As a teen, I was encouraged gently, insistently, by my father to collect quotes from great personalities. And I did it, grudgingly. I filled notebooks with them in my beautiful cursive. And those quotes, later on in life, when I was feeling anxious or insecure about myself, helped me. I still wonder from where I got them, pre-internet era. But I continued with the habit and will share some with you.
The longer I live, the more I realise the importance of attitude on life. Attitude to me is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, the education, the money, than circumstances, than failure, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company… a church… a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice everyday regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past…we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude. I am convinced life is 10% what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it. And so it is with you…we are in charge of our Attitudes. – Charles Swindoll
Attitude, attitude, attitude. Be positive, look for the solution to the problem, everything will be alright.
In middle age we are apt to reach the horrifying conclusion that all sorrow, all pain, all passionate regret and loss and bitter disillusionment are self-made. -Kathleen Norris
This was the most read quote in my 30’s. I did not want to reach my 50’s, as in where I am now, with ‘bitter disillusionment and passionate regret’ So each time I was down in the dumps, this was the quote which motivated me to do something about my situation.
There are two things to aim at in life: first, to get what you want; and after that, to enjoy it. Only the wisest of mankind achieve the second. -Logan P.Smith
This was the one which told me to be wise and enjoy what I had achieved in my 30’s. A family, a house, a career… now to relax and enjoy it instead of criticizing all that I had got.