“A ship is safe in harbor, but that’s not what ships are for.”
A ship that’s always anchored to a harbor will have a lower chance of getting shipwrecked. But leaving it there means it will never fulfill its purpose–the reason for which it was built. While having a ship that never goes out to sea makes no sense, we’re sometimes like that ship with our life. Fear keeps us at harbor where we feel safest. Sometimes we’re there for a brief moment and sometimes indefinitely. This quote, by John A. Shedd, encourages us to find the courage to leave our harbor. Because like the ship, we wont be able to fulfill the purpose and goals written in our hearts without ever doing…
“The person who follows the crowd will usually go no further than the crowd. The person who walks alone is likely to find himself in places no one has ever seen before.”
In a marathon, the runners typically stop running at the finish line. We don’t see anyone of them deciding to run an extra mile because the finish line is simply where the race ends. This saying about following the crowd, likely by Francis Phillip Wernig (aka Alan Ashley-Pitt), is similar to the concept of ending a race at the finish line along with the rest of the runners (i.e. the crowd). The saying reminds us that until we step outside of our comfort zone and pave our own path, our path would only go so far.
“Growth is painful. Change is painful. But nothing is as painful as staying stuck somewhere you don’t belong.”
What a shame it would be if a caterpillar decided to remain in its cocoon. Fortunately, nature runs its course and a metamorphosis occurs. The caterpillar eventually emerges as a butterfly–having no choice in the matter. We too are faced with the prospect of major change. But we typically do have a choice. However, that choice is often akin to remaining in a cocoon. As we read in this quote by Mandy Hale, growth and change can be painful. But without growth and change, we’re more likely to be stuck where we don’t belong–in our cocoon. Perhaps, never allowing ourselves to experience our own metamorphosis.
Living Life Poetically: The Psychology of the Worried Mind
This is part one of a short two-part poem series looking into the psychology of the worried mind. A poem on the psychology of the calm mind will follow. “The Psychology of the Worried Mind” personifies a mind that’s worried. Put on your imagination hat for a second and imagine being able to psychoanalyze a worried mind. This poem is the result of doing just that. If you happen to be worried about something, perhaps it will give you a glimpse into your mind. Moreover, this inspection may lead to reflection, a deeper understanding, and a renewed path to peace. The Psychology of the Worried Mind The worried mind seeks…
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“Be grateful for what you already have while you pursue your goals. If you aren’t grateful for what you already have, what makes you think you would be happy with more.”
“No one is you and that is your power.”
“The things you do for yourself are gone when you are gone, but the things you do for others remain as your legacy.”
“To choose doubt as a philosophy of life is akin to choosing immobility as a means of transportation.”
When you want to physically get somewhere, you need to choose a form of transportation that’s mobile–something that moves–like a car, bike, plane, or your own two feet. You wouldn’t sit yourself on the floor and expect to go from point A to point B. Now let’s apply that same concept to when you want to get somewhere nonphysical. In other words, you want to reach a professional, mental, or health-related destination. This quote, by Yann Martel, implies that having doubt is the same as deciding to sit down on the floor expecting to reach a physical destination. The opposite of doubt, however, is faith. Faith is like the car,…
“Successful people have fear, successful people have doubts, and successful people have worries. They just don’t let these feelings stop them.”
Successful people are fearless, successful people act without hesitation, and successful people have no worries. Each one of these statements is false. However, we tend to subconsciously assume they’re fact. This quote, by T. Harv Eker, reminds us that our idea about successful people are most often wrong. They do have worries, doubts, and fear. Yet they forge ahead in spite of these feelings. If you’re waiting for these feelings to go away as a prerequisite for success, then you may find yourself waiting indefinitely, and you may find success always out of reach.
“Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear.”
It’s easy to assume people who show courage aren’t afraid–that they lack fear. But that couldn’t be further from the truth. There’s fear in all of us, and this quote, by Mark Twain, reminds us that fear is not necessarily absent in the midst of courage. It’s there. However, what is also present is a resistance to or mastery of fear. This means overcoming fear with faith (resistance) or using it as fuel (mastery) or both. So courage doesn’t absolve all fear but, in a way, it can be created and strengthened by it. It doesn’t have to be about choosing one or the other but deciding how we redirect…
“If you hear a voice within you say ‘you cannot paint,’ then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced.”
We all have that voice inside our head that says we can’t do something. And so we don’t do it, which only proves the voice in our head was right. This quote, by Vincent Van Gogh, is about silencing that voice the best way we can–by doing the thing it says we can’t. “If you hear a voice within you say ‘you cannot paint,’ then by all means paint.” By simply doing that thing, we literally invalidate the word can’t. And that is just the first step. Once we do that thing, we may get to do it well.
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“If you’re doing something outside of dominant culture, there’s not an easy place for you. You will have to do it yourself.”
“Take action. An inch of movement will bring you closer to your goals than a mile of intention.”
Anxiety Part 1: Is it Stress or Anxiety? Why You Should Know the Difference
“A bend in the road is not the end of the road…Unless you fail to make the turn.”
Life is full of twists and turns, which can make it difficult to stay on course when you have a one-track mind. Having a one-track mind is like constantly going straight and never bending the wheel. This quote, by Helen Keller, reminds us that without making the turn–being willing to embrace change–we’ll inevitably crash. So what if we embrace change? What if we choose to round the corner? Who knows where we might find ourselves and what new direction the road will lead.
“The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity.”
This quote, by Ameilia Earhart, reminds us that when we’re faced with something scary, the hardest part of it is usually deciding to face it. To act. So often, we avoid facing this decision altogether. Unfortunately, the longer we don’t decide to act, the further that action drifts away from happening. We must be reminded that the actual act (outside of a decision) may not be easy. It will take tenacity. However, once we do make up our mind, it has an effect. It can give us a dose of strength and courage amid fear and uncertainty, which we won’t discover until our decision to act is made.
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“I cannot give you the formula for success, but I can give you the formula for failure–which is: Try to please everybody.”
“People are like stained-glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in their true beauty is revealed only if there is light from within.”
“Focus on being productive instead of busy.”
