Addressing the "real world" requires three actions - simultaneously...

A reader wrote: "Your words are so calm. But you have never addressed the real world.
I was beaten...what calm and enlighten words do you have to say to that.
Get with the real life world ...sir❗️"

My Reply...

Thank you very much for writing.

Addressing the "real world" requires three actions - simultaneously...

1) Recognize that whatever has happened in the past cannot be changed. Anger can't change the past. Revenge can't change the past. Acceptance and forgiveness are powerful tools in letting the past be the past, so you can focus on the present and the future.

Anger is often more hurtful than the injury that caused it.
- English Proverb

Genuine forgiveness does not deny anger but faces it head-on.
- Alice Duer Miller

2) Have a positive attitude. Having a positive attitude is both a tool to make you happier in the present, and a tool from which to launch "real world" actions and success.

Positive thinking will let you do everything
better than negative thinking will.
- Zig Ziglar

3) Take action. Begin now. Begin again each day. Take action with calm focus, and with a well-thought-out plan, but take action, and persevere.

Our lives begin to end the day we become silent
about things that matter.
- Martin Luther King, Jr. 

Attitude and action are both essential.
Attitude without action is mere pretense.
Action without attitude is merely frenzied motion.
 - Jonathan Lockwood Huie

May the world be kind to you, and may your own thoughts be gentle upon yourself.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

 

Aptitude or Attitude

A reader wrote to ask whether I agreed with the following quote...

Your attitude, not your aptitude, will determine your altitude.
- Zig Ziglar

My answer...

What you accomplish in life is a function of BOTH what God gave you (aptitude, place of birth, etc.)
AND what you do with your gifts (your attitude, etc.).

BUT, you can't change what you have been given,
while you CAN CONTROL your attitude: being positive, working hard, etc.

SO your attitude does control your altitude in the sense that it is the only variable that you have the ability to change.

Someone born with an IQ of 56 isn't going to become a great nuclear physicist - they just aren't.
But with a positive attitude, they can live a great life, being happy and inspiring happiness in others.

May the world be kind to you, and may your own thoughts be gentle upon yourself.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Most ignorant thing ever uttered

Question: Your Daily Inspirations helped keep me alive when I was very despondent, but the following quote [from the November 28 Daily Inspiration] is close to being the most ignorant thing ever uttered. I mean who has reached every goal?

Stride forward with a firm, steady step knowing with a deep,
certain inner knowing that you will reach every goal you set yourselves,
that you will achieve every aim .
- Eileen Caddy

My Answer:

Thank you very much for your email.

1. The greatest value of "inspirational" quotes is getting you thinking.  For more about this, read Inspirational Quotes - Spur for Inquiry

2. The Eileen Caddy quote is about self-confidence and positive thinking.  Try reading it again from that point of view.  Think about a sports team. In reality, even a hugely successful sports team will lose almost as many games as it wins. Yet which locker-room pep talk is likely to produce better results. "Hey guys, we are going to win this game - whatever it takes" or "Hey guys, the odds of our winning this game are only about 60%, so don't get your hopes up."

Positive thinking will let you do everything
better than negative thinking will.
- Zig Ziglar

Believe in yourself. Have faith in your abilities.
Without a humble but reasonable confidence in your own powers
you cannot be successful or happy.
- Norman Vincent Peale

Further reading: Play to win, but be a good loser


May the world be kind to you, and may your own thoughts be gentle upon yourself.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Daily Renewal

Question: I try to meditate, listen to audio books, and read the bible. However, I cannot keep myself in that changed state. I just keep sliding back into what I don't want. I go back to doing things that I hate. Please help me with this. I am tired of living in circles.

My reply:

Know that you can never permanently "solve" or "fix" what you are describing - it is the nature of life.

Dealing with those situations will always require a daily effort - a daily re-commitment to your values, daily meditation, daily renewal.

People often say that motivation doesn't last.
Well, neither does bathing - that's why we recommend it daily.
- Zig Ziglar

What Ziglar said about motivation applies equally to inspiration.

May the world be kind to you, and may your own thoughts be gentle upon yourself.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie