What feels good about making a judgment? It makes us feel protected. It makes us feel in the right. It makes us feel better-than. It makes us more secure in our own beliefs. The question I’ve been pondering is: What would our society be like if we made less judgments and more observations? Before we get there, let’s try to unpack our propensity toward judgment...
Motivation is one of the elusive elixirs of human flourishing.
Motivation itself is often looked down upon as being the weaker younger sibling to discipline. Yet, we have to have the motivation to take that initial step toward forming the new habit (which eventually becomes a discipline).
Life is all about sacrifices—what we are willing to give up for the greater good, or to gain something down the road. The path of looking the part often sacrifices for personal gain. The path of being the part focuses more on sacrificing for the goal of benefiting others.
Which sacrifice are you willing to make?
The three core needs of every human being are: to be 1) seen, 2) heard, and 3) connected.
When you strip away these three things from any human, you begin to push them back into the survival-mode of existence, and many times without even knowing it (or being conscious of it). When a need isn’t even recognized, there is no way for that need to be met.
The Sabbath still matters, and it always will. We aren’t super-men/women, we’re merely human.
God knew we would forever remain human, as long as we’re here on this earth, and because of that He gave us an example to follow ever since the beginning of time.
You can change. No, I’m serious. You really can. But why don’t you? Why don’t we? . The struggle to change is a human dilemma that every individual faces to one degree or another.
And guess what? We are all capable. We can all be catalysts for the change we wish to be. You are the placebo. You don’t just hold the key, you are the key.
Like an Oreo, life is meant to be shared.
From the oxygen we breathe to the planet that we inhabit, every aspect of life is amplified by the ability to share. Sharing is one of the greatest means we have to experiencing joy and fulfillment each and every day. And it’s a part of life that is readily available, always within reach of our current grasp, no matter the place we find ourselves in.
Whether we want to or not, we are paying a price in countless decisions and actions throughout our days. Everything in life has a cost.
Whether it be time, money, effort/energy, sacrifice, or opportunity — simply put: there are no free lunches.
(Fill in the blank): If only I had _____, THEN I would be _____.
Life of the 21st century is training and conditioning its members that there is only one key that unlocks all we ever want in life. It’s a simple key that opens endless doors—having more.
Positive emotions can literally pay dividends. They emit intangible dividends that can add up, over time, into incredible sums of personal resourcefulness. The best case scenario is to build your resourcefulness while also growing your personal resources.
… so how do we do that? The answer might be easier than you’d expect.
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to “take that leap of faith”? To go out on your own and pave the path for your own career and destiny? Is it as glamorous as it sounds? Does it produce the life you always wanted to have? Will it meet all your hopes and dreams?
It’s not as easy as a yes or a no…
“Build” …
This year has undoubtedly been a year of more change than any other in my entire life. From top to bottom, everything has shifted and been made new. Much of it has felt like starting from scratch, yet, undoubtedly, there was a firm foundation already laid upon which I could build.
Lately there has been a lot of talk around the reality of being a human being, not a human doing. The question is: why? And is this helpful? And what should our response or takeaway be?
Are we defined by who we are or what we do? And are those two aspects necessarily mutually exclusive?
When was the last time you saw a tree?
No, really. When was the last time you actually took notice of a tree — seeing it with the childlike eyes of awe and wonder? Hopefully you will take a moment to pause and re-see a tree, because there are more life lessons to be found in trees than anything you may be perusing on the six-inch screen in front of you.
What happens when your alarm goes off in the morning?
More often than not we wake up with a certain level of animosity aimed towards both the noise that woke you up and the responsibilities that require you to get out of bed. But what if you woke up with an unquenchable fire that could never be extinguished? What if you woke up like royalty?
Inner Dialogue—It’s over.… your life, that is. Well, at least it seems that way. It definitely feels that way. But you are still breathing and consciously aware of these thoughts. Yet, somehow, it all seems surreal, almost as if real life isn’t that real.
How did you get to here? How did you manage to come to this dead-end? And why?
Perspectives—how we view the world; how we process the information and events we experience in everyday life.
Self-awareness entails an objective view of how we personally think and operate, which leads to a greater empathy and understanding towards others with whom our views and perspectives differ.
The culture of “hipsters” is pervasive. At the heart of being a hipster is the desire to go against the commonly accepted way of life, bucking the traditional norms and expectations of society.
At it’s core, this is the desire to: stand out.
Here’s the question: what’s more important? The journey? Or the destination?
I would guess that most of us would agree that the journey is the probable answer, but do our lives and our actions really back up that belief? My guess is: that’s hardly the case.
“Everything that is within your grasp is not meant to be in your hand.” - Terry Crews
Just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should.
