Living resentfully is like driving with the brake pressed
Living resentfully is like driving with the brake pressed Suppose we see someone pressing the brake of their car and also trying to drive the [...]
If you get the thought that you can never resist temptation treat that thought as a temptation and resist it
If you get the thought that you can never resist temptation treat that thought as a temptation and resist it Suppose an invading army infiltrates [...]
Don’t mess every new day with yesterday
Don't mess every new day with yesterday Suppose we are driving through an intersection. If at a previous intersection, someone had suddenly cut across us. [...]
Maturity means to acknowledge that no one is obliged to fulfill our needs
Maturity means to acknowledge that no one is obliged to fulfill our needs When infants are hungry, they just cry and expect others to come [...]
Stop whining that life is not fair – start working with life as it is
Stop whining that life is not fair – start working with life as it is Life sometimes gives us a raw deal. Despite working hard, [...]
Don’t give your mind to people whom you wouldn’t give your time
Don’t give your mind to people whom you wouldn’t give your time When somebody has hurt us grievously, we may decide to avoid them in [...]
The mind is a great storyteller, but what it tells are just stories, not realities
Some people narrate stories with such animation and emotion that they completely captivate their audiences. While we may appreciate their storytelling expertise, we won’t assume [...]
A season of grieving may be necessary, but a lifetime of grieving isn’t
Suppose we get physically wounded, but are immediately told to resume normal activities. We won’t be able to. A similar principle applies to emotional wounds [...]
Our journey needs to begin where we are, not where we ought to be
Suppose while driving to a destination, we take some wrong turns and end up far away from our goal. We may feel irritated, and understandably [...]
Worrying is a part of life’s job description, but it is not the whole job
In life, we need to anticipate the things that may go wrong and prepare for them, either by advance planning or on-the-feet thinking. Thus, in [...]
The mind may give us a flashback, but we don’t have to turn back
When we strive to lead a principle-centered life, we sometimes get sudden flashbacks. Some flashbacks are joyful, some painful. The unpleasant flashbacks are often of [...]
Failure is not the enemy of success – it is the entry to success
Some people ask, “When we try to improve ourselves, if we fail repeatedly, how can we avoid becoming discouraged?” By reconceptualizing failure – instead of [...]
Second-guessing ourselves doesn’t reflect caution – it reflects confusion
Suppose we are driving to a particular place and have ascertained the path to get there. If we keep stopping repeatedly on the deserted road [...]
Life is too precious to be wasted in doing perpetual post-mortem operations
When someone dies because of unknown causes, legal authorities often do a post-mortem operation to determine the cause. Similarly, in our life, when things go [...]
We can’t choose our past, but we can choose our memories
When we meet someone who has an ugly scar, that sight may jar us. But once we get to know them and see their good [...]
Don’t let hindsight hinder foresight
Hindsight refers to the lessons we learn from life; it emerges from our reflectiveness to evaluate what we did and what we could have done [...]
Fixing a leaking tank is more important than filling the tank
Suppose we had a leaking tank that we want to keep filled with water. If we keep filling it without fixing the leak, our effort [...]
To have our needs met by being unhappy is unhealthy
Children who have neglectful parents may find that their parents’ give them attention only when they cry. Damaged by such parental neglect, they may develop [...]
Life’s misfortunes are like thorns – don’t press on them; pass through them
Suppose we are walking barefoot and the path turns thorny. If that is the only way to our destination, we will gird ourselves to endure the pain. But we won’t press our foot on the thorns – we will take it off as quickly as possible and pass through.
Worry is the interest we pay on loans we haven’t yet taken
Suppose a friend is worried about paying the interest on a loan. On enquiry, we come to know that they haven’t yet taken that loan. [...]
In worrying about what all may go wrong, we go wrong
Worrying hurts us even before things go wrong, while things are going wrong and after things have gone wrong. Consider a student with a decent [...]