“If Opportunity doesn’t Knock, Build a Door.”
Sometimes opportunities present themselves right at your feet, and all you have to do is take a small step forward. Better yet, the opportunities come knocking at your door, and you only have to invite them in. This is ideal. However, it’s not always the case. This quote, by Milton Berle, is for the many times opportunities do not come knocking. Building a door means finding an alternate route or creating that opportunity. It may mean a leap of faith. Who knows where that new door you build might lead.
“So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.”
This quotation is from 2 Corinthians 4 verse 16. It’s a great reminder that we are more than our outer and physical selves. We may show visible signs of age, become weaker and slower over time, or become injured. That is part of life; and it shouldn’t make us lose heart. Because while all these things are taking place, there is another part of ourselves that is being renewed each day. It’s a part we don’t see and may not feel; but it’s the essence of who we are–our inner selves–our souls. At the end of the day, the constant renewal of our inner selves is what really matters. So,…
“Doubt kills more dreams than failure ever will.”
Think about all the things you’ve dreamt of doing but your doubts stood in the way. You didn’t think you could do these things so you never tried or you quickly gave up on them. Therefore, each doubt resulted in an unfulfilled dream. This quote, by Suzy Kassem, brings to light the fact that we have more to lose in doubt than we do in failure. At least with failure we learn from our mistakes, and what we learn sets us up for success later. However, with doubt, we either don’t take the first step or we quickly give up before we’re half-way there. Hence, trying and failing is much…
“It’s never too late to be what you might have been.”
This (possibly anonymous) quote is often attributed to the novelist and poet, Mary Ann Evans, who went by the pen name, George Eliot. However, there is no substantial evidence that she said or wrote these words. Nevertheless, these words were fortunately recorded by someone. Therefore, they continue to serve as inspiration. “It’s never too late to be what you might have been,” speaks to our untapped potential–our “dreams deferred”–our fading hopes. Being the best at whatever that thing we wish we could have been is a great ambition to have. However, that is not the point. What matters here is that we do whatever it is while we can. Because…
“Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.”
To truly apply this quote by Mahatma Gandhi, you first have to reflect on what it means for a person to live as if they were to die tomorrow and what it means for them to learn as if they were to live forever. Unfortunately, many people switch the words “tomorrow” and “forever”. As a result, they do the exact opposite of this quote. They live as if they were to live forever (not appreciating each day) and learn as if they were to die tomorrow (finding no need to learn anything new). However, this quote is about not taking a single day for granted and living life to the…
“If you spend your whole life waiting for the storm, you’ll never enjoy the sunshine.”
This quote, by Morris West, is about always anticipating the worst. But always having a mindset that something’s about to go wrong is like always “waiting for the storm.” In the meantime, we don’t enjoy the sunshine now. So when there is no storm and things are good, let’s not waste the sunshine worrying that something bad is about to happen. In doing so, the things that should make us happy now are either ignored or overshadowed with worry. Let’s do our best to enjoy the sunshine when it comes. And when there is a storm, let’s learn to “dance in the rain.”
“When it is obvious that goals can’t be reached, don’t adjust the goals, but adjust the action steps.”
Sometimes it becomes evident that a goal can’t be reached, or it’s so far out of reach that it’s nearly impossible. Perhaps it’s due to constraints in time, finance, or health. What we normally do in these types of situations is change the goal or make it smaller. But sometimes it’s possible to rethink the path we take to the goal. This quote, by Confucius, reminds us that we may be going about our goal the wrong way. So before changing it, we can try one more thing: adjust the action steps.
“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”
This quote is from Matthew 6 verse 34. It’s part of a longer passage about worry that begins at verse 25. In the longer passage, it talks about worrying about acquiring material possessions such as food and shelter. It compares our worry about these things to birds, who also need these things to survive but are much more carefree. However, they manage to acquire these necessities each day. Their creator, God, knows what they need and makes sure those things are provided to them. Yes, we’re not birds, we’re humans. And unlike the birds, we have bills to pay and various financial constraints and obligations, especially in today’s world. But…
“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”
The third Monday in January is Martin Luther King Jr. Day, honoring the great civil rights leader, Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. On such a day and in such dark times in America, it’s fitting to reflect on this quote by King. The full quote from his book, Strength to Love, is as follows: “Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. Hate multiplies hate, violence multiplies violence, and toughness multiplies toughness in a descending spiral of destruction.” On this day, let’s…
“Be happy for this moment. This moment is your life.”
So you’ve resolved to be “happier,” but it seems like a daunting task. This quote, by Omar Khayyam, reminds us that our life is composed of moments in time. We move from one moment to another; and together, those moments make up our life. Therefore, if we can concentrate on being happier for each moment, we’ll find that being happier, in general, is achievable. We’ll find that the more we practice this with each moment, the easier it gets. Moreover, the more moments of happiness we can find, the happier our life can become overall. Consider the following questions: Are you living in the moment? How can you make the…
