“
The only time you fail is when you fall down and stay down.
”
”
Stephen Richards (Cosmic Ordering: You can be successful)
“
It's a funny thing about life, once you begin to take note of the things you are grateful for, you begin to lose sight of the things that you lack.
”
”
Germany Kent
“
A relationship built on lies and trickery will not last; only truthfulness can uphold a relationship
”
”
Idowu Koyenikan (Wealth for All: Living a Life of Success at the Edge of Your Ability)
“
The victim mindset dilutes the human potential. By not accepting personal responsibility for our circumstances, we greatly reduce our power to change them.
”
”
Steve Maraboli (Unapologetically You: Reflections on Life and the Human Experience)
“
Once your mindset changes, everything on the outside will change along with it.
”
”
Steve Maraboli (Life, the Truth, and Being Free)
“
Never underestimate the power you have to take your life in a new direction.
”
”
Germany Kent
“
How to win in life:
1 work hard
2 complain less
3 listen more
4 try, learn, grow
5 don't let people tell you it cant be done
6 make no excuses
”
”
Germany Kent
“
If you think you can then you can.
”
”
Stephen Richards
“
If you find yourself easily provoked,
then just change the channel.
”
”
Toba Beta (Betelgeuse Incident: Insiden Bait Al-Jauza)
“
Don't live the same day over and over again and call that a life. Life is about evolving mentally, spiritually, and emotionally.
”
”
Germany Kent
“
True self-confidence is “the courage to be open—to welcome change and new ideas regardless of their source.” Real self-confidence is not reflected in a title, an expensive suit, a fancy car, or a series of acquisitions. It is reflected in your mindset: your readiness to grow.
”
”
Carol S. Dweck (Mindset: The New Psychology of Success)
“
Crippled in the mind, some can no longer bring home their soul in the mosaic of their thinking pattern. By changing the logic model of our mindset, becoming an apprentice of new matters, and turning our emotional approach upside down, we can bring dormant energy to life and restore mental balance. (The freedom of new thinking)
”
”
Erik Pevernagie
“
The waves of changes propel advancement.
”
”
Zoltan Andrejkovics (The Invisible Game: The Mindset of a Winning Team)
“
Life is about balance. The good and the bad. The highs and the lows. The thing everyone should realize is that the key to happiness is being happy by yourself and for yourself. Happiness comes from within. You have the power to change your own mindset so that all the negative, horrible thoughts that try to invade your psyche are replaced with happy, positive, wonderful thoughts.
”
”
Ellen DeGeneres (Seriously... I'm Kidding)
“
The most incredible architecture
Is the architecture of Self,
which is ever changing, evolving, revolving and has unlimited beauty and light inside which radiates outwards for everyone to see and feel.
With every in breathe
you are adding to your life
and every out breathe you are releasing what is not contributing to your life.
Every breathe is a re-birth.
”
”
Allan Rufus (The Master's Sacred Knowledge)
“
Mindset change is not about picking up a few pointers here and there. It's about seeing things in a new way. When people...change to a growth mindset, they change from a judge-and-be-judged framework to a learn-and-help-learn framework. Their commitment is to growth, and growth take plenty of time, effort, and mutual support.
”
”
Carol S. Dweck (Mindset: The New Psychology of Success)
“
Any day above ground is a good day. Before you complain about anything, be thankful for your life and the things that are still going well.
”
”
Germany Kent
“
The most successful people are also the most able to change their mindsets.
”
”
Gabrielle Zevin (Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow)
“
Life has a tendency to provide a person with what they need in order to grow. Our beliefs, what we value in life, provide the roadmap for the type of life that we experience. A period of personal unhappiness reveals that our values are misplaced and we are on the wrong path. Unless a person changes their values and ideas, they will continue to experience discontentment.
”
”
Kilroy J. Oldster (Dead Toad Scrolls)
“
What others view as setbacks, Firestarters see as opportunities to learn and grow more.
