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Overcome Obstacles Quotes

Andy Andrews Quote on Leadership and How To Properly Influence Others To Keep Moving Forward

    “It is never the duty of a leader to struggle for someone else;  a leader must encourage others to struggle and assure them that the struggles are worthwhile.  Do battle with the challenges of your present, and you will unlock the prizes of your future.”

    Andy Andrews, The Traveler’s Gift

    Beyond the Quote (219/365)

    I repeat: It is never the duty of a leader to struggle for someone else. Nor is it their duty to take the struggle away from, to suffer the pain for, or to handle challenges that someone else is facing. A leader needs to live their own life as much as the follower needs to live theirs. But even more importantly, it is the duty of the leader to lead the follower to a better place—and doing the work for them doesn’t get them there. If anything, it handicaps them and makes them more vulnerable to the future rather than more resilient.

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    Brianna Wiest Quote on The Point Of Mountains

      “One day, the mountain that is in front of you will be so far behind you, it will barely be visible in the distance. But the person you become in learning to get over it? That will stay with you forever. And that is the point of the mountain.”

      Brianna Wiest

      Beyond the Quote (142/365)

      Yesterday, two friends and I set out to do a 14 mile hike through three high peaks in the Adirondack Mountains. We knew from the get-go that it was going to be strenuous and intense at times, but that’s a part of the experience. You can’t just walk on flat ground if you want to summit a mountain. If you want the reward that comes with summiting, you have to conquer all of the challenges that come with hiking. No challenge, no reward.

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        “Whatever you’re feeling, be good to yourself. If you feel lost, be patient with yourself while you find your way. If you feel scared, be gentle with yourself while you find the strength to face your fear. If you feel hurt, be kind to yourself while you grieve and slowly heal. You can’t bully yourself into clarity, courage, or peace, and you can’t rush self-discovery or transformation. Some things simply take time, so take the pressure off and give yourself space to grow.”

        Lori Deschene

        Ryan Holiday Quote on Cultivating Mental Stillness To Succeed In Life

          “Each of us will, in our own lives, face crisis.  A business on the brink of collapse.  An acrimonious divorce.  A decision about the future of our career.  A moment where the whole game depends on us.  These situations will call upon all our mental resources.  An emotional, reactive response—an unthinking, half-baked response—will not cut it.  Not if we want to get it right.  Not if we want to perform at our best.  In these situations we must: be fully present; empty our mind of preconceptions; take our time; sit quietly and reflect; reject distraction; weight advice against the counsel of our convictions; deliberate without being paralyzed.  We must cultivate mental stillness to succeed in life and to successfully navigate the many crises it throws our way.”

          Ryan Holiday, Stillness is the Key (Page 20)

          Beyond the Quote (97/365)

          It’s a fine line between reacting and responding; between acting then thinking versus thinking then acting; between needing to make a quick decision and not wanting to wait (or not having the self-control to wait) to make a decision.  Crisis situations are going to call upon the full extent of our mental resources if we are to handle the crisis properly and in a way that is in complete alignment with our best intentions.  The challenge, of course, is that most crisis situations have a strong sense of urgency attached to them that requires a quick decision to be made.

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          Paul Hogan Quote on Dealing With A Mental Health Diagnosis

            “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

            Beyond the Quote (72/365)

            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.

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            Steve Carlton Quote on Getting Out Of Your Own Way

              “You’ve gotta find a way to get out of your own way, so you can progress in life.”

              Steve Carlton

              Beyond the Quote (63/365)

              The ideal way to go from thought to end destination is through appropriate action.  Simple enough, right?  That’s the way you bring entrepreneurial ventures from thoughts to life.  It’s how you incorporate healthy lifestyle habits into your daily routine.  It’s how go from grade school to high school to college to job to career to living your imagined lifestyle.  And it all happens through the appropriate actions that you take once the appropriate thoughts get confirmed in your head.  But, as I’m sure you’re aware, taking appropriate actions isn’t all that simple.  Before you can take an appropriate action, you have to have the appropriate thoughts in your head confirmed.  And THIS is where most everybody gets tripped up.

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                “Like weeding a garden, dealing with obstacles is an ongoing aspect of meditation.  Working with these challenges on the cushion is another way we build confidence and courage to go further.  We can be grateful for obstacles, because they push us forward in our practice.  After a while it is even possible to feel a spark of delight when we see an obstacle coming up, because we know it’s an opportunity to keep sharpening our minds.  The more obstacles we face, the more confidence we feel to deal with them.” ~ Sakyong Mipham, Turning the Mind Into An Ally (Page 86)

                  “Too often we think that if only we undo the impediments to our happiness, we can be truly happy.  But there are always more impediments, more reasons not to be happy now.  Helen chose instead to embrace the life she had.  She didn’t resent her daughter’s meddling or feel sorry for herself because she wasn’t getting married; she didn’t magnify her unmet desires by treating them as a punishment.  They were life, her life.  Impediments are the circumstances in which we find happiness.” ~ John Leland, Happiness is a Choice You Make (Page 178)

                    “Even if it were possible to permanently banish everything threatening—everything dangerous (and, therefore, everything challenging and interesting)—that would mean only that another danger would emerge: that of permanent human infantilism and absolute uselessness.  How could the nature of man ever reach its full potential without challenge and danger?  How dull and contemptible would we become if there was no longer reason to pay attention?” ~ Jordan Peterson, via 12 Rules for Life (Page 47)

                      “We know life can be hard, and yet we feel sorry for ourselves when it isn’t fair.  From this point forward, accept the following as Goggins’ laws of nature:  You will be made fun of.  You will feel insecure.  You may not be the best all the time.  You may be the only black, white, Asian, Latino, female, male, gay, lesbian, or [fill in your identity here] in a given situation.  There will be times when you feel alone.  Get over it!  Our minds are f*cking strong, they are our most powerful weapon, but we have stopped using them.” ~ David Goggins, Can’t Hurt Me

                        “Life is not going to pick us up when we fall.  There will be forks in the road, knives in your f*cking back, mountains to climb, and we are only capable of living up to the image we create for ourselves.  Prepare yourself!” ~ David Goggins, Can’t Hurt Me