toughness

Poem for Today ~ See it Through

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See it Through

Edgar Guest

When you’re up against a trouble, 
    Meet it squarely, face to face; 
Lift your chin and set your shoulders, 
    Plant your feet and take a brace. 
When it’s vain to try to dodge it, 
    Do the best that you can do; 
You may fail, but you may conquer, 
    See it through! 

Black may be the clouds about you 
    And your future may seem grim, 
But don’t let your nerve desert you; 
    Keep yourself in fighting trim. 
If the worst is bound to happen, 
    Spite of all that you can do, 
Running from it will not save you, 
    See it through! 

Even hope may seem but futile, 
    When with troubles you’re beset, 
But remember you are facing 
    Just what other men have met. 
You may fail, but fall still fighting; 
    Don’t give up, whate’er you do; 
Eyes front, head high to the finish. 
    See it through!

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Feel Good Tip ~ Embrace the Journey

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“You have to die a few times before you can really live.” Charles Bukowski

What a wonderful quote. No one likes to fail or suffer. We like to get it online and get delivered to our door. That may be the way business works in contemporary society. it’s not the way life works. Each time we walk through the fire in our lives, we gain lessons. Life is shaping us to become what we are destined to become. Our only part in this play is to learn the lessons life is teaching us and to love what we are becoming. When we do, the suffering ends and living begins.

Photo for Today ~ You Are Strong

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Photo for Today ~ Dare to Try

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Thinking Out Loud ~ Knowing Who We Are and Where We Are Going

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Saint-Exupéry writes in The Little Prince of the Little Prince visits planet Earth. He finds himself in the desert.

“The little Prince crossed the desert and met only one flower. A flower with three petals, a flower of nothing.“Good morning,” said the little Prince.
“Good morning,” said the flower.
“Where are people?” The little Prince asked politely.
The flower, one day, saw a caravan passing.
“People? There are, I think, six or seven. I saw them some years ago. But we never know where to find them. They move with the wind. They have no roots, it bothers them a lot…”

NOTE: We all come from someplace. We all have a mother and father and a place of birth. Having a sense of roots and place gives us a foundation on which we can build. They are a source of strength in times of trial. When we have a sense of roots and place, we know who we are and where we are going. I heard a radio host on a gardening show in Texas say, “Give your children a nest and wings.” When we have a sense of roots and a foundation we soar.

Thinking Out Loud ~ Is It Time to Make a Good Decision?

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It Takes Courage

Saint-Exupéry writes in The Little Prince of the Little Prince visiting another planet, this planet is inhabited by a drinker. The Little Prince asked the drinker why he is drinking,

“To forget,” replied the drinker.

“To forget what?” asked the little Prince who was already complaining.

“To forget that I am ashamed,” confessed the drinker lowing the head.

“Ashamed of what inquired the little prince who wanted to rescue him.

“Ashamed of drinking!” Completed the drinker who definitely shut himself up in silence.

And the little Prince went away, puzzled.

NOTE: some years ago I read a book written the Harvard Negotiating Team on decision making. One of the key points they made has remained with me. They said, in the book, often the best decision we can make is to stop making a bad decision. It takes awareness to know that we are making a bad decision. Once we are aware of our bad decision, it takes heaps of courage to admit it and stop making the bad decision. In its place, we can make a better decision.

 

Feel Good Tip ~ The Storm Will Lose Their Power

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Finding Inner Peace

Can you find inner peace no matter how a situation turns out? Not everyone can. The moment’s turmoil seems to capture us and when it does we find ourselves on traveling rapidly in the wrong direction. I’m speaking of a time when everything is going right and boom, an event interrupts the nice flow we were experiencing. Can we ride the unwelcome event without losing our sense of balance until the unwelcome event runs out of power? Metaphorically, the storm that interrupted us will lose its power and disappear. I think a sense of inner peace comes from knowing that we’ve experienced similar storms and made it through. There’s no reason we won’t make it through again. A good maxim might be, “I did this and I can do it again.”

Daily Inspirational Quotes ~ Suck it Up and Do It!

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”The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength,

not a lack of knowledge,

but rather a lack of will.”

– Vince Lombardi

Thinking Out Loud ~ Choose to Live

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We Always Have a Choice

Today I reflect on Margaret Atwood’s commencement speech at the University of Toronto. Ms. Atwood is a Canadian author, poet, and environmental activist.

Margaret Atwood, in her commencement speech, writes, “When faced with the inevitable, you always have a choice. You may not be able to alter reality, but you can alter your attitude towards it.”

Margaret Atwood’s commencement speech is available here.

NOTE: I am writing this post on August 19th. It is the anniversary day of my wife’s death. She suffered from stage 4 glioblastoma. I knew she was going to die but I held out hope, no matter how small, that she would surprise all of her doctors. When she died I was faced with the inevitable. I had a choice falling into a deep depression or somehow clawing my way through my deep state of grieving and discovering how to live again. Each morning I promised myself that I would prove to my five daughters that I could make it on my own. I wanted it to be strong for them. I knew that someday they too will have to face the same challenge. Holding on to that meaning got me through. When faced with the inevitable, where you can’t change reality, choose to live.

Thinking Out Loud ~ Do You Dare to Dream?

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Great Achievements Begin with a Dream

James Allen in his book, As a Man Thinketh, writes, “The greatest achievement was at first and for a time a dream. The oak sleeps in the acorn; the bird waits in the egg; and in the highest vision of the soul a waking angel stirs. Dreams are the seedlings of realities.” P. 44

As a Man Thinketh is available online at gutenberg.org under the Harvard Classics.

NOTE: Do you dare to dream? Do you dare to dream a great big dream? Do you feel yourself worthy to have your dream come true? What if the greatest dream you had for yourself came true in this moment? How would you feel? How would your life be different? The first thing you can do to make your dream become reality is to take the first step. The first steps in reaching for our dream are never easy because they are associated with a learning curve. Sometimes the learning curve is steep. That’s where many people fail. They allow the learning curve to tell them that it’s too hard, too difficult, too steep. Those who achieve their dreams keep on pushing, keep on learning, and eventually succeed. It’s up to you.

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