”
”
Raoul Davis Jr. (Firestarters: How Innovators, Instigators, and Initiators Can Inspire You to Ignite Your Own Life)
“
If you want to make a difference, you must live like no one else and strive to achieve goals that others view as impossible to reach.
”
”
Raoul Davis Jr. (Firestarters: How Innovators, Instigators, and Initiators Can Inspire You to Ignite Your Own Life)
“
Interest isn’t just something you feel. It’s something you live.
”
”
Raoul Davis Jr. (Firestarters: How Innovators, Instigators, and Initiators Can Inspire You to Ignite Your Own Life)
“
You have to change your thinking if you desire to have a future different from your present.
”
”
Germany Kent
“
Being successful is not that tough, you just need a little mindset change.
”
”
Pooja Agnihotri (17 Reasons Why Businesses Fail :Unscrew Yourself From Business Failure)
“
My depression is cyclical. When feeling down, I must remember each episode has a beginning, middle, and end.
”
”
Larry Godwin (Transcending Depression: Quest Without a Compass)
“
Reconnect to what makes you happy and brings you Joy. If there is something that used to make you happy which you have stopped doing, do it again. Seek to find deeper meaning and significance rather than living on the surface.
”
”
Susan C. Young
“
Think about every good thing in your life right now. Free yourself of worrying. Let go of the anxiety, breathe. Stay positive, all is well.
”
”
Germany Kent
“
Watch people when they win, and you will learn something. But watch them when they lose, and you will learn even more.
”
”
Pang-Mei Natasha Chang (Bound Feet & Western Dress)
“
Your habit of avoiding mental and emotional discomfort is your #1 reason for your being stuck where you are in life.
”
”
Tony Dovale
“
There will be times in your life when things simply have to be replaced because they are tired, broken, worn out, harmful, outdated, or irrelevant. Take an inventory of the things that no longer serve your best and highest good so you can replace them with things which do.
”
”
Susan C. Young
“
In that little pocket-size world of his, he was the absolute master.
”
”
Eileen Chang
“
When you let someone change your mind, you let them rob you of your certainty.
”
”
Meir Ezra
“
The acknowledgement of a single possibility can change everything.
”
”
Aberjhani (Splendid Literarium: A Treasury of Stories, Aphorisms, Poems, and Essays)
“
The only way to change someone's mind is to connect with them from the heart.
”
”
Rasheed Ogunlaru
“
To control your life, control your mind. To control your mind, control your breath.
”
”
Stephen Richards
“
Manga endings might always be the same. However when it comes to real life, neither you nor I are readers. We are the writers. We can change the ending.
”
”
Hideaki Sorachi
“
If we adopt the same collaborative mindset and practices that got to the moon and back, and that built the International Space Station, we can alleviate poverty—and do much more.
”
”
Ron Garan (The Orbital Perspective: Lessons in Seeing the Big Picture from a Journey of 71 Million Miles)
“
At times it may seem as though you and your past are one. Sometimes we fail to differentiate between what has happened to us and who we are today. If you have a hard time getting beyond that damaging mind-set let me encourage you right now. You are not your past Although you are changed and shaped by past experiences who you were yesterday does not control the person you have the potential to become tomorrow.
”
”
Sue Augustine (When Your Past Is Hurting Your Present: Getting Beyond Fears That Hold You Back)
“
The 7 Steps to Transformation:
1. Dream it.
2. Envision it.
3. Think it.
4. Grow it.
5. Become it.
6. Live it.
7. OWN it.
”
”
Germany Kent
“
If it doesn't agree with your spirit let it go.
”
”
Germany Kent
“
Do some small acts of kindness every day consistently, and over time it will have an exponential effect on the world.
”
”
Amit Ray (Power of Exponential Mindset for Success and Leadership)
“
7 keys to getting more things done:
1 start
2 dont make excuses
3 celebrate small steps
4 ignore critics
5 be consistent
6 be open
7 stay positive
”
”
Germany Kent
“
Every single part of your life can be changed by a shift in perception.
