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The “Life Maze”
There’s a big difference between the maze you see drawn on paper and a physical maze one, typically made out of hedges. Sometimes, when we’re not sure which way to go in life, it helps to imagine our life as a physical maze. This depiction reveals three important realities about…
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Living Life Poetically: You Must Choose a Path
“You Must Choose a Path” is one of my older poems written around 2010-2011. It’s a haiku-style poem about overcoming the fear of going down the wrong path or making a mistake. Too much of that fear can make us paralyzed. As a result, we go nowhere. Sometimes we just…
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“In the end, everything will be okay. If it’s not okay, it’s not yet the end.”
When reading a book, we eventually come to its definitive end. We turn the final page of a story or series and there’s nothing more to be said. Typically, things end on a good note. There’s a sense of closure. Similarly this quote, by Fernando Sabino, reminds us that if…
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“You’ll have bad times, but it’ll always wake you up to the good stuff you weren’t paying attention to.”
“Blessed are those who can give without remembering and take without forgetting.”
“Know that when the world knocks you down, the best revenge is to get up and continue forging ahead. ”
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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.”
Whether we want to believe it or not, things like our age, gender, race, and socioeconomic background play a factor in where we go to school, when, if we attend college, what we major in, the career we pursue, when we start a family. The list goes on. Simply put,…
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“Better three hours too soon than a minute too late.”
What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals.
Negative results are just what I want. They’re just as valuable to me as positive results. I can never find the thing that does the job best until I find the ones that don’t.
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“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.…
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“Know that when the world knocks you down, the best revenge is to get up and continue forging ahead. ”
“Dreams don’t have to just be dreams. You can make it a reality; if you just keep pushing and keep trying, then eventually you’ll reach your goal. And if that takes a few years, then that’s great, but if it takes 10 or 20, then that’s part of the process.”
“Worrying is like paying a debt you don’t owe.”
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“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.…
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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.”
You can’t spell challenge without change
“Happiness often sneaks in through a door you didn’t know you left open.”
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“Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what’s going to happen next.”
This quote, by Gilda Radner, gives us a great summary of life. It’s about change, enjoying each moment, and seeing the silver lining, all the while not knowing what’s around the corner. In a nutshell, it’s about change, mindfulness, and gratitude in the midst of uncertainty. But the part of…
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“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…
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“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…
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“Happiness is not something you postpone for the future; it is something you design for the present.”
“Don’t compare yourself to others. Be like the Sun and the Moon and shine when it’s your time.”
“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”
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“Action may not always bring happiness, but there is no happiness without action.”
This quote, by Benjamin Disraeli, really speaks to me as I reflect on some difficult choices I’ll need to make–Choices that will ultimately result in action. Doing nothing and staying in a place of familiarity, i.e. inaction, is often our easiest and most popular decision. Most of us don’t venture…
