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Accomplishments will prove to be a journey, not a destination. -Dwight D. EisenhowerFor the longest time, one of the most commonly used phrases I’ve heard is “the end justifies the means.” Adding to that are stories of constant hustle and bustle till people reach their goals. It all makes me think; is a destination simply a mcguffin for learning?
“No act of kindness, however small, is ever wasted.” -AesopWelcome to the seventh of my #PayItForward series. If you’re a regular reader, thank you. If you’re new, this is a series in which I write about writers I find inspiring and what specifically, I’ve learned from them.
“An obsession is a way for damaged people to damage themselves more.” -Mark BarrowcliffeI’ve always believed that two key elements to conquer any difficult endeavor of life are passion and determination. But is there such a thing too much passion? Can you ever love something (or someone) so much that it comes a hindrance more than an ascension. There can be, when passion becomes obsession.
“Acceptance makes an incredible fertile soil for the seeds of change.” -Steve MaraboliThere was an article I wrote for this site a few months back on acceptance and the aftermath of going through bad situations in life. I am posting parts of that article again but first, I feel the need to add something crucial to it that has more or less donned on me in the last month or so.
An amazing thing happens when you stop seeking approval and validation: You find it. -Mandy HaleHow necessary is it to for us to have validation? In terms of needing it, not very necessary at all in most aspects of life. Wanting it, however, is a different story. As human beings, we want validation for everything we do. We like compliments. We like people agreeing with us.
“There is no failure except in no longer trying.” -Elbert HubbardImagine this scenario: You’re working on a specific project or endeavor and nothing seems to be going right. Every plan, no matter how analytical when conceived, falls apart. You try and try and try and there’s no hope in sight. In short, you feel you have no option left but to give up.
“My mother always said I must be tolerant of ignorance but understanding of illiteracy.” -Maya AngelouWhat does being smart entail? Getting good grades in college? Being able to smell a scam from a thousand feet away? Many have always preached education over everything else. But then, the likes of Thomas Edison, Bill Gates and Albert Einstein all dropped out of school at one point and ended up having pretty distinguished lives and careers.
“Sometimes the most productive thing you can do is relax.” -Mark BlackAs I mentioned in my last post, I took most of last week to catch up on a quite a few things both in my personal life as professionally. Professionally, I took the time to design some new ads for this site. On the personal front, I took the time to emotionally support friends going through hard times.
“There is virtue in work and there is virtue in rest. Use both and overlook neither.” -Alan CohenDear Readers, This week has been a myriad of ups and downs and I wasn’t able to contribute to this section much. For that I apologize. Along with a couple of personal issues, I’ve also been under the weather a little bit for the last 72 hours or so.
“A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new.” -Albert EinsteinHow crucial is taking risks abd exploring new endeavors? One way to answer that is reflect how you’re reading this post.
“Without teachers, life would have no class.” -UnknownWelcome to the sixth installment of my #PayItForward series. If you’re a regular reader of this series, thank you. If you’re new, this is a series in which I talk about specific writers that I find highly inspiring. Firstly, I want to give a special shout-out to Abuh Monday Eneojo who is HUGE contributor to this site. In recent weeks, the effort I’ve seen him put out to promote this platform is unparalleled and needs to be acknowledged. He also has a free, yes FREE anthology out called PIARY. For more information on that follow Abuh on Twitter @MondayDPoet.
“Listen. People start to heal the moment they feel heard.” -Cheryl RichardsonHappy Memorial day, everyone! Hope you all are doing well and staying safe. This post is a little bit different than my usual posts the format of which I’ve done once before. Last Tuesday night was a very rough night for me. Bad news was coming at me from every direction and I felt hopelessly lost. When I put that out on Twitter, I got a tweet and a DM from a friend and a fellow writer that snapped me out of the urge of doing something drastic. Without going into tedious details, the overall message was simple: I had an outlet through her if I needed.
“If you stop for one second and do something, everyone is happy. You pay it forward and it comes back to you twelve-fold.” -Mariska HargitayWelcome to the fifth installment of the #PayItForward series. This one is a special edition of online publications that have not only inspired me but have set new standards for contemporary literature, especially by independent writers.
“Self-pity is easily the most destructive of non-pharmaceutical narcotics. It is addictive, gives momentary pleasure and separates the victim from reality.” -John W. Gardner“I’m worthless. I’m a moron. I can’t do anything right. Nobody loves me. Maybe it’s better for everyone if I just disappear.” Every had these or similar thoughts? They’re thoughts of self-pity.
“Our journey is demanding enough that the need for reassurance as well as reminders is constant.” -Neal A. MaxwellHello dear readers, This post will be a little bit shorter than usual as I will also be re-posting yesterday’s post a little later today which is unfortunately not there anymore due to technical issues. It will however, be re-posted sometime by today. There are times when our loved ones who are suffering need to extensive reassurance that everything will be fine. Sometimes, we have to talk to them for quite a while to get them to feel better. We have to belabor a point to convince them that hope is just on the horizon.
“Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap, but by the seeds you plant.” -Robert Louis StevensonIn previous articles, I’ve talked about planting the seeds, so to speak for any task or endeavor. For example, if you have writer’s block, I’ve suggested that keeping writing “I don’t know what to write” over and over till you think of something.
“We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.” -Winston ChurchillWelcome to the fourth part of my #PayItForward series. If you’re a new reader to this series, these are writers who I look up to in some shape or fashion and try to learn from. If you’ve been following this series or any of my writings on this site, I express the warmest gratitude to all of you.
“Mindfulness isn’t difficult. We just need to remember to do it.” -Sharon SaltzbergIn a recent article, I had discussed how a state of mindfulness is not just a mental or psychological exercise. Done properly, it can also have a number of physical benefits as well. After writing that article, I got a couple of questions asking how exactly one would get started if they’ve never done so before. It’s my hope that this article answers some of those questions and serves as a basic introduction to mindfulness meditation.
“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” -Margaret Wolfe HungerfordIt’s getting close to almost a full year since I integrated myself within this wonderful community and wonderful family known as Daily Wisdom Words. This post is a celebration to that. When Samantha first approached me to write the Wisdomology section of this site, I was very grateful for the opportunity and kind of resurrected my love for writing, especially non-fiction writing as I had not done that since my days as a journalist nearly 10-12 years ago.