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Russell Brand Quote on Pain and How It’s A Signal To Be Addressed; Not A Problem To Be Ignored

    “Pain is a signal, it’s some aspect of us that’s beyond our somewhat narrow conception of ‘self,’ communicating. A pain in the leg means ‘don’t put pressure on this leg’; a pain in the mind means ‘change the way you live.'”

    Russell Brand, Recovery (Page 28)

    Beyond the Quote (Day 402)

    Imagine the chaos that would ensue if we didn’t follow the signals of the world. If we ignored traffic signals; disregarded conversational signals; paid no mind to vehicular signals. The world would be a much scarier, dangerous, and erratic place. It would skyrocket fear, confusion, and anxiety—and rightfully so! The signals of our world are in place to serve as an antidote to chaos. To provide a sense of order, certainty, and security. And what most people don’t realize is that our inner worlds have a signal system in place all the same and for the very same reasons.

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    Meaning of the Quote: “Where There’s Hardship, There’s Ease”

      “Where there’s hardship, there’s ease.”

      Quran

      Beyond the Quote (Day 378)

      At first glance, this statement seems like a contradiction. Where there’s hardship—tension, angst, and unease, seem to be the more appropriate pairings, wouldn’t you think? And while, yes, those tend to be the default feelings in response to hardship, they certainly aren’t the mandatory responses. In fact, there are no mandatory responses to any situation in life. It’s one of the few things that is actually 100% within our control—how we choose to respond to given situations. This becomes increasingly evident when you see someone masterfully navigate hard situations with ease and grace.

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      Brandon Stanton Quote on Connection and How We Connect Through Struggles More Than Victories

        “Our struggles connect us. We relate to the challenges of other people much more than we relate to their victories. We empathize with pain much more than joy. The moment we truly see ourselves in another person is when we realize that we’ve felt the exact same pain.”

        Brandon Stanton, Humans (Page 278)

        Beyond the Quote (351/365)

        This is the oversight with always wanting to show off. It might make people envy you, but it doesn’t allow people to easily connect with you. If anything, it creates a larger disconnect between where they are and where you portray yourself to be. As Brandon points out above, it’s our struggles that connect us, not our victories.

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          “Despite having interviewed thousands of people, I still learn something new from each person I meet. Everyone has a unique expertise. The quickest way to find a person’s expertise is by learning their struggle. What they’ve battled. What they’ve carried with them the longest. Because it’s what they’ve thought about the most.”

          Brandon Stanton, Humans (Page 278)

            “There’s an old cliché that ‘everyone has a story,’ but there’s a reason it’s a cliché. Every person has a story because everyone has a struggle. The heart of a story is the struggle—the obstacle that has been faced, and hopefully overcome. It can be an obvious physical feat, like climbing a mountain or rescuing someone from drowning. It can be a mental battle: like depression, or addiction, or schizophrenia. It can be comedic or tragic. But none of these particular elements are the reason that struggles are crucial to a story. Struggles are crucial because they’re transformative. Struggles change people. And a well-told story merely follows the arc of that transformation.”

            Brandon Stanton, Humans (Page 277)

              “You can change it, you can accept it, or you can leave it. What is not a good option is to sit around wishing you would change it but not changing it, wishing you would leave it but not leaving it, and not accepting it. It’s that struggle, that aversion, that is responsible for most of our misery. The phrase that I use the most to myself in my head is one word: accept.”

              Naval Ravikant, Medium

              Chadwick Boseman Quote on Struggles and How they Shape You For Your Purpose

                “The struggles along the way are only meant to shape you for your purpose.”

                Chadwick Boseman

                Beyond the Quote (239/365)

                Chadwick Boseman, the iconic “Black Panther” star, has died at age 43 after a 4-year battle with colon cancer. He was diagnosed with stage III colon cancer in 2016, battled it until it progressed to stage IV, and up until it ended up taking his life here in 2020. And like so many others, I knew nothing about his cancer or that he was even sick at all.

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                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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                  Iain Thomas Quote on What To Do When The World Is Wearing You Down

                    “The world will always wear you down, so let it wear you down until only the good remains.  Hold on to the incredible parts of you that survive.”

                    Iain Thomas, Every Word You Cannot Say (Page 93)

                    Beyond the Quote (180/365)

                    The world will always be this way. Life will continue to be relentless and will certainly try to wear you down. So, let it. If you can’t control the world, why bother trying to control it? Don’t resist what happens. Don’t resist what is. Let life send its blessings your way and let life send its storms, too. If the world is going to wear you down, let it wear down the worst parts of you. Don’t let it break down what’s beautiful. Don’t let it harden you up. Don’t let it steal away your vulnerability. Hold on to the parts of you that make you proud to be you. Hold on to hope and love and beauty and joy and gratitude and individuality. And let the storms wear down and wash away what’s faulty, unnecessary, and not you.

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                    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!

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                      Clay Jensen Quote on Choosing To Live and To Keep Moving, Whatever Happens.

                        “Whatever happens, keep moving. Get through it. Choose to live. ‘Cause even on the worst day, there are people who love you. There’s new music waiting for you to hear; something you haven’t seen before that will blow your mind in the best way. Even on the worst day, life is a pretty spectacular thing.”

                        Clay Jensen, Graduation Speech, 13 Reasons Why (Season 4)

                        Beyond the Quote (173/365)

                        If you’re going through hell… keep going. I mean, why would you want to stay in hell? Not moving doesn’t seem like an option when hell is where you find yourself—so don’t fool yourself if you’re in some kind of hellish reality. Keep moving. Whatever happens. No matter how hard things get. Keep moving forward in some kind of direction that’s going to take you away from where you are and out of the hell that you might find yourself in. What’s the alternative?

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