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Tag: Quote Inspired

Befriending The Ego

“The body is the first student of the soul.”

Henry David Thoreau, via MoveMe Quotes

…And the ego is what intercepts the soul’s communication to the body.

If we don’t learn how to befriend the ego—it will always be our enemy.

What makes the ego our enemy is its relentless desire to choose immediate over delayed gratification. The ego wants comfort now. It wants pleasure now. It cares nothing of later.

And it is in this one main desire—to seek immediate pleasure and avoid immediate pain—that our body suffers. Because what’s generally good for us is what involves delayed over immediate gratification.

If we want our body to succeed—the soul’s first student—we need not underestimate the ego and its deceptive, cunning powers. We need to come prepared. Like a parent ready to confront a moody toddler that’s about to choose violence.

We need to keep our beliefs clear; our boundaries enforced; our strategies at the forefront of our mind; our patience overflowing; and our love (not our tolerance) unconditional.

We have to find easy (easier) ways to do the hard things now, so that we can achieve the later outcome of peak overall health that each of our souls want us so badly to achieve.

For more thoughts on the ego, you can browse my collection of 45+ quotes & resources here.

Don’t Look Back?

“Don’t look back—you’re not going that way.”

I disagree.

Looking back is precisely what you need to do if you’re going to keep moving forward in your life.

I’m not saying to dwell. Nor am I saying you should only look back. But, another way to say “looking back” is to reflect.

And careful reflection is key to calibrating your internal compass. You know… the internal compass that tells you which direction is forward in the first place!

What many people don’t realize is that without a properly calibrated internal compass, forward is merely a guess. And guessing isn’t a good strategy for moving forward in life.

I say, look back; reflect carefully; learn from past experiences; become a strategic, forward-moving boss who utilizes insight from their past to expedite their journey forward.

And don’t ever let yourself assume that you know all there is to know about your past.

As you age, grow, mature—the lens through which you look at past experiences will change. And how you understand those experiences will need updating and revising accordingly.

This is why we should keep looking back—all throughout life.

Change the mantra from: “Don’t look back—you’re not going that way.”

To: “Look back occasionally; calibrate; ensure you’re going the right way.”

Read my full rant on this here: Everyone Who Says You Should Never Look Back Is Wrong

The Impact of Inner Peace

Acquire a sense of inner peace and you’ll save thousands of others.

When people are in times of conflict, even more important sometimes than words of advice or helpful actions is simply a peaceful presence.

A solid boulder that can slow the raging river. A brick house that can protect against the ravaging storm. A clear mind that can cut through the invasive fog.

See, a person who has acquired a sense of inner peace brings peace with them everywhere they go. Their impact is made constantly without any specific efforts on their part.

…And so it is for the person who carries conflict with them everywhere they go.

If we care about the impact we have on others, what we have to remember is the lesson that Maya Angelou so wisely shared: “At the end of the day people won’t remember what you said or did, they will remember how you made them feel.”

Which means: what people feel from our presence is where the real impact is made.

Focus less on always having to say or do exactly the right thing. A lot of times, the stress and anxiety produced by this desire becomes counterproductive to the very message we’re working so hard to get right.

Focus on being instead.

Being intentional. Being compassionate. Being mindful. Being grateful. Being calm.

Being at peace.

Our impact outward will ripple in proportion to the impact we’ve made on ourselves inward.

Criticism Surgery

Want to learn how to become shielded from the unsolicited, hateful, derogatory critiques of others? Stamp this onto your brain:

Don’t accept criticism from people you wouldn’t go to for advice.

  • Someone called you dumb? Would you ever ask this person for their honest opinion on your character? No? Then why listen to them when you didn’t ask?
  • Someone hated on your creation? Is this the type of person who actually understands this type of creation and can genuinely comment? No? Then why take their comment to heart?
  • Someone said something rude or hurtful? If I told you to list your top 5 favorite people to get advice from, would this person be on that list? No? Then why let them on that list now?

And if the answer is ever, “Yes”—you would go to this person for advice—then it’s important to reflect on the following:

(1) Is this the best person for you to be going to for advice? People who give advice in hateful, derogatory, negative ways may cause more harm to our path forward than benefit.

(2) If the answer is still yes, then, assuming there is anything constructive in their feedback, we must train our minds to surgically remove the gems from the emotional weight that burdens and collapses in on what’s said.

Because here’s the bottom line: feedback won’t always come in a pretty package.

And if we can learn how to accept what’s useful, how to disregard what (and who) is not, and how to keep ourselves in mentally healthy places so we can conduct criticism surgery with precision and poise at even a moment’s notice—our growth will become inevitable.

The Freedom To Feel

“Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.”

Dr. Seuss

To which I would change to:

Cry if you feel to, smile at the wholeness of what happened.

Not as catchy, I admit. But, worth considering.

Telling yourself not to cry—to not acknowledge the weight of a hard situation is to reject a key component of any given experience.

Only focusing on the smiles will limit depth. Only focusing on depth will limit smiles. It’s the whole experience—the entirety of the human experience—that we should be after.

Allow yourself to flow freely between both—and all.

Go Back To Idle

“When in trouble, just let go. Go back to idle.”

Delia Owens, Where The Crawdads Sing (Page 41)

When you get yourself in trouble, it implies you’ve crossed a line; broken a rule; done harm.

Which further implies that there were faults in your mindset that led to faulty actions.

When the momentum of those decisions causes you to cross a line, break a rule, or do harm—the worse thing you can do is maintain that momentum.

Stop. Let go. Go back to idle.

Carefully inspect your thought process. Sit. Breathe. Adjust. Choose new actions; better actions.

Then, and only then, should you start again.

Follow Your Passion Is Bad Advice

“Your purpose comes from doing what you love. Your meaning comes from sharing it.”

Unknown

Worth elaborating on: “Doing what you love.”

I love watching Netflix, eating junk food, playing games, and surfing through social media. But, generally speaking, you and I both know that’s not where purpose comes from.

So, what kind of love are we talking about? We’re talking about the kind of love that leads to skill-building tasks. Skills are the currency of careers. And finding a career that properly utilizes your skills is what leads to a fulfilling sense of purpose.

This is why “follow your passion” can be bad advice.

Being passionate about something is, in-and-of-itself, worthless in the business world. Pay attention to your passions, sure! But, focus primarily on building skills in those areas of passion. That is how you’ll elevate yourself to a purposeful opportunity you can be proud of.

Take martial arts for example. Being passionate about martial arts is great. You can watch the movies, read the books, collect the posters, etc. But, until you learn how properly execute martial arts techniques, how to teach students of all ability levels, how to run the business side of the martial arts school, etc.—your passions are of little to no value.

Build skills in accordance to your passions. Elevate yourself to a purposeful position. Then, share it with the world.