A reader who is stuck in very challenging circumstances and "can't seem to get ahead," asks,"Any prayer, affirmation, or advice would be greatly appreciated."
My reply...
I recommend pursuing two paths simultaneously:
1) Work to improve your circumstances.
2) at the same time, Choose to live the most joyful life possible within your current circumstances.
It's one of life's great paradoxes ...
Accepting with gratitude whatever life throws at us
is critical to happiness.
Yet without a goal and commitment, life loses much of its value.
The best we can do in the face of this paradox
is to play to win, but be cheerful in defeat
and ready to play again.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie
Courage and perseverance have a magical talisman,
before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish into air.
- John Quincy Adams
If you run into a wall, don't turn around and give up.
Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it.
- Michael Jordan
This is my wish for you:
Comfort on difficult days,
Smiles when sadness intrudes,
Rainbows to follow the clouds,
Laughter to kiss your lips,
Sunsets to warm your heart,
Hugs when spirits sag,
Beauty for your eyes to see,
Friendships to brighten your being,
Faith so that you can believe,
Confidence for when you doubt,
Courage to know yourself,
Patience to accept the truth,
Love to complete your life.
- Anonymous
God grant me the serenity
To accept the things I cannot change;
the courage to change the things I can;
and the wisdom to know the difference.
- Reinhold Niebuhr (Serenity Prayer)
May the world be kind to you, and may your own thoughts be gentle upon yourself.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie
Showing posts with label perseverance. Show all posts
Showing posts with label perseverance. Show all posts
Monday, August 13, 2018
Wednesday, September 23, 2015
Thoughts on Success
Success is feeling good about yourself, and being happy.
Accomplishments, especially the accomplishments of being of service to others,
tend to create the feeling of success, but success is an inner state separate from accomplishments.
Have a dream. Take action toward that dream each and every day. Always love and respect yourself.
Love and respect yourself even when you fail. Then try again - in a different way.
Never let the fear of striking out get in your way.
- Babe Ruth
Sometimes you get the results you wanted,
sometimes you don't.
What matters is that you did your best.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie
Play to win, but be a good loser.
Have a plan for your life,
but accept whatever comes your way
with grace and gratitude.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie
May the world be kind to you, and may your own thoughts be gentle upon yourself.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie
Thursday, September 27, 2012
Is Hope Futile?
Question: I have tried goal setting and hoped for many things, but not one of them has ever happened. In fact if I really take off after something, that is an absolute 100% guarantee it won't happen. Is hope futile?
My Answer:
There are a number of steps on the path to success - and you need all of them.
1. Believe that God wants good things for you.
Our prayers should be for blessings in general,
for God knows best what is good for us.
- Socrates
2. Believe in yourself - develop self-esteem.
(see How to Build Self Esteem)
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
3. Take action toward your goals - every day.
You can't cross the sea merely by
standing and staring at the water.
- Rabindranath Tagore
Achievement seems to be connected with action.
Successful men and women keep moving.
They make mistakes, but they don't quit.
- Conrad Hilton
4. Accept "failure" when it comes. "Failure" may mean either that you have learned something that will enable you to "succeed" next time, or that God has chosen something better for you than what you asked for - even if it doesn't seem so at the time.
Success consists of going from failure to failure
without loss of enthusiasm.
- Winston Churchill
A wonderful gift may not be wrapped as you expect.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie
(also see A wonderful gift may not be wrapped as you expect
and Maybe So, Maybe Not. - Ancient Taoist Proverb)
5. Never stop trying. Look for new paths toward your highest level goal (your life mission) - and do not get stuck in repeating old methods that didn't work.
Patience, persistence and perspiration make an unbeatable combination for success.
- Napoleon Hill
If you run into a wall, don't turn around and give up.
Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it.
- Michael Jordan
-----
May the world be kind to you, and may your own thoughts be gentle upon yourself.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie
My Answer:
There are a number of steps on the path to success - and you need all of them.
1. Believe that God wants good things for you.
Our prayers should be for blessings in general,
for God knows best what is good for us.
- Socrates
2. Believe in yourself - develop self-esteem.
(see How to Build Self Esteem)
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
3. Take action toward your goals - every day.
You can't cross the sea merely by
standing and staring at the water.