”
”
Keisha Blair (Holistic Wealth: 32 Life Lessons to Help You Find Purpose, Prosperity, and Happiness)
“
The only secret of wealth creation is knowing how to use Cosmic Ordering.
”
”
Stephen Richards (Cosmic Ordering Guide)
“
The company that writes your paycheck every two weeks is not your employer; they are your customer. Adopt this mind-set and everything changes. You are free from the daily grind—free to grow your business and serve your customers, your fellow man.
”
”
Daniel Lapin (Business Secrets from the Bible: Spiritual Success Strategies for Financial Abundance)
“
Seven Ways To Get Ahead in Business:
1. Be forward thinking
2. Be inventive, and daring
3. Do the right thing
4. Be honest and straight forward
5. Be willing to change, to learn, to grow
6. Work hard and be yourself
7. Lead by example
”
”
Germany Kent
“
Don’t fight with narrow minded people; be determined to compel them to change their mindsets about who you stand to be, not by arguments, but by focusing on what you do every day. If they change it, fine; if they don’t, fine. The good news is that you are pursuing excellence!
”
”
Israelmore Ayivor (The Great Hand Book of Quotes)
“
There is so much power in choosing to love yourself against all odds and I hope with every kind of painful experience you become more aware who you are and what you are truly capable of. Life hurts but it's also remarkabley beautiful if you look past the chaos.
”
”
Nikki Rowe
“
Tell me your story and I will get back your life.
”
”
Stephen Richards
“
Magic always happens when you direct your inner powers to the object you want to change.
”
”
Bangambiki Habyarimana (Pearls Of Eternity)
“
Don't promote negativity online and expect people to treat you with positivity in person.
”
”
Germany Kent
“
Your words control your life, your progress, your results, even your mental and physical health. You cannot talk like a failure and expect to be successful.
”
”
Germany Kent
“
A reform happens when you change the policy of the government; a revolution happens when you change the mind-set of a country.
”
”
Dan Senor (Start-up Nation: The Story of Israel's Economic Miracle)
“
Willful blindness sees no end of damage done.
”
”
Stephen Richards
“
No matter what your wishes, they are not crazy so long as they are not crazy to you!
”
”
Stephen Richards
“
I changed my strategy, set new goals, and faced my challenges with a positive mindset of courage and optimism.
”
”
Charlena E. Jackson (No Cross No Crown)
“
If you are in a position where you can reach people, then use your platform to stand up for a cause. HINT: social media is a platform.
”
”
Germany Kent
“
Peace and love are just as contagious as anger and fear. Your mindset affects the people around you and perpetually changes the world. The question is - what kind of world are you creating? What new society are you thinking into existence?
”
”
Vironika Tugaleva
“
Happiness comes from within. You have the power to change your own mind-set so that all the negative, horrible thoughts that try to invade your psyche are replaced with happy, positive, wonderful thoughts.
”
”
Ellen DeGeneres (Seriously...I'm Kidding)
“
Connecting with others gives us a sense of inclusion, connection, interaction, safety, and community. Your vibe attracts your tribe, so if you want to attract positive and healthy relationships, be one! Staying connected and getting reconnected feeds the flow of goodness which empowers our humanity.
”
”
Susan C. Young
“
Run and hide or rise and shine ...
”
”
Stephen Richards
“
so far as you continue to entertain what makes you unhappy, you shall always dance to the tune of what will make you unhappy. A mindset change can cause a great change.
”
”
Ernest Agyemang Yeboah
“
Human beings are incredibly slow, Cosmic Ordering is incredibly fast!
”
”
Stephen Richards (Cosmic Ordering Connection: Change your life within minutes!)
“
Intelligence is just one dimension of ability. Don't limit yourself to it. Open up to instinct, intuition, creativity and thus possibility
”
”
Rasheed Ogunlaru
“
It has taken me a lot of years, but I find silence is sometimes the best answer.
”
”
Stephen Richards
“
But something I had learned time and time again was that every small change you make pays compound interest. It helps you make another change, another mind-set shift, another decision to live a new way.
