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We have much more power over the circumstances of our lives than most men and women would ever admit. And even if circumstances are thrust upon us, we choose how we respond to those circumstances.
Relationships thrive under one condition: carefree timelessness.
In the absence of a genuine understanding of the meaning and purpose of our lives, we substitute it with shallow and superficial meaning. The human person cannot live without meaning and purpose.
what happens in our lives is almost always a result of those things we habitually think and those things we habitually do. Life is the fruit of discipline, or lack of it. We are our habits.
Embrace this one solitary truth—you were born to become the-best-version-of-yourself—and it will change your life more than anything you have ever learned.
discern the people, activities, and possessions that are most important to you. And that you are able to give each of them their time and place according to their appropriate priority.
In all of our lives there is a great danger in believing that who we are, where we are, and what we have is all that there is.
There is no shame in trying to attempt mighty things and failing. The shame is in failing to attempt those things.
If you don’t like who you are and the life you are living, it may seem like bad news to hear that you have created the person you are today and the life you are living. The good news is, you can re-create your dreams and become a new creation.
Most of us do not need any other diet than a little bit of discipline. The average person knows the things that are good for him or her, and the things that are not.
Our greatest emotional need is for intimacy. Beyond the primary needs for food, water, sleep, and air to breathe, intimacy is the greatest need of the human person.
Simplify. Simplify. Simplify your life and you will find the inner peace that the poets and saints of every age have coveted more than any possession.
When silence, solitude, and simplicity become a part of the fabric of our lives, we are much less inclined to neglect our other legitimate needs.
You already have everything within you that you need to make the journey. You must simply begin to honor the truth you already possess.
Perceiving and responding to our spiritual desires is the most essential aspect of personal development.
We yearn endlessly for peace. We all long for the peace of knowing that who we are, where we are, and what we are doing is essentially good. We need to know that we are contributing to the happiness of others
The voice of the hungry soul is confusion, questions, and a general sense of being overwhelmed.
From @MatthewKelly
The challenge for each of us is to create a lifestyle that will allow our needs, desires, and talents to live in harmony.
Don’t surrender your life to the experts. They are never going to care as much about your health, your relationships, your children, your education, your money, and your life as you do. And they very rarely consider the whole picture, the many aspects of your life.
Knowing who we are (strengths, weaknesses, needs, talents, and desires) and what we are here for (to become the-best-version-of-ourselves) is the knowledge that liberates us from the modern enslavement of a life of meaninglessness and gives our lives back to us once more.
Dedicate yourself above all else to becoming the-best-version-of-yourself. It is the best thing you can do for your spouse, your children, your friends, your colleagues, your employees, your employer, your church, your nation, the human family, and yourself.
Your ability to experience happiness will be limited only by your ability to grasp the meaning and purpose of your life.
There is only one question: Will what you are about to do help you become the-best-version-of-yourself? If the answer to that question is “Yes,” do it without hesitation.
Start to make the small decisions of your day-to-day life in alignment with your essential purpose. By honoring the meaning and purpose of your life in the small things, you will discover that the larger questions looming in your life become clearer and clearer.
Take time each day to visualize that person you are capable of becoming.
The more specific your visualization, the faster and more effectively you will be transformed into that better version of yourself. Visualize particular ways of acting in certain situations.
If we want our lives to change, we must first examine and alter our mind habits.
Do not ask, “What is the least I can do?”; rather, in every situation, ask yourself, “What is the most I can do?” If you are willing, this one question will introduce you to your better self and change your life forever.
Self-discipline is the foundation of freedom. This self-discipline, this mastery of self, is acquired only by the practice of self-denial and is acquired always from within. Discipline can never be imposed upon a person; it must emerge from within a person.
The foundation of freedom is not strength, but character. The foundation of character is discipline.
From #RythmofLife by @MatthewFKelly
In the place of the self-destructive habit, we must plant a self-empowering habit.
want that freedom in all things. It is a liberation that nobody can ever take from you. It is the freedom to choose what is good, true, noble, beautiful, and right.
You need not worry that you will not be ready. It will not rise until you are. You need not fear that you will miss it or fail to recognize it. It is looking for you even more than you are looking for it.
you must search your heart and become intimately aware of your legitimate needs, your deepest desires, and your talents.
You must be prepared to dare to be different in a world where uniformity is safe and rewarded. Search yourself. Discover something deep within that is yours and no one else’s. Uncover your uniqueness.
Your chance at greatness is intrinsically linked to being yourself.
It is only when we give up the search, believing that we will never find that special talent or that we simply do not possess one, that frustration and depression take hold of us.
Perhaps your talent is to help others find and share their talents.
There is a part of each of us that is weak and can be bought. There is also a part of each of us that is strong and cannot be bought at any price. Ignore the former and nurture the latter. But most of all, befriend that part of you that cannot be bought at any price, because it will tell you who you are.
You may try any path you wish. You may try to find yourself in a thousand different ways, but in a wonderfully profound and mysterious way, it is only through self-donation—giving ourselves to others—that we discover our true self.
There is no faster way to happen upon the purpose of your life than to embrace life’s daily opportunities to serve those around you.
legitimate needs” fall into four categories—physical, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual. I also came to realize that when these needs are satisfied, I am necessarily a healthier and happier person.
Good opportunities are very hard to refuse. I also came to realize that just because something is good doesn’t mean it is good for you or right for you.
I believe life should be lived passionately and that the day-today drudgery that stifles the greatness of the human spirit should be avoided at all costs. I do not despise simple daily tasks, but I believe their place is in building us up, not in tearing us down.
Wisdom is harnessing the strength of our own better nature by working with it.
Persistence has strength.
We must decide what is really important, really necessary, make it a priority, and make time. Otherwise the siren call of the world will always keep us busy and distracted from what really is important. What really counts?
In this world that is always racing, we must learn to slow down. We must learn to create a pace for ourselves. We should learn to take control of—and maintain—the rhythm of our own lives.
Set goals that stretch you but do not break you.
We sleep to be renewed. Sleep refreshes us. Sleep energizes us. Our sleep brings rest, renewal, and energy not only to our bodies, but also to our hearts, minds, and spirits. Sleep heals us from the stresses of daily life.
