“All you need is the plan, the road map, and the courage to press on to your destination.”
What typically happens when you make a trip from point A to point B is you make the plan or intention to travel. If it’s a place you’ve never been before, you follow some kind of direction–a road map. And if you continue on that direction, you will eventually arrive at your destination. Isn’t it nice to know that the same principle applies to life? This quote, by Earl Nightingale, illustrates our goals and dreams as destinations we’re trying to reach. It all begins with having the plan or desire to get there. Often that goal or dream directs us to the unknown. So we need to rely on a…
You May Also Like
“Take the attitude of a student, never be too big to ask questions, never know too much to learn something new.”
“Only put off until tomorrow what you are willing to die having left undone.”
“Winning doesn’t always mean being first. Winning means you’re doing better than you’ve done before.”
“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.
“Let your past make you better, not bitter.”
Sometimes the would have, could have, and should haves of our past can seem like a constantly growing and endless list. And each regret or unfortunate event can make us feel bitter. But what if we take every past regret and bad incident and use them to fuel our drive to make things better? This anonymous quote is a great reminder to not get bogged down by our negative past but to use the wisdom we’ve gathered from it to inspire positive change.
“Nothing in the universe can stop you from letting go and starting over.”
When an artist paints a picture, they are constantly working through mistakes. They might realize a color is slightly off, a brush stroke is too thick or in the wrong direction, or an object in the painting isn’t where they want it to be. So they adjust things–and it’s all in their power to do so. In the same way, we are the artists of our own lives. As this quote by Guy Finley reminds us, we have the power to let go and start over. And no person or thing can stop us from turning a new page, mixing new colors, and adjusting as we go. Meanwhile, we can…
You May Also Like
Living Life Poetically: Hope’s Promise
“Direction is so much more important than speed. Many are going nowhere fast.”
“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’.”
“Defeat is not the worst of failures. Not to have tried is the true failure.”
Sometimes we try at something and experience defeat. And that’s ok. According to this quote, by George Edward Woodberry, not trying at all is the worst kind of failure. Without actually doing something, we automatically fail. But that’s not all. We fail without ever knowing what could have been if we only tried. So, we will always wonder, what if. Additionally, we may not realize what could be our potential. Lastly, we may miss out on whatever life lessons a failure might teach us.
“You never fail until you stop trying.”
This anonymous quote forces us to ask ourselves at which point we can legitimately say we failed at something. The simple answer? We can only say we’ve failed when we’ve stopped working at it. When we stop trying, we put and end–a full stop–to whatever it is we’re trying to accomplish. Technically, that’s when it fails. So, if there’s something you really want that you feel has failed, ask yourself if you’ve stopped trying. If not, then technically it hasn’t failed. It’s still in motion.
“Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes courage is a quiet voice at the end of the day saying, ‘I will try again tomorrow.'”
This quote, by Mary Anne Radmacher, reminds us that sometimes the most courageous thing we can do is hope. Courage isn’t always loud, bold, and obvious. Sometimes it’s just that quiet voice from within that tells us to keep going when we want to give up–to try again tomorrow. That too is courage.
“If beautiful lilies bloom in ugly waters, you too can blossom in ugly situations.”
Water lilies tend to grow in shallow, marshy waters where there’s little to no current. You might see them at the edge of a lake, a part of a river that branches out, or on water that’s backed up due to some kind of barrier, like a dam. Let’s just say, the water isn’t the most pretty and the location isn’t prime real estate. But that’s where beautiful lilies grow best. This quote, by the philosopher and writer Matshona Dhliwayo, reminds us that the same situation can apply to people. We are capable of experiencing the most beautiful growth from ugly situations. We blossom into a stronger, wiser, and more…
“No great thing is created suddenly.”
Sometimes the best things in life take the most time. Unless genies in the bottle are real, great things usually don’t happen suddenly or even over night. This quote, by the philosopher Epictetus, is about acknowledging this fact. So big dreams–big goals–they may take time, and that’s okay.
“Have enough courage to start and enough heart to finish.”
Starting something–especially starting something new–takes courage. It’s not easy to venture into the unknown or do something that you don’t know what will be the outcome. This quote, by Jessica N.S. Yourko, reminds us that starting something can be a courageous act. But it’s only the first step. Once we do start that thing, it’s easy to lose momentum and motivation. There’re so many great work out there that will never see the light of day because they were started and not completed. Finishing takes grit and perseverance. So next time you start something, first be proud of the courage it took, but also begin to mentally prepare yourself to…