”
”
Cait Flanders (The Year of Less: How I Stopped Shopping, Gave Away My Belongings, and Discovered Life Is Worth More Than Anything You Can Buy in a Store)
“
I saw a meme the other day with a picture of Marilyn Manson and Robin Williams. It said about the former, this isn’t the face of depression, and about the latter, this is. This really struck a chord and it’s been on my mind since then. As someone who has continuously dipped in and out of chronic depression and anxiety for close to three decades now, and I’ve never previously spoken about the subject, I finally thought it was time I did.
These days it’s trendy for people to think they’re cool and understanding about mental illness, posting memes and such to indicate so. But the reality is far different to that. It seems most people think if they publicly display such understanding then perhaps a friend will come to them, open up, and calmly discuss their problems. This will not happen. For someone in that seemingly hopeless void of depression and anxiety the last thing they are likely to do is acknowledge it, let alone talk about it. Even if broached by a friend they will probably deny there is a problem and feel even more distanced from the rest of the world.
So nobody can do anything to help, right? No. If right now you suspect one of your friends is suffering like this then you’re probably right. If right now you think that none of your friends are suffering like this then you’re probably wrong. By all means make your public affirmations of understanding, but at least take on board that an attempt to connect on this subject by someone you care about could well be cryptic and indirect.
When we hear of celebrities who suffered and finally took their own lives the message tends to be that so many close friends had no idea. This is woeful, but it’s also great, right? Because by not knowing there was a problem there is no burden of responsibility on anyone else. This is another huge misconception, that by acknowledging an indirect attempt to connect on such a complex issue that somehow you are accepting responsibility to fix it. This is not the case. You don’t have to find a solution. Maybe just listen. Many times over the years I’ve seen people recoil when they suspect that perhaps that is the direct a conversation is about to turn, and they desperately scramble for anything that can immediately change the subject. By acknowledging you’ve heard and understood doesn’t mean you are picking up their burden and carrying it for them.
Anyway, I’ve said my piece. And please don’t think this is me reaching out for help. If this was my current mindset the last thing I’d ever do is write something like this, let alone share it.
”
”
R.D. Ronald
“
Everyday presents a new opportunity to grow and press forward to your success. Stay the course believing that where you are right now doesn't matter, as long as you are moving in the right direction.
”
”
Germany Kent
“
There are things in life you can change—your weight, your appearance, your mindset, etc.—but there is one thing you cannot change and that is other people. Try as we might we cannot get people to love us. Even when we are the coolest best version of ourselves someone is going to say, “Not for me.” But if we feel good about ourselves we can shrug it off and say, “It’s just a f***ing date,” and know that there will be others.
”
”
Greg Behrendt (It's Just a F***ing Date: Some Sort of Book About Dating)
“
Become your own success story, not someone else's.
”
”
Stephen Richards
“
Climate-aligned interventions at the levels of education & mindsets, foresight & visions, and structures offer the most leverage for systemic change.
”
”
Roger Spitz (The Definitive Guide to Thriving on Disruption: Volume IV - Disruption as a Springboard to Value Creation)
“
Change is slow, until it isn’t.
”
”
Roger Spitz (The Definitive Guide to Thriving on Disruption: Volume I - Reframing and Navigating Disruption)
“
Fixed mindset leaders will quickly contaminate an organisation by killing growth and creativity, as well as promoting incompetence based on their likeness. This cycle will be replicated unless shareholders intervene ruthlessly
”
”
Peter F Gallagher
“
This world is not a wonderful place where unfortunately many evil things happen; but this world is a terrible place where fortunately many miracles and other wonderful things happen.
”
”
C. JoyBell C.
“
When you fall short of your goals and dreams ask yourself is it your mindset, perspective, expectations,
effort, approach, acceptance, company or a blend of these that needs to change.
”
”
Rasheed Ogunlaru
“
When you enter a mindset, you enter a new world. In one world--the world of fixed traits--success is about proving you're smart or talented. Validating yourself. In the other--the world of changing qualities--it's about stretching yourself to learn something new. Developing yourself.
