A BLOG DEVOTED TO SHARING POSITIVE AND ENCOURAGING MESSAGES FOR THE HUNGRY HEART
“Plant your garden and decorate your own soul, instead of waiting for someone to bring you flowers.”
—Jose Luis Borges
If you have a dream, you must do the hard work to make it a reality. You can’t just sit back and wait for life to happen or for things to be handed to you. No, you must plant the seeds for your own garden and tend to it until the flowers bloom.
“It’s not about how hard you can hit; it’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward.”
—Rocky Balboa, Rocky
Life will constantly knock you on your ass. The key is finding the inner strength to keep standing up each time no matter how hard the blow. For character is born from withstanding life’s toughest moments and persevering no matter the odds.
“The only person you should try to be better than is the person you were yesterday”
― Matty Mullins
Don’t compare yourself to others. Don’t try to live up to other people’s standards. For the only person you should hold yourself up to is yourself, meaning each day you should strive to be your best self. Don’t worry about what anyone else is doing and instead focus on your own personal growth, self-worth, and self-love.
“Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind.”
—Dr. Seuss
At the end of the day, don’t shy away from who you are. Don’t be afraid to speak your mind and stand up for what you believe. Ignore the naysayers and haters. They aren’t for you and aren’t worth your time. Those who are true will support you no matter what. So, proudly stand up and show the world who you are.
“All of life is peaks and valleys. Don’t let the peaks get too high and the valleys too low.”
– John Wooden
Life is hard, but it shouldn’t be impossible. You have to be careful to not let your expectations and circumstances create mountains too high to climb or rivers to wide to cross. You determine the quality of your life…circumstances only account for a small percentage of your happiness and the rest stems from how you deal with those circumstances.
“You’re only here for a short visit. Don’t hurry, don’t worry. And be sure to smell the flowers along the way.”
– Walter Hagen
Stop rushing through life trying to reach your destination. Rather, slow down to enjoy the scenery…take detours and get lost. For life is too precious and short to waste one minute being unhappy, angry, or resentful.
“The greatest win is walking away and choosing not to engage in drama and toxic energy at all.”
― Lalah Delia
Throughout life you will continually come across toxic people, whether it be your family or coworkers. There will never be a short supply of people waiting to try to take your happiness away by spewing their negativity around you. But, you must always remember that although you can’t control other people’s actions, you can control how you react to them. Choose to take the high road of integrity and don’t stoop down to their level. Be the bigger person, be the mature adult in the situation. Do not compromise your values and standards. For you stand to gain nothing by engaging in their petty behavior.
“Life is inherently risky. There is only one big risk you should avoid at all costs, and that is the risk of doing nothing.”
– Denis Waitley
Life is about taking chances. It’s about getting up and taking action. It isn’t about sitting still and doing nothing. So, dare yourself to take a leap of faith without knowing what awaits you at the bottom. For you stand to gain only what you are willing to risk.
“When you have a dream that you can’t let go of, trust your instincts and pursue it. But remember: Real dreams take work, They take patience, and sometimes they require you to dig down very deep. Be sure you’re willing to do that.”
– Harvey Mackay
Rome wasn’t built overnight. So, it goes without saying that your dreams won’t be achieved overnight. No, it takes time, patience, and perseverance to achieve your goals and dreams. Whether it be personal or professional. You must, therefore, work even harder to not get frustrated, disappointed, or discouraged along the way. Have faith that things will work out in the end.
“At the end of the day, you are solely responsible for your success and your failure. And the sooner you realize that, you accept that, and integrate that into your work ethic, you will start being successful. As long as you blame others for the reason you aren’t where you want to be, you will always be a failure.”
– Erin Cummings
Take ownership and responsibility for where you’re at in life. Don’t blame others and external factors for your circumstances. For in order to move forward, you must accept the choices you made that led you down your path so you can grow and make different, hopefully better, decisions in the future.