  “If small things have the power to disturb you, then who you think you are is exactly that: small.”

                  Eckhart Tolle

                  Beyond the Quote (211/365)

                  A pebble on the ground will be disturbed by just about anything that crosses its path. It’s too small to stand its ground. Everything from the kicks of a person’s shoe, to the rain the gathers and runs across the ground, to the wind, even, as it gusts up in minor blows, will all affect it. It is in the nature of the pebble to be moved and affected by forces larger than it.

                  Read More »Eckhart Tolle Quote on Feeling Small and How To See Yourself Differently

                  Richard Carlson Quote on Dealing With Bad Moods

                    “When you’re in an ill mood, learn to pass it off as simply that: an unavoidable human condition that will pass with time, if you leave it alone. A low mood is not the time to analyze your life.”

                    Richard Carlson, Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff

                    Beyond the Quote (179/365)

                    And yet, low moods seem to draw out of us those very thoughts about our lives don’t they? It isn’t when we’re in a good mood that we decide to sit down and analyze our lives. When things are good—things are good! What’s there to analyze? You’re moving fluidly from one moment to the next and joyfully embracing the wonders of the world around you. When you’re in a good mood you’re laughing, dancing, singing, playful, excited, and warm. There’s nothing to diagnose and there’s nothing to fix—and so on with the good mood momentum we go!

                    Read More »Richard Carlson Quote on Dealing With Bad Moods

                      “Nobody chooses dysfunction, conflict, pain. Nobody chooses insanity. They happen because there is not enough presence in you to dissolve the past, not enough light to dispel the darkness. You are not fully here. You have not quite woken up yet. In the meantime, the conditioned mind is running your life.”

                      Eckhart Tolle, The Power of Now (Page 228)

                        “When you deny emotional pain, everything you do or think as well as your relationships become contaminated with it. You broadcast it, so to speak, as the energy you emanate, and others will pick it up subliminally. If they are unconscious, they may even feel compelled to attack or hurt you in some way, or you may hurt them in an unconscious projection of your pain. You attract and manifest whatever corresponds to your inner state.”

                        Eckhart Tolle, The Power of Now (Page 222)

                        Elisabeth Kübler-Ross Quote on Revealing Inner Beauty When The Darkness Sets In

                          “People are like stained-glass windows.  They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in, their beauty is revealed only if there is a light from within.”

                          Elisabeth Kübler-Ross

                          Beyond the Quote (156/365)

                          Matching your moods to the weather of the day is easy—happy when it’s sunny, gloomy when it’s overcast. It’s a very natural response to the sort of feelings each type of weather encourages. How could you not be in a better mood when the sun is shining bright versus when it’s dark and gloomy? And so it is for most of us. But, what if you didn’t have to be in a dark and gloomy mood when it was dark and gloomy outside? What if you could learn to maintain a peak state that was independent of the weather? This is the art of nurturing the light within.

                          Read More »Elisabeth Kübler-Ross Quote on Revealing Inner Beauty When The Darkness Sets In

                          Miyamoto Musashi Quote on Making The Warrior Walk Your Everyday Walk and Living With Balance

                            “One must make the warrior walk his everyday walk.”

                            Miyamoto Musashi

                            Beyond the Quote (126/365)

                            One concept that gets focused on intensely in Martial Arts training is balance. Having good physical balance is important, of course, as you need to be able to kick, punch, and block without falling down or getting tripped up in poor technique. But, balance runs much deeper than just the obvious ability to execute moves without falling. In order to perform optimally in self-defense situations and, more importantly, in life situations as a Martial Artist, we need to be balanced physically, mentally, and emotionally.

                            Read More »Miyamoto Musashi Quote on Making The Warrior Walk Your Everyday Walk and Living With Balance

                              “People who are driven by anger are not happy. They are not still. They get in their own way. They shorten legacies and short-circuit their goals. The Buddhists believed that anger was a kind of tiger within us, one whose claws tear at the body that houses it. To have a chance at stillness—and clear thinking and big-picture view that defines it—we need to tame that tiger before it kills us. We have to beware of desire, but conquer anger, because anger hurts not just ourselves but many other people as well.”

                              Ryan Holiday, Stillness is the Key (Page 155)

                                “Anger is counterproductive. The flash of rage here, an outburst at the incompetence around us there—this may generate a moment of raw motivation or even a feeling of relief, but we rarely tally up the frustration they cause down the road. Even if we apologize or the good we do outweighs the harm, damage remains—and consequences follow. The person we yelled at is now an enemy. The drawer we broke in a fit is now a constant annoyance. The high blood pressure, the overworked heart, inching us closer to the attack that will put us in the hospital or the grave.”

                                Ryan Holiday, Stillness is the Key (Page 154)

                                Osho Quote on Sadness and How To Relax Into It, Change Its Form, and Look Deeper Into It

                                  “Whenever you feel sad, sit by the side of a tree, by the side of the river, by the side of a rock, and just relax into your sadness without any fear.  The more you relax, the more you will become acquainted with the beauties of sadness.  Then sadness will start changing its form; it will become a silent joy, uncaused by anybody outside you.  That will not be shallow happiness, which can be taken away very easily.  And getting deeper into your aloneness, one day you will find not only joy – joy is only midway.  Happiness is very superficial, depends on others; joy is in the middles, does not depend on anyone.  But going deeper you will come to the state of bliss – that’s what I call enlightenment.”

                                  Osho, Love, Freedom, Alonenss: The Koan of Relationships

                                  Beyond the Quote (93/365)

                                  Whenever you are feeling a deep emotion—sit with it.  Do not rush to do anything else.  Do not turn on the TV; do not turn on a podcast; do not log into your social media accounts; do not pour a glass of wine; do not conduct busywork; do not go shopping; do not experiment with drugs; do not call your ex.  Just, sit with it.

                                  Read More »Osho Quote on Sadness and How To Relax Into It, Change Its Form, and Look Deeper Into It