”
”
Carol S. Dweck
“
Did you once have a grand plan which has become obsolete and no longer serves you? If there are areas in your life which must change to help you create better results, a redesign may be in order. Consider going back to the ‘drawing board’ to deconstruct what isn’t working and start anew.
”
”
Susan C. Young
“
Each time we use our cell phones, snap pictures with a camera, or use a search engine’s algorithms, we benefit from the legacy of Muhammad’s modern mindset. His mindset is not tied to Mecca or Medina, for as the Golden Age political philosopher Al-Farabi observed, “Medina is not a location but the manner in which a community comes together.” Indeed, people of any culture or race can establish a “place of flowing change.” As Muhammad declared in the final days of his life, “My progeny are those who uphold my legacy!
”
”
Mohamad Jebara (Muhammad, the World-Changer: An Intimate Portrait)
“
So I’ve given it one. I call it scout mindset: the motivation to see things as they are, not as you wish they were. Scout mindset is what allows you to recognize when you are wrong, to seek out your blind spots, to test your assumptions and change course.
”
”
Julia Galef (The Scout Mindset: The Perils of Defensive Thinking and How to Be Right More Often)
“
Trust me. If you do not decide where you are heading, and refuse to take the appropriate action, you will end up being shaped into what others would have you become. Then any change will not be made for your benefit but for theirs.
”
”
Chris Murray (The Extremely Successful Salesman's Club)
“
This transformation helped me to become productive and my mindset became focused on change for the better. My identity was the essence of me, and the path without fear was ahead of me as I walked, knowing that happiness, grace, joy, and love were my birthright!
”
”
Charlena E. Jackson (A Woman's Love Is Never Good Enough)
“
The ego might resist change until a person’s level of discomfort becomes unbearable. A person can employ logic to overcome the ego’s defense mechanism and intentionally integrate needed revisions in a person’s obsolete or ineffective beliefs and behavior patterns. The subtle sense that something is amiss in a person’s life can lead to a gradual or quick alteration in a person’s conscious thoughts and outlook on life. Resisting change can prolong unhappiness whereas implementing change can establish internal harmony and instate joy in a person’s life.
”
”
Kilroy J. Oldster (Dead Toad Scrolls)
“
Ultimately, self-love and raising the level of your vibration go hand in hand. When you make an effort to raise your vibration, you show yourself the love and care you deserve. You’ll feel good and attract good. By taking positive actions and changing your mindset, you’ll manifest greater things. By loving yourself, you’ll live a life you love.
”
”
Vex King (Good Vibes, Good Life: How Self-Love Is the Key to Unlocking Your Greatness: OVER 2 MILLION COPIES SOLD)
“
It's rare for a toxic person to change their behavior. More often, the only thing that varies is their target and the blame they place. Because some toxic people are difficult to identify, keep in mind that a victim mindset is sometimes a red flag. So, listen when someone talks about their life and circumstances. If the list of people they blame is long... it's probably only a matter of time before you're on that list.
”
”
Steve Maraboli
“
You don’t have to be young. You don’t have to be thin. You don’t have to be “hot” in a way that some dumbfuckedly narrow mindset has construed that word. You don’t have to have taut flesh or a tight ass or an eternally upright set of tits. You have to find a way to inhabit your body while enacting your deepest desires. You have to be brave enough to build the intimacy you deserve. You have to take off all of your clothes and say, “I’m right here.” There are so many tiny revolutions in a life, a million ways we have to circle around ourselves to grow and change and be okay. And perhaps the body is our final frontier. It’s the one place we can’t leave. We’re there till it goes. Most women and some men spend their lives trying to alter it, hide it, prettify it, make it what it isn’t, or conceal it for what it is. But what if we didn’t do that? That’s the question you need to answer,
”
”
Cheryl Strayed (Tiny Beautiful Things: Advice on Love and Life from Dear Sugar)
“
The thing is, there is no certainty in this life - in one second your entire world could shift. I'm not saying it will, but I am living proof that It can. We never prepare for tragedy and that's a good thing but my god what's it's taught me is how little we appreciate what we have or some cases once had.
