“Change is hardest at the beginning, messiest in the middle and best at the end.”
Sometimes, change can feel abrupt. But it’s actually a process–a journey. This quote, by Robin Sharma, summarizes that process, especially when change forces us out of our comfort zone. It’s kind of similar to the process of constructing a house, doing major reorganizing, or moving from one residence to another. At first, it’s hard to get started. The task is rather daunting. As we get halfway there, things start to get messy. Halfway through, the house under construction is typically a mess. There might be exposed framework with no walls, tools and nails on the floor, a lot of dust, and a ladder in the middle of nowhere. Halfway through…
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“Understand: you are one of a kind. Your character traits are a kind of chemical mix that will never be repeated in history. There are ideas unique to you, a specific rhythm and perspective that are your strengths, not your weaknesses. You must not be afraid of your uniqueness.”
“When you stop chasing the wrong things, you give the right things a chance to catch you.”
It’s Ok to Feel Sad…for a Moment. The Truth About Unresolved Emotions
“You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backward.”
In the popular workbook activity, connect the dots, you typically look ahead to connect one dot to the next. But life is not a workbook activity. This quote, from Steve Jobs’ 2005 commencement speech at Stanford University, reminds us that, in life, you connect the dots looking backwards not forward. It’s only after some things have unfolded that we’re able to look back and see how each event is connected. Until then, we just have to trust that they will be.
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Being defeated is only a temporary condition; giving up is what makes it permanent
“Direction is so much more important than speed. Many are going nowhere fast.”
“God has perfect timing; never early, never late. It takes a little patience and it takes a lot of faith, but it’s worth the wait.”
“Embrace uncertainty. Some of the most beautiful chapters in our lives won’t have a title until much later.”
Many authors start to write a chapter without knowing what it’s going to be called. They decide that later. The same can be said of life. We don’t know what each chapter of our life will become as we’re writing (i.e. living) it. We can only look back at the pages later and define each time period. However, we often try to define our life chapters before they’re even written. But this quote, by Bob Goff, reminds us to embrace the uncertainty. We don’t have to know what our life chapters will become or what they’ll be called. And that uncertainty doesn’t necessarily forebode a terrible ending. It is actually…
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“Try a thing you haven’t done three times. Once, to get over the fear of doing it. Twice, to learn how to do it. And a third time to figure out whether you like it or not.”
Living Life Poetically: “Until We Meet Again”
“Giving up doesn’t always mean you are weak; sometimes it means that you are strong enough to let go.”
“Begin to see yourself as a soul with a body rather than a body with a soul.”
This quote, by Wayne Dyer, has a way of making us think beyond the here and now–beyond the things that may be weighing us down and beyond our physical being. We are all so much more than our occupation, physical appearance, accomplishments, and shortcomings. It’s important to take care of our body. But in addition to that, how can we take care of our soul? It’s a part of us that’s all our own. One that can never be duplicated or imitated.
PositLive Music: “Better Days”
“Better Days” Written by: Ryan Tedder, Brent Kutzle, and John Nathaniel Released: March 25, 2020 The writers of this song, including lead singer Ryan Tedder, were inspired by the COVID-19 pandemic (Source). The promise of “better days” is in the context of a global pandemic. However, the lyrics to the song can be applied to any situation in which we might feel helpless. This song is about having hope that better days will come whenever we’re faced with such situations. Select PositLive Music: Lyrical Playlist to view all playlist songs as they’re being added.Select Exploring New Ways to PositLive to read about the inspiration for PositLive Music. “Better Days” Sung…
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“You are the sum total of everything you’ve ever seen, heard, eaten, smelled, been told, forgot – it’s all there. Everything influences each of us, and because of that, I try to make sure that my experiences are positive.”
“The more you lose yourself in something bigger than yourself, the more energy you will have.”
“The things you do for yourself are gone when you are gone, but the things you do for others remain as your legacy.”
“Letting there be room for not knowing is the most important thing of all. When there’s a big disappointment, we don’t know if that’s the end of the story. It may just be the beginning of a great adventure.”
“Let there be room for not knowing.” This quote, by Pema Chödrön, is about finding comfort in not knowing. This sounds like a contradicting response to uncertainty. The typical and most natural response is anxiety and discomfort. However, not knowing can actually be the thing that takes away our sense of anxiety and discomfort. As this quote states, not knowing means we don’t know the end of the story; And what a beautiful thing that is. So when there’s a big disappointment, we don’t really know if it’s the beginning of something good. Therefore, we can replace our anxiety and discomfort in not knowing with a feeling of hope.
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“Watch your thoughts, they become your words. Watch your words, they become your actions. Watch your actions, they become your habits. Watch your habits, they become your character. Watch your character, it becomes your destiny.”
Defining “Self-Care”
Exploring New Ways to PositLive
PositLive Music: “Put Your Records On”
“Put Your Records On” Written by: Corinne Bailey Rae, John Beck, and Steve Chrisanthou Released: February 20, 2006 First and foremost, this song is about marching to the beat of your own drum. It’s about not worrying so much about what people think and putting your worries aside. Furthermore, it’s about taking chances and having faith that things will work out in the end. In the song, Corinne Bailey Rae is singing to her younger self. She’s encouraging her younger self to fully embrace who she is (Source). Therefore, the lyrics read “Girl, put your records on.” However, the general message can be given to anyone. Select PositLive Music: Lyrical…
“Pray, and let God worry.”
There’s a lot of meaning and value packed into this short quote by Martin Luther. “Pray, and let God worry”–five words and two calls to action that can be life-altering. They seem simple, however it’s easy to forget to pray–step 1. And if and when we do pray, we forget step 2. We hang on to our worry instead of handing it over to God. Together, both steps may not come naturally. They may take time to develop and become a habit. They require a lot of faith and trust that everything will eventually work out for the best. But once mastered, it becomes much easier to surmount any of…
“The only way to achieve the impossible is to believe it is possible.”
This quote is from Linda Woolverton’s screen adaptations of Alice In Wonderland. It’s said by the characters Charles Kingsleigh (2010) and Alice Kingsleigh (2016). The quote reminds us that achieving what seems impossible requires some amount of hope and faith that it can be done. Naturally, our effort is commiserate to our belief in a positive outcome. In other words, it’s hard to put in the necessary effort if we feel like our effort will be in vain. Moreover, it’s harder to persevere through difficulties. Without hope and faith, we are more likely to give up or not try at all. Therefore, our most critical step in anything that seems…
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“There are years that ask questions and years that answer.”
“You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, ‘I lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along’.”
Motivation Part 2: Increasing our Positive Motivation
“God has perfect timing; never early, never late. It takes a little patience and it takes a lot of faith, but it’s worth the wait.”
This quote (author unknown) is about recognizing that things happen at the right time according to His plan–never too early, never too late. We may not understand why things happen when they do. Only He does. We must have a little patience and a lot of faith that things will happen when they should for reasons beyond our comprehension. And when they do, it will be worth the wait.
