Tag: Life’s Journey

Control Your Reactions

“Along our journey we will be confronted with many situations, some will be filled with joy, and some will be filled with heartache. How we react to what we are faced will determine what kind of outcome the rest of our journey through life will be like.”

― Susan Samaroo

          Life is truly 10 percent what happens to you and 90 percent how you react to it. You, and you alone, get to decide if you will let life’s circumstances define who you are and the course of your life. For you can’t control what curveballs life will undoubtedly throw at you, but you can control how you deal with it.

Triumph Over Adversity

“My Dear Son,
I am so very proud of you. Now, as you embark on a new journey, I’d like to share this one piece of advice. Always, always remember that – adversity is not a detour. It is part of the path.

You will encounter obstacles. You will make mistakes. Be grateful for both. Your obstacles and mistakes will be your greatest teachers. And the only way to not make mistakes in this life is to do nothing, which is the biggest mistake of all.

Your challenges, if you let them, will become your greatest allies. Mountains can crush or raise you, depending on which side of the mountain you choose to stand on. All history bears out that the great, those who have changed the world, have all suffered great challenges. And, more times than not it’s precisely those challenges that, in God’s time, lead to triumph.

Abhor victimhood. Denounce entitlement. Neither are gifts, rather cages to damn the soul. Everyone who has walked this earth is a victim of injustice. Everyone.

Most of all, do not be too quick to denounce your sufferings. The difficult road you are called to walk may, in fact be your only path to success.”

― Richard Paul Evans, A Winter Dream

         You will undoubtedly face many setbacks and difficulties throughout your life. And at times, it may seem like your path is strewn with jagged rocks and rough terrain. But you must not look at your struggles as merely a cross you must bear. No, use your struggles as stepping stones to propel you forward. Gather strength and perseverance from your challenges to triumph over any curveball life may throw at you.

The Sun will Rise

“The Sun will rise and set regardless. What we choose to do with the light while it’s here is up to us. Journey wisely.”

― Alexandra Elle

          Each day is a new opportunity to try again, to start over. It is a chance to leave the baggage of yesterday where it belongs and begin again. It is the time to start a new story, a new journey. Most importantly, each day when the dawn breaks marks a pivotal moment when you have a choice to discover what it means to truly live or continue to merely exist.

Enjoy the Moment

“Go outside. Don’t tell anyone and don’t bring your phone. Start walking and keep walking until you no longer know the road like the palm of your hand, because we walk the same roads day in and day out, to the bus and back home and we cease to see. We walk in our sleep and teach our muscles to work without thinking and I dare you to walk where you have not yet walked and I dare you to notice. Don’t try to get anything out of it, because you won’t. Don’t try to make use of it, because you can’t. And that’s the point. Just walk, see, sit down if you like. And be. Just be, whatever you are with whatever you have, and realise that that is enough to be happy.
There’s a whole world out there, right outside your window. You’d be a fool to miss it.”

― Charlotte Eriksson

           It’s so easy to get complacent and set in our daily routine that we end up just going through the motions. We tend to forget or get too busy to just stop and enjoy the present moment. So, it’s important to remind ourselves to simply stop, put the phone away and go outside and sit on a bench without a reason for doing so. Go take a walk without a destination in mind. For life is about enjoying the small miracles that surround us each and everyday like a butterfly taking flight or the warmth of the sun on your cheek.

Perspective

“People who are too optimistic seem annoying. This is an unfortunate misinterpretation of what an optimist really is.

An optimist is neither naive, nor blind to the facts, nor in denial of grim reality. An optimist believes in the optimal usage of all options available, no matter how limited. As such, an optimist always sees the big picture. How else to keep track of all that’s out there? An optimist is simply a proactive realist.

An idealist focuses only on the best aspects of all things (sometimes in detriment to reality); an optimist strives to find an effective solution. A pessimist sees limited or no choices in dark times; an optimist makes choices.

When bobbing for apples, an idealist endlessly reaches for the best apple, a pessimist settles for the first one within reach, while an optimist drains the barrel, fishes out all the apples and makes pie.

Annoying? Yes. But, oh-so tasty!”

― Vera Nazarian, The Perpetual Calendar of Inspiration

        The amazing thing about life is the ability to choose your perspective. At all times, you get to choose from which lens you view life from. You can choose to only see the negative. Or, you can choose to see both the good and not so good aspects of life and work towards finding solutions to effect change for the greater good. As always, the choice is up to you.

Reach for the Stars

“When you reach for the stars, you are reaching for the farthest thing out there. When you reach deep into yourself, it is the same thing, but in the opposite direction. If you reach in both directions, you will have spanned the universe.”

― Vera Nazarian, The Perpetual Calendar of Inspiration

        To achieve your full potential, you must first believe in a future of limitless possibilities and have the drive to never stop reaching for the stars. In the same vein, you must harness that same drive to reach deep inside yourself in search of the better version of you. Self-care and self-discovery are just as important as chasing external goals.

Give Your All

“You read and write and sing and experience, thinking that one day these things will build the character you admire to live as. You love and lose and bleed best you can, to the extreme, hoping that one day the world will read you like the poem you want to be.”

― Charlotte Eriksson

         Give your all to everything you do in this life. Lay your heart and soul bare on the table holding nothing back. Let the world truly see you for who you are and for all you have to give. For you deserve to shine as bright as the stars lighting up the night sky. Be confident, be bold, and let the world hear your song.

The Journey of Today

“The beautiful journey of today can only begin when we learn to let go of yesterday.”

― Steve Maraboli,
Unapologetically You: Reflections on Life and the Human Experience

           To move forward in life, you must close the door on yesterday’s regrets. For in order to fully embrace what today has to offer, you must free yourself of the chains tying you to your past. Open your heart and mind to new opportunities and new beginnings.

Live Your Potential

“I want to live my life to its fullest potential. I want to embrace my own purpose, however large or small it may be. I want to find my own Nehru moments and take positive steps toward becoming the person I am meant to be. The journey will undoubtedly be a winding one, filled with surprises and setbacks as well as gifts. But I’m ready to embrace it fully, wherever it may take me.”

― Mallika Chopra, Living with Intent: My Somewhat Messy Journey to Purpose, Peace, and Joy

         To truly live means to give your all and hold nothing back. It means figuring out who you are and what your purpose is. It means not settling into a mediocre existence when you were destined for an extraordinary life. And the incredible thing is that what direction your life takes is up to you. You have the choice to simply exist or to truly embrace life and learn what it means to live.