Blog Archives
Quotes You Should Stop Quoting: Part 3
If you haven’t read part one and part two of this series please go and read those first. I have yet another quote to share with you that I feel is not always the best advice to take.
“Follow your heart; let your heart be your guide”
Yes, sometimes we should listen to our hearts, but most of the time our hearts don’t guide us towards the best path. I think the better piece of advice is to “follow your heart, but take your brain with you.” When we look to our feelings and emotions to make the decisions we usually fail to see the consequences that could result from our choices. We see what we want to happen instead of what will most likely happen. Our emotions make us human and definitely contribute to a life worth living, but they can also blind us. In the same way, Read the rest of this entry
Word of the Week: Mellifluous
The word of the week is: Mellifluous
Pronunciation: [Muh-lif-loo-uhs]
adjective
1. sweetly or smoothly flowing; sweet-sounding (a mellifluous voice)
2. flowing with honey; sweetened with or as if with honey; sweet.
Quotes relating to this topic:
“It’s so hard to forget pain, but it’s even harder to remember sweetness. We have no scar to show for happiness. We learn so little from peace.” -Chuck Palahniuk
“Pleasant words are as a honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones.” -Proverbs 16:24
We may not enjoy going through difficult times in life, but sometimes it helps to remember that it is vital to experience struggle before we can learn and become better people. Tough times are also a way to wake us up and convince us to take notice of all the blessings that surround us. If you are going through a battle right now, just realize that it won’t last forever and once it is over you will come out of it learning something new for a better future. And if you see someone struggling in life think back to the hard times you’ve had and use this opportunity to reach out to them. Kind words and a thoughtful gesture is sometimes the greatest gift you could ever give.
The Inside is What Really Counts, Right?
We grew up hearing “Don’t judge a book by its cover” and “What’s on the inside is what really counts,” but do we actually live by these sayings, or even believe them? Sometimes it’s hard to make our health a top priority when the world we live in is so materialistic and superficial. You get sucked into the fashion, beauty and physical aspect of things and don’t leave time to take care of what really matters. I’m not saying there is anything wrong with dressing nicely or wanting to look a certain way, but this should come second, AFTER we have taken care of our health and wellness. And when I say health I don’t just mean eating fruits and vegetables and getting some exercise, I mean maintaining a healthy body as well as mind and soul.
Before I continue let me tell you that I struggle with this personally, and I understand how difficult it can be, but just because something is hard to accomplish that doesn’t mean you should just neglect it. We need to push ourselves more, make ourselves believe how important we are and stop throwing it aside to do something more fun or easier. You see, we act like we should accept people for the way they look and love them despite their faults, yet we turn around and criticize ourselves. Or maybe it’s not mental abuse, but we eat food that poisons us or hang out with people who negatively influence us. If we truly believe that the inside counts more than the outside than maybe we should prove it by the way we live. Stop worrying about your crooked nose and start changing your poor eating habits. Stop spending time with those who bring out the worst in you and associate with people who lift you higher.
Yes, change sucks, it requires effort and it means you have to do things that aren’t always fun. But suffering for a short time to reap a long term benefit is worth it. We are only hurting ourselves when we continue to ignore our negative qualities instead of working towards improving them. So, why not approach today with a little different mindset than you usually do. Pick something in your life you would like to be different and do something about it. If you need help then ask someone for help, if you need to write it down then write it down, but just decide to do something. Make the effort for positive change in your life, you won’t regret it.
Have any tips or stories to share about change in your life? Let me know in the comment section below.
*picture above taken by me
Quotes You Should Stop Quoting: Part 2
If you missed the first “quote you should stop quoting” you can read it here. I found another tidbit of “wisdom” that I wanted to discuss in regards to making decisions. Allow me to explain my gripes with this quote.
“Forget all the reasons why it won’t work and believe the one reason why it will”
You might as well say “forget rationalization and just hope everything works out the way you want.” Yea, that pretty much sounds like a disaster to me. Ignoring all the things we don’t like about a situation makes us unprepared and vulnerable. We should always weigh our pros and cons and then decide on the best move to make. Of course sometimes our fear of failure is so great that we choose to run from a great opportunity instead of visualizing it as a chance to grow. But fears and doubts are just a fact of life and there is really no justification for pretending everything will be okay other than our own ignorance.