”
”
Nikki Rowe
“
A diamond’s creation requires immense pressure and intense temperatures to reach its highest potential. Without enduring the adversity and pressure of its environment, the diamond would never become the treasure it was meant to be. May the changes you grow through bring incredible value in helping you forge a remarkable and multi-faceted life.
”
”
Susan C. Young
“
There are two mindsets people tend to have: explorer or settler. Our society has a “settler” mindset, our end goals are “finalizing” (home, marriage, career, etc.) in a world that was made for evolution, in selves that do nothing but grow and expand and change. People with “explorer” mindsets are able to actually enjoy what they have and experience it fully because they are inherently unattached
”
”
Brianna Wiest (101 Essays That Will Change The Way You Think)
“
Critics are important. They give us the reasons, knowingly or unknowingly, not to fall, slumber or deviate from our true purpose . If only you would see, understand and appreciate the real lessons your critics teach you with a calm heart, you would know and understand that your critics are nothing but great facilitators to help you get to your vision and true purpose diligently and distinctively.
”
”
Ernest Agyemang Yeboah
“
The most mind-blowing results concern the aging process. People with a more positive attitude to their later years are less likely to develop hearing loss, frailty, and illness—and even Alzheimer’s disease—than people who associate aging with senility and disability. In a very real sense, we are as young as we feel inside.
”
”
David Robson (The Expectation Effect: How Your Mindset Can Change Your World)
“
Six Beliefs That Set the Course of Your Life
1. If you don’t believe the impossible can happen, then you are right.
2. When you feel like you are less than others, then you are right.
3. When you believe what you have and how you were raised keeps you from having everything you ever dreamed of, you are right.
4. When you believe your mistakes can’t be undone, you are right.
5. When you feel this is the best it is going to get, you are right.
6. When you think someone will never change or rise above their brokenness, you are WRONG!
”
”
Shannon L. Alder
“
In looking for the right places to make these tiny changes, there are three broad areas of opportunity. You can tweak your beliefs—or what psychologists call your mindset; you can tweak your motivations; and you can tweak your habits. When we learn how to make small changes in each of these areas, we set ourselves up to make profound, lasting change over the course of our lives.
”
”
Susan David (Emotional Agility: Get Unstuck, Embrace Change, and Thrive in Work and Life)
“
Personal struggles, mistakes, and perseverance are part of every person’s life story. A proper mindset can turn failure into a gift. Specific human qualities such as intelligence and adaptive skills can be cultivated through applied effort to assist a person overcome a resounding failure. Each person would be wise to ask how does a person cope – grapple – with failure? We derive strength from our struggles.
”
”
Kilroy J. Oldster (Dead Toad Scrolls)
“
Life is good! It is only our thoughts, choices and actions towards the situations we meet in life each moment of time that makes life look bad! The same bad situation in life that makes one person think badly inspires another to do a noble thing! The same good situation in life that makes one person feel so good to get into a bad situation inspires another person to create another good situation because of the good situation. It is all about thoughts, choices and actions! Life is good! Live it well!
”
”
Ernest Agyemang Yeboah
“
Mind your mind. Think of distinctive footprints. Insofar as all things move forward and not backward, avoid retrogressive thinking, imprison negative thoughts, build a strong wall against negativity , be optimistic enough to deduce the optimisms in pessimism and think ahead of time. Understand the time you have and know what to do with the time, for time can loose it essence with time. If you ignore the real reasons why you wake up each day, you ignore the real reason why you continue to live each day. Life is just once so take the chance and mind your mind
”
”
Ernest Agyemang Yeboah
“
If someone has not learned to stop and admire something beautiful, we should not be surprised if he or she treats everything as an object to be used and abused without scruple. If we want to bring about deep change, we need to realize that certain mindsets really do influence our behaviour. Our efforts at education will be inadequate and ineffectual unless we strive to promote a new way of thinking about human beings, life, society and our relationship with nature. Otherwise, the paradigm of consumerism will continue to advance, with the help of the media and the highly effective workings of the market.
