We do love wise sayings, don’t we?
Quotes helps us capture important life lessons and perspectives that matter to us in a succinct manner.
They have the capacity to unlock your potential when you understand and apply their lessons.
Here are some quotes that have had an incredible impact on my life that will definitely change your life.
“Holding onto your anger is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die.”
These wise words from Carrie Fisher serve as a reminder to me to never let my anger over someone ruin my peace of mind.
We make the mistake of believing that if we get sufficiently enraged and carry grudges against the people who wronged us, they’ll suffer.
They don’t, actually. They may even be oblivious of how much anguish you’re in.
You, on the other hand, are the one who gets burned by bitterness, anger, and unforgiveness. Over time, all that negativity take a heavy toll on your mental health.
For example, it’s been found to worsen symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD).
GAD is a condition that causes you to become uncontrollably worried about everyday life events for no reason. You can’t take your mind off your health, money, family, work, or school.
Also, according to a Harvard study, every time you get upset because of a terrible experience in the past, you cause a 6-hour dip in your immune system.
So, the more upset and resentful you get, the more poison you indirectly inject into your system and ultimately, the weaker your immune system.
So, you find yourself vulnerable to strange sicknesses, diseases, and infections. Is it worth it?
This isn’t to say you should never be angry when people want to mess up with you.
It just means you have complete control of how you want to feel about anyone and anything in order to know when to draw the line.
“We are what we repeatedly do, Excellence is therefore not an act but a habit.”
Excellence is a habit; a way of life. It is fostered, nurtured, and made to stick by repeatedly learning to do things well.
If you’re excellent at what you do, you’re outstanding at it. It may not be perfect, but you insist on giving it your all. And it shows.
Often, this level of mastery takes a lot of conscious practice. It’s not by chance.
And Aristotle was well aware of this and insisted that to become excellent, you first have to turn it into a habit.
Modern scientists have now shown that the more you practice being excellent, the more it becomes a second nature. This is true for any behavior you want to adopt.
This is called “neuroplasticity.”
What happens is that over time, the nerve cells in the brain responsible for that particular behavior you’re trying to learn, get stronger.
The stronger those nerve cells, the more automatic the behavior and you no longer have to think about it.
“The quality of a person’s life is in direct proportion to their commitment to excellence, regardless of their chosen field of endeavor.”
— Vince Lombardi
“It’s impossible for a man to learn what he thinks he already knows.”
If you believe you’re already an expert, it’s will be more diffcult for you to have the open mindedness required to learn something new.
Life is so vast that none of us can truly know everything there is. And the implication is if we want to know more, we must be open to different perspectives.
Most of us have the illusion that our opinions and beliefs are the only ones that matter. That our perspective of the world is the only one available. Nothing, however, can be further from the truth.
What if what you know is only one of many options? What if what you know might be enhanced by what you learn from others? What if everything you think you know is incorrect?
There are as many different and unique perspectives as there are people. And the only way to properly understand them is to listen to what each one has to say and learn about their experiences.
In the ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’, Atticus Finch said to his daughter Scott:
“You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view…..until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.”
The truth is nobody knows it all and certainly not you. So, I keep in mind these words by Epictectus.
Keep your mind open to fresh ideas no matter what you do in life. Choose to always think like a beginner, always looking for new perspectives. Your life will be a lot better for it.
“The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity.”
This quote by Amelia Earhart emphasizes the importance of taking action and remaining committed to it until the intended result is achieved.
But it’s taking action isn’t what most people do easily much more staying committed and determined. What many people do is spend more time planning and strategizing.
None of your lofty intentions will come to fruition unless you make the decision to carry them out, no matter how poorly.
Stop waiting for a perfect time to take action. Stop waiting until you’re fully ready. There’ll never be a truly ideal time for anything.
What shapes your result more than anything else after you start taking action is how dedicated you are.
Psychologists call it “grit,” and it’s been found to have a strong influence on how much you ultimately accomplish in life.
“Learn from the mistakes of others. You can’t live long enough to make them all yourself.”
— Eleanor Roosevelt
“What gets us into trouble is not what we don’t know. It’s what we know for sure that just ain’t so.”
— Mark Twain
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“We don’t have to be smarter than the rest. We have to be more disciplined than the rest.”
Forbes puts Warren Buffet’s net worth at $113.4 billion, making him the 6th richest man alive.
I have to pay attention when a man who built his wealth as a buy-and-hold investor tells me I don’t need to be smarter than anyone else. All I need to do is be more disciplined.
Without a doubt, intelligence is beneficial. In your field, you might be the most gifted. It won’t matter, though, if you don’t have the discipline to show up on a regular basis and devote yourself to mastering your subject.
As Winston Churchill said:
“Continuous effort—not strength or intelligence—is the key to unlocking our potential.”
Moral of the story: Don’t worry about intelligence, work on your dedication.
“It’s not the load that breaks you down, it’s the way you carry it.”
For an artiste who faced adversity, Lena Horne words perfectly captures why she survived it all.
We all face a lot of difficulties in life. But it’s not those experiences themselves, no matter how terrible and heartbreaking, that impact our lives.
Instead, it’s the way we carry them.
In other words, how you interpret your challenges, the meaning you give to what’s going on in your life, your perspective to it all — that’s what shape how you respond.
You will find no redeemption if you believe your condition is getting worse and is about to ruin you, regardless of who wants to help you.
Nothing can break you if you approach difficult times with thankfulness and confidence in your ability to go through them and be better as a result.
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