Month: September 2022

Today’s Quote: It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit. – Harry S Truman  

Today’s Narrative: Sharing a moment is simple when you are a child. While very susceptible to bouts of pure selfishness (I think of them as ‘Mine, Mine, Mine Moments as I think of my daughter in her toddler days), the joy of watching children who don’t know each other meet on a random playground, declare themselves best friends after five minutes and see the inevitable separation on par with a massive Hollywood couple breaking up. As adults, sharing a moment is not so simple, even if you have been besties since your time as toddlers. Even as social creatures by instinct, modern times force us to be much more guarded and suspicious of each other, making real connections hard for adults to navigate.

Today’s Question: Are You Any Good At Making And Maintaining Connections With Other People?

Today’s Quote: On average, 8 out of 10 people will read headline copy, but only 2 out of 10 will read the rest. – Brian Clark    

Today’s Narrative: The lack of knowledge held by the average person is astonishing. As is the number of people who say they don’t follow any daily news reports or have not read a book since high school. But the genuinely appalling nature of this is how the average person believes they know much more than they do and what that knowledge gap amounts to. This mostly leads to harmless bickering over weather patterns, political leaders, and sports teams. But when it doesn’t, the average person’s ignorance can lead them to follow unsavory characters or even become an unsavory leader in their own right. Knowing you have a problem is the first sign that you are better than that problem, and a good sign you have a grasp of your limits of knowledge is to acknowledge you indeed do have a limit to your knowledge.

Today’s Question: How Do You Handle Having A Lack Of Knowledge On An Issue That May Be Important?

Today’s Quote: Go to your bosom; Knock there, and ask your heart what it doth know. – William Shakespeare

Today’s Narrative: In times of self-doubt, you may get the advice to ‘listen to your heart.’ Following this advice is meant to key you into your instincts and emotions. The point is not to overthink and over (or under) rationalize a decision. You know how you feel about it, so choose the choice that aligns with that feeling. But there is a reason why we overthink many choices. We know that the wrong decision could be disastrous, even if the probability of a bad general decision will be quickly forgotten for some other decision, whether that one brings a good result or not.   

Today’s Question: Why Is ‘Listen To Your Heart’ Hard Advice To Follow?

Today’s Quote: Ultimately, the only power to which man should aspire is that which he exercises over himself. – Elie Wiesel 

Today’s Narrative: We make way too many excuses for ourselves. With all the practice, we’ve become masters at the art of deceiving ourselves. The creative process of giving ourselves all the outs we need not be accountable for is worthy of EGOT status. Think about the fantastic things we could accomplish if we could harness that power for truly good and not slacker indifference. Your lack of self-control is keeping you from reaching that next level of greatness, but what is actually greater: your will to do to your want to not do?

Today’s Question: How goes your battle with maintaining self-control?