”
”
Pope Francis (Laudato Si: On care for our common home)
“
Everything an Indian does is in a circle, and that is because the power of the World always works in circles, and everything tries to be round . . . The sky is round and I have heard the earth is round like a ball, and so are all the stars. The wind in its greatest power whirls, birds make their nest in circles, for theirs is the same religion as ours. The sun comes forth and goes down again in a circle. The moon does the same and both are round. Even the seasons form a great circle in their changing, and always come back again to where they were. Our teepees were round like the nests of birds. And they were always set in a circle, the nation’s hoop.
”
”
Chief Black Elk
“
I have grown tired of the notion of an ally. I prefer the language of an “accomplice.” An ally loves you from a distance. An accomplice loves you up close. We need allies to make the transition to accomplices. An ally is someone who has unpacked her personal privilege but hasn’t yet made the link to institutional issues and is not willing to risk anything besides her mental comfort. An accomplice rolls up her sleeves and engages in the work that is beyond her. She’ll march in the streets, yes. But an accomplice also faces her own participation in whiteness, acknowledges it, and then looks beyond that personal acknowledgment to identify how her awareness can be applied to changing the systems and mindsets that prop up the system.
”
”
DeRay Mckesson (On the Other Side of Freedom: The Case for Hope)
“
If you keep experiencing the same things, your mind keeps its same patterns. Same inputs, same responses. Your brain, which was once curious and growing, gets fixed into
deep habits. Your values and opinions harden and resist change.
You really learn only when you’re surprised. If you’re not surprised, then everything is fitting into your existing thought patterns. So to get smarter, you need to get surprised, think in new ways, and deeply understand different perspectives.
With effort, you could do this from the comfort of home. But the most effective way to shake things up is to move across the world. Pick a place that’s most unlike what you
know, and go. This keeps you in a learning mindset. Previously mindless
habits, like buying groceries, now keep your mind open, alert, and noticing new things. New arrivals in a culture often notice what the locals don’t. (Fish don’t know they’re in water.)
”
”
Derek Sivers (Hell Yeah or No: What's Worth Doing)
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Everyone has an Everest. Whether it’s a climb you chose, or a circumstance you find yourself in, you’re in the middle of an important journey. Can you imagine a climber scaling the wall of ice at Everest’s Lhotse Face and saying, “This is such a hassle”? Or spending the first night in the mountain’s “death zone” and thinking, “I don’t need this stress”? The climber knows the context of his stress. It has personal meaning to him; he has chosen it. You are most liable to feel like a victim of the stress in your life when you forget the context the stress is unfolding in. “Just another cold, dark night on the side of Everest” is a way to remember the paradox of stress. The most meaningful challenges in your life will come with a few dark nights.
The biggest problem with trying to avoid stress is how it changes the way we view our lives, and ourselves. Anything in life that causes stress starts to look like a problem. If you experience stress at work, you think there’s something wrong with your job. If you experience stress in your marriage, you think there’s something wrong with your relationship. If you experience stress as a parent, you think there’s something wrong with your parenting (or your kids). If trying to make a change is stressful, you think there’s something wrong with your goal.
When you think life should be less stressful, feeling stressed can also seem like a sign that you are inadequate: If you were strong enough, smart enough, or good enough, then you wouldn’t be stressed. Stress becomes a sign of personal failure rather than evidence that you are human. This kind of thinking explains, in part, why viewing stress as harmful increases the risk of depression. When you’re in this mindset, you’re more likely to feel overwhelmed and hopeless.
Choosing to see the connection between stress and meaning can free you from the nagging sense that there is something wrong with your life or that you are inadequate to the challenges you face. Even if not every frustrating moment feels full of purpose, stress and meaning are inextricably connected in the larger context of your life. When you take this view, life doesn’t become less stressful, but it can become more meaningful.
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Kelly McGonigal (The Upside of Stress: Why Stress Is Good for You, and How to Get Good at It)