LIFE QUOTES THAT WILL MAKE YOU THINK
If you have been around my blog long you know that I love quotes. I love to share them to inspire others and help them find joy in their journey. Quotes have always inspired me along my journey and have helped to get me thinking about things differently.
Today I wanted to share some quotes that have been incredibly important in my life along the way.
Failure or success?
“Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.”
Thomas Edison
This quote has always made me think hard about where I am in life. Whether it is personally or professionally I find this to be so true when faced with challenges. It is not always easy along the road to success and giving up can often seem like the right thing to do. However you never really realize how close you could be to a breakthrough. Your goal can often seem unattainable but it really is not. Hard work and determination might be all that separates you from where you are now and where you are going.
Trials will always end, Joy is waiting on the other side
“The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain.”
Dolly Parton
Throughout our lives, we all face challenges as well as trials, that is life. With life comes both sorrow and joy, times of struggle, and times of abundance. Many of you probably are in the times of struggle and sorrow phase right now. You might feel like you will never see the rainbow that is ahead. You are not alone and let me assure you we all struggle with similar things along the way. Each of us has a choice every day to wake up and find joy even in the hard times. Joy can be found even in the difficult times we just might have to look a bit harder.
Joy is best experienced by sharing it
“Grief can take care of itself, but to get the full value of a joy you must have somebody to divide it with.”
Mark Twain
You can never truly experience the full value of joy unless you share it with others. When you find yourself blessed beyond what you ever expected reach out and impact someone else's life. You will find that the joy you felt in your current situation is even greater when shared with others.
A bad mood can change everything
"Nothing helps a bad mood like spreading it around."
Bill Watterson (in his comic strip Calvin and Hobbes)
Ever noticed that when you are in a bad mood everything seems to go wrong? Have you ever thought about how contagious that bad mood or good mood can be? Our attitudes and interactions with others can spread joy or spread negativity. The choice is yours which you chose to share daily. Bring a smile and a good attitude to work and watch how your day goes. We cannot control other's attitudes and choices. However, by nature people respond to our attitudes towards life and them. People see you through the lens that you choose to be seen through. If you want to be seen in a good light you need to present yourself and your attitude in a good way. Be the change that you want to see every day and you will most likely see results. If you bring a good attitude and teamwork to a job you will most likely see the same amongst your coworkers. Bring a bad attitude instead and watch what happens. Your environment will often begin to match your mood fairly quickly.
Net-worth versus self-worth
“When you understand that your self-worth is not determined by your net-worth, then you’ll have financial freedom.”
Suze Orman
Suze was so right when she said that you can find true financial freedom when you understand this. If your self-worth is always tied to your net-worth you will never be free. Net-worth can change and self-worth needs to come from a very different place entirely. Understanding our worth can help us to be more content also which helps to improve both our self-worth and overall quality of life. Another thing that you will discover is that when you find your self-worth and it is not tied to what you have financially or what you own you will be able to save more and spend less. You will realize that you do not need the best of everything to find joy. Status will not matter nearly as much and neither will the size of your bank account. You will become more content right where you are and will live a more meaningful life.
Financial wisdom in these simple words
“You must gain control over your money or the lack of it will forever control you.”
Dave Ramsey
Since I started getting more involved in blogging and learning about finance I discovered that many disagree with Dave Ramsey. Many believe that his financial teachings are wrong and have very different opinions. Whether you agree with him or not this quote is simple and powerful and once it is understood it can change your financial life. The power is in gaining control and recognizing that our financial situations often control many of us. It is in discovering how to control your finances and not the other way around that you begin to change the bigger picture. You can find simple ways to begin making those changes no matter what your finances look like. My advice is to start small and work on the daily choices that you can control. Find the lost money being spent on frivolous purchases, create a budget and save a small portion of each paycheck and begin to see the difference. As you recognize the control your money has over you, you will begin to better understand that financial freedom requires us to gain control over our money. If you never gain control of your finances and make the hard decisions now your financial choices will control your future.
How these concepts and life quotes have changed my life
In so many ways I have learned through the wisdom of others. I would hear quotes like the ones I shared with you today and begin to contemplate them. Life would begin to make sense more and more when I analyzed the concept presented. I would find that my former view and my previous attitudes were holding me back. Wisdom often presents itself in my life in the form of something I read and begin to finally understand. I would look back on previous choices made, interactions I have had with others and realize that I was wrong. I think I am finally beginning to not only accept that I am often wrong but appreciate finding out that I am. In a weird way, I find that I enjoy learning through my mistakes now because I now recognize them as growth in my life. I am no longer am the same person that I once was and I am better because of that. I have lived, learned, and become who I am today because of yesterday. I have been wrong and made many mistakes along the way but the best part is that I have learned through many of them along the way.