On the other hand, Read the rest of this entry
Word of the Week: Purport
Stop hiding behind what’s pretty and stand up for who you are
The word of the week is: Purport
Pronunciation: [per-pohrt]
verb
-to present, especially deliberately, the appearance of being; profess or claim; often falsely
(a document purporting to be official)
-to convey to the mind as the meaning or thing intended; express or imply
noun
-the meaning, import or sense (the main purport of your letter)
-purpose; intention; object (the main purport of their visit to France)
Thoughts on this word
I read a quote from Cheryl Hughes that said “the truly scary thing about undiscovered lies is that they have a great capacity to diminish us than exposed ones. They erode our strength, our self-esteem, our very foundation.” Sometimes we are unhappy Read the rest of this entry
Quotes You Should Stop Quoting: Part 1
Pasting quotes everywhere has become pretty popular on all forms of social media, but have you ever read one that just didn’t make sense to you? I’ve read quite a few pieces of advice that rubbed me the wrong way and I’ve decided to highlight a few of them in a little blog series. Now, some of these quotes I am not entirely sure who stated them and I may not use the exact words, but it is the general meaning that matters. Today is part one of the series so I will start with one quote. Follow me on Facebook and/or Twitter to read the second part coming soon.
“The most important thing in life is to enjoy your life- to be happy – that’s all that matters”
–Audrey Hepburn
This quote I see over and over again, but stated in many different ways. I’m sorry to break it to you, but life is not all about being happy. Read the rest of this entry
The Negative Eye: A Poem
I found a poem I had wrote for a creative writing class back in high school and I wanted to share it with all of you. Let me know what you think!
A plant in our yard. The outside shell may look ugly, but the inside has beautiful red seeds hiding away.
The Negative Eye
Its bulky appearance, its ugly shade of green,
Although it is tasty, I can’t stand its seeds.
Its stomach is filled with pink delight,
But its grainy texture attacks me with a bite.
I’d buy it more often if it weighed less,
Even though one taste is enough to obsess.
But just because of its few flaws,
I’d rather not enjoy it at all.
I know it seems quite fussy to pick at little things,
But I see it done every single day,
To strangers, to friends, or my own siblings.
Food and people may seem much different,
But the concept is still the same.
We choose to judge the outer layer,
Instead of looking past the frame.
But in order to get to the pleasant core,
We must first rise above our negative minds,
Look past the empty shell we see,
The thoughts that seem to make us blind.
I know no matter what I do, people will always judge,
But I’m thinking of opening my heart this time,
I’m thinking of letting go of every grudge.
That ugly green doesn’t look so bad,
Those seeds I guess aren’t the worst,
In the end we all need to be given a chance,
Because frankly, I’d want someone to get to know me first.
The Path to Motivation Requires Leaving Your Shell
a little baby snail on my hand
Have you ever asked yourself what motivates you? Have you ever really thought about the people you spend time with and how they have contributed to your willingness to change or stay the same? Change may be hard, but it is a vital part of growth. If we continue to stay bundled up in our comfort zones we miss out on new opportunities, relationships and prevent ourselves from reaching our full potential. If we want to become better, stronger and more successful individuals, we need to surround ourselves with people who encourage us to grow and give us a reason to change. Now, I’m not talking about those people who bully you into doing something or those who guilt you into giving in, but the type of people who don’t persuade you to change by their words but do so by their actions. When we associate with people who have ambitious goals and Read the rest of this entry
Word of the Week: Ameliorate
The word of the week is: Ameliorate
Pronunciation: [uh-meel-yuh-reyt]
verb
1. to make or become better, more bearable, or more satisfactory.
2. improve; meliorate.
Quotes relating to this topic:
“There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self.”
-Ernest Hemingway
Read the rest of this entry
Open Your Eyes to the Blessings in Your Life
There’s probably not a day that goes by that we don’t complain about something. It could be about stress from work, a fight with a friend or something simple like having no cell reception. But every now and then we really need to think about our lives and realize that our circumstances are probably not as bad as we think. Many times our complaints are things that some people only wish they could experience.
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