Author: Anne

This author has written 790 articles

USE PROPORTIONATELY

Photo taken at THE FRANKLIN DELANO ROOSEVELT MEMORIAL IN WASHINGTON, DC

“We have two ears and one mouth so we can listen twice as much as we speak.”

…

We have two ears and one mouth.  Use them proportionately.

Quote by Epictetus – a Stoic Philosopher ( c. 50 – c. 135 AD)

This quote, written two thousand years ago, is attributed to Epictetus, a Greek philosopher who spent his youth as a slave in Rome before gaining freedom after the death of Nero, under whom he served until around 60 AD

REFLECTION:

  • Do you use your ears and mouth in proper proportion?
  • Do speak more than you listen or do you listen more than you speak?
  • Most talk more than they listen (at least I’ll speak for myself )  How can you listen more?
  • How can you use your ears and mouth more proportionately?

DEAD END ROAD OR DRIVE OUT!

Nobody’s going to do your life for you.  You have to do it yourself, whether you’re rich or poor, out of money or raking it in, the beneficiary of ridiculous fortune or terrible injustice.  And you have to do it no matter what is true.  No matter what is hard.  No matter what unjust, sad, sucky things befall you.  Self-pity is a dead-end road.  You make the choice to drive down it.  It’s up to you to decide to stay parked there or to turn around and drive out.

Quote by Cheryl Strayed from her book:  TINY BEAUTIFUL THINGS

https://www.cherylstrayed.com/

REFLECTION:

  • Are you waiting for someone to do your life for you?
  • Have you driven down the “self-pity road?”
  • Have you “parked” on a dead end street?
  • Are you willing to turn around and drive out?
  • What does the turn-around look like?  
  • DRIVE OUT!

BEST (insert) EVER

BEST PASTRY EVER in the shape of a shell to honor the Camino de Santiago.... 🙂

BEST (Fill in the blank) EVER

This is a trap worth avoiding.  When we examine our life experiences, the ones that stand out are usually about change.  Either we were changed or we helped someone else get to where they sought to go.  And change is fleeting.  And change changes us.  We can’t step into the same river twice, because the second time, the river itself has changed.   The pressure we put on ourselves for every project to be “the best ever” experience creates a shallow race for bling instead of a deeper, more useful focus on what’s actually possible.  Seeking to rank our experiences takes us out of the moment.  It turns us into sportscasters, spectators and statisticians.  We end up comparing our wedding or our box office number or our tweet stats not only to our own best ever, but to the stats of others.  This summer is unlikely to be your best summer ever.  But it will be a summer, and it’s up to each of us to decide what to do with it.  Every project is worth the journey if we let it be. 

FROM:  Seth Godin’s Daily Blog Post

REFLECTION:

  • Examine if you get stuck in the trap of “best ever” thinking/acting.
  • What life experiences stand out for you? What changed  you?  How did you help another to change?
  • Can you let go of the ranking and just be?
  • Enjoy the rest of this summer … journey to let it be!