Leo Tolstoy famous short story, Three Questions, asks three questions through the tale he tells. The questions are: What is the right time to begin everything? Who are the right people to listen to? What is the most important thing to do? Tolstoy provides us the answers: “Remember then: there is only one time that is important—Now! It is the most important time because it is the only time when we have any power. The most necessary man is he with whom you are, for no man knows whether he will ever have dealings with any one else: and the most important affair is, to do him good, because for that purpose alone was man sent into this life!”
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Today’s Thought: Attitude Matters
I’m an early riser. By 5:30 a.m. I’m doing pushups, stretching, and core exercises. I’ve always been an early riser. I get excited for the day. Each day is like a birthday present that I can’t wait to unwrap. Some days I’d like to take to the exchange counter, but they are the rare ones. Most days turn out to be exactly what I hoped for. Attitude makes a big differences in how one feels and how things seem to turn out.
Today’s Thought: What Do They Really Know?
Sports channels, news channels, or the weather channel, all seem to have an obsession with predicting the outcome of events before they happen. Commentators speak with confidence that they know the outcome. Viewers watch hoping the “experts” will side with what they believe will be final outcome. In reality, all the talk and predictions on these shows is nothing more than entertainment value. They tap into our deep insecurities and give us something to hold on to even if what they are giving us is an illusion. Don’t take them too seriously. Sporting contests and life have ways of playing out that are often surprising. We can’t force it or rush it. At times all we can do is patiently observe it.
Today’s Thought: It’s Okay to be Wrong
Everyone has a right to be wrong, more than once. Everyone has a right to mess up, more than once. The folks who like to point fingers and criticize don’t realize when they are pointing a finger they are pointing three fingers back toward themselves. We get along a lot better when we cut each other some slack, laugh at our mistakes, and encourage each other to keep trying.
Today’s Thought: You Never Know, Don’t Quit
I’ve always like sports both as a participant and as a fan. Each game is a mystery that unfolds as the game plays out. In some instances what appeared to be certain defeat turns into victory at the last moment. Baseball has an additional quality many other sports do not have. The game of baseball is never decided until the final out. Last night, for example, the team I root for was behind 3 to 1 going into the ninth inning. The mystery unfolded as the first two Red Sox batters made outs. The third batter got on base. The next batter worked the count to 3 balls and 2 strikes. One more strike and the game is over. He swung at the next pitch and hit a home run to tie the game. The Red Sox went on to win the game in the tenth inning. I was excited. The first words out of my mouth were “never quit.” That’s true in sports and it’s true in life. No matter the odds. don’t quit. You never know, you may hit a home run with your next swing of the bat.
Today’s Thought: Doing Our Part
Most problems can be solved if we set aside preconceived biases and work towards a common goal. It seems so easy. Why would anyone do anything else? On the way to the finish line, power, money, and unresolved anger gets in the way. The problems remain because of the lack of courage to set aside personal gain for the gain of all. It’s not helpless. We can do our part in our homes, places of work, and neighborhoods. We can lead the effort to define common goals benefiting everyone. We can call it out every time personal gain takes precedence over the gain of all. We have to do our part.
Today’s Thought: Are You Nuts?
I like to stream music as I do my early morning exercises. I was in the middle of stretching when a Willie Nelson song played. A phrase in the song stopped my stretching activity. I got up from the floor and put the phrase into my notes app on my iPhone. The phrase was, “There’s your side. There’s my side. Then there’s the truth.” I laughed out loud as I wrote and said, “That’s for sure.” How many times do we get locked into a debate believing we’ve got the truth and the other side is nuts because they can’t see the truth. They’re probably thinking the same thing about you and me. It’s always good to keep searching, to keep questioning.
Today’s Thought: What Is Your Story?
“Storytelling is the most powerful way to put ideas into the world today.” ~ Robert McKee
We learn the power of stories in infancy. Stories can transport us to different places, centuries, or affect our relationships. When I play around with writing fiction, I start with a couple of characters and allow them to create the story. The characters carry me along with their adventure. I’ll get lost in the writing and lose track of time. It’s a fun thing to let fictitious characters create your story. It’s a tragedy when we let others create our life’s story. We have a right to create our own story. Our personal story is ours to write. Don’t forfeit that right to another. Whatever your story take ownership. Write a great story.
Today’s Thought: Want to Lose 25 Pounds?
There are some things in life you only learn through experience. You can see it, you can understand it, you know it’s true, but you don’t internalize and make it a part of your being. Making something that is so obvious a part of our being requires both an openness to learning and a willingness to change what we have always done to something different. One example is someone else’s drama does not have to be our drama. When we internalize that we free ourselves from carrying a drama king or queens’s problems on our backs. Internalize that and it’s like losing 25 pounds. All of sudden you’re free.
Today’s Thought: Listen to Your Own Inner Voice
I read my news online. I don’t listen to news related podcasts or watch the “experts” on TV. I avoid reading any article where the author is reporting the future. If sports teams, for example, listened to the talking heads, they wouldn’t play the games because the talking heads already know the outcome. We’ve all seen how wrong they can be time and again. We can apply the same logic our lives. How do people we love and trust know if we will be successful? . We only know when we take a chance. Listen to your inner voice, not the folks who believe they know the future.