- Rabindranath Tagore
Achievement seems to be connected with action.
Successful men and women keep moving.
They make mistakes, but they don't quit.
- Conrad Hilton
4. Accept "failure" when it comes. "Failure" may mean either that you have learned something that will enable you to "succeed" next time, or that God has chosen something better for you than what you asked for - even if it doesn't seem so at the time.
Success consists of going from failure to failure
without loss of enthusiasm.
- Winston Churchill
A wonderful gift may not be wrapped as you expect.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie
(also see A wonderful gift may not be wrapped as you expect
and Maybe So, Maybe Not. - Ancient Taoist Proverb)
5. Never stop trying. Look for new paths toward your highest level goal (your life mission) - and do not get stuck in repeating old methods that didn't work.
Patience, persistence and perspiration make an unbeatable combination for success.
- Napoleon Hill
If you run into a wall, don't turn around and give up.
Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it.
- Michael Jordan
-----
May the world be kind to you, and may your own thoughts be gentle upon yourself.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Tending the Garden of Our Lives
We live in an age of instant gratification. When we are hungry, we drive in to McDonalds, or heat something in the microwave. When we want to be entertained, we switch on the television.
We also seek instant gratification in other arenas in which its success rate is abysmal. Buying lottery tickets is an example of this irrational striving for instant gratification. Unlike the fast-food window, lottery tickets very rarely pay out. The search for a romantic partner is also susceptible to being swept up in an urge for instant gratification. While some couples do "win the lottery" of instantly finding a great relationship, the odds are very much in favor of those couples who become solid friends with shared values before they become romantically involved.
Instant gratification is not the way of nature, and has not been the path of human advancement.
Preparation, Perseverance, and Patience are the path to success in nature and in our own lives. These "Three Ps" are what allows a gardener (and Nature) to turn a tomato seed into a tomato plant filled with beautiful, tasty, nutritious tomatoes. Prepare the garden at just the right time of year by carefully grooming the soil and removing all the rocks and weeds before planting the seeds. Persevere with the weeding, the watering, and a dash of fertilizer. And then have Patience. Tomatoes, and corn, and watermelons don't grow any faster if you yell at them to grow, or if you tell them how disappointed you are that they aren't growing faster. You can't get them to grow faster by force feeding them extra fertilizer or water. If you try that, you just burn them or drown them. Preparation, Perseverance, and Patience get you vegetables. Anything less - or more - gets you nothing.
Our lives are also a garden, and like a vegetable garden they require careful tending. Try applying the old fashioned values of Preparation, Perseverance, and Patience to your own life. See if you don't get far better results than when you seek instant gratification.
We also seek instant gratification in other arenas in which its success rate is abysmal. Buying lottery tickets is an example of this irrational striving for instant gratification. Unlike the fast-food window, lottery tickets very rarely pay out. The search for a romantic partner is also susceptible to being swept up in an urge for instant gratification. While some couples do "win the lottery" of instantly finding a great relationship, the odds are very much in favor of those couples who become solid friends with shared values before they become romantically involved.
Instant gratification is not the way of nature, and has not been the path of human advancement.
Preparation, Perseverance, and Patience are the path to success in nature and in our own lives. These "Three Ps" are what allows a gardener (and Nature) to turn a tomato seed into a tomato plant filled with beautiful, tasty, nutritious tomatoes. Prepare the garden at just the right time of year by carefully grooming the soil and removing all the rocks and weeds before planting the seeds. Persevere with the weeding, the watering, and a dash of fertilizer. And then have Patience. Tomatoes, and corn, and watermelons don't grow any faster if you yell at them to grow, or if you tell them how disappointed you are that they aren't growing faster. You can't get them to grow faster by force feeding them extra fertilizer or water. If you try that, you just burn them or drown them. Preparation, Perseverance, and Patience get you vegetables. Anything less - or more - gets you nothing.
Our lives are also a garden, and like a vegetable garden they require careful tending. Try applying the old fashioned values of Preparation, Perseverance, and Patience to your own life. See if you don't get far better results than when you seek instant gratification.
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