“The strongest people are not those who show strength in front of the world but those who fight and win battles that others do not know anything about.”
This quote comes from author, filmmaker, and mental health advocate, Jonathan Harnisch, and it’s from his book,The Brutal Truth. It reminds us that we don’t always know what someone is going through. Not everyone likes to broadcast the struggles they’re facing and overcoming. To the world, those who do are seen as strong and regarded with high esteem. Meanwhile, those fighting battles we don’t know about may be considered weaker in comparison. But we have to be mindful that they too are battling their own demons and challenges. And it’s through that awareness that our empathy grows toward those who are loud about their battles as well as those who…
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“Happiness is not something ready-made. It comes from your own actions.”
“Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less.”
“There is neither happiness nor misery in the world; there is only the comparison of one state with another, nothing more. He who has felt the deepest grief is best able to experience supreme happiness.”
“Weaknesses are just strengths in the wrong environment.”
We usually beat ourselves up for our weaknesses. Meanwhile, we celebrate our strengths. But what if we’re able to celebrate our weaknesses just as much as we celebrate what we’re good at? This quote, by Marianne Cantwell, challenges us to stop referring to our weaknesses as such. We can actually think of them as strengths. Things we may conventionally consider a weakness, like being slow, loud, soft spoken, spontaneous, or overly caution are not bad in and of themselves. They just need to be placed in an environment where they are valuable traits. So we can stop beating ourselves up for our weaknesses and know that it’s all a matter…
“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’.”
This quote, by Eleanor Roosevelt, is simple. It’s about the strength, courage, and confidence we gain whenever we face our fears. Each time we face our fears, we are emboldened to face the next one because we aren’t the same person we were. Something in us changes, and we face new challenges at a higher level than before.
H.O.P.E. = Hold On. Pain Ends.
Hold on. Pain Ends. This acronym for the word hope is also such a great definition of what it means to have hope. Having hope means having faith that whatever difficulties or challenges you’re going through now will eventually end. But holding on is not easy at times. We naturally get impatient and feel like we cant hang in there much longer. However, just the mere understanding that the pain will end–or at least diminish–makes it easier to hold on. So next time you feel completely hopeless, remember to hold on. There is always a light at the end of the tunnel.
“The same boiling water that softens the potato hardens the egg. It’s what you’re made of. Not the circumstances.”
It’s interesting to note that boiling water can both soften a potato and harden an egg. If we think of the boiling water as challenges in life, then those challenges can either make us weaker (soften us) or make us stronger (harden us). This anonymous quote reminds us that the same boiling water–same circumstances–can have different effects. In other words, the circumstances are not what automatically determine our outcome. It all depends what we’re made of. It depends on the composition of our mind, body, and soul.
“Giving up doesn’t always mean you are weak; sometimes it means that you are strong enough to let go.”
In life, we’re conditioned to believe that giving up is a sign of weakness. If you’re giving up on something, it must automatically mean you’re not capable or strong enough to do that thing. However, this quote, from the book Crossing Tinker’s Knob by Inglath Cooper, turns this thinking upside-down. Sometimes giving up means we’re strong enough to let go. Sometimes it’s actually harder to give up than to keep going. Knowing when it’s time to end one course in favor of an other not only requires an incredible amount of discernment but also strength in humility.
“Happy people build their inner world; unhappy people blame their outer world.”
Sometimes we’re not in control of the things that happen around us in our outer world. However, what we can control is our inner world. This quote, by T. Harv Eker, is about finding your happy place on the inside–creating happiness within. Building your inner world means building a barrier between you and everything else happening around you. This can allow you to create a more stable sense of happiness and peace. So instead of blaming your outer world for your circumstances, you’re able to find strength within to face them.
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…
“Anything that makes you weak–physically, intellectually and spiritually–reject it as poison.”
A poison is anything that can cause illness or death to a living thing. This quote, by Swami Vivekananda, helps us recognize that toxic people, environments, and situations are poisonous. They make us weak physically, intellectually, and spiritually. We would undoubtably reject poison in its tangible form. However, we don’t always reject it in the other ways it can appear in our lives. So, let us remember to reject the things that cause similar harm–The things that ill or deaden our body, mind, and soul.
Living Life Poetically: 2020
2020 has definitely been a challenging year for many of us. Through it, we may have felt pain, sadness, loss, and loneliness in a way we’ve never felt before. But coming to this moment with the year at a close means we somehow managed to push through it all. We may have discovered new ways to cope; and we may have realized we’re stronger than we expected–especially with the support of each other. Perhaps we take less for granted. Perhaps we discovered an appreciation for the little things. The poem, “2020”, is a reflection on a year that has been horrendous. But with time, we may find the silver lining…
