A sentence or concept has the power to change your life, if you act. Here is a list of maxims to practice.
Knowing without doing is futile. All the information in the world in your possession is never going to matter if you don’t act on it. You can know how to eat healthy and how to exercise, but if you do neither getting fit is impossible.
Take credit for your mistakes. You can’t take credit for your successes if you don’t account for your failures. With the right corrections your mistakes are a breeding ground for your victories. Embrace your shortfalls as a way to know how to stand taller.
Demonstration is better than lecture. You can’t lecture a person to success, but you can show people how to succeed. You also won’t make much progress by sitting on your butt and listening to a lecture. Passive learning through slide shows and PowerPoint presentations has a minimal effect. Hands-on demonstrations and being actively engaged in information is the best way to go. If you want to accelerate progress put yourself in the drivers seat and shift gears.
Can’t never leads to can. Can’t really means that you won’t or that you will not try. Every time you say you can’t do something you shut the part of your brain off that offers a way that you can. Often, personal choice is the difference between can’t and can.
Fear can overpower courage. Courage can also devour fear. Fear can control you and courage can set you free. What do you choose? No one can make this choice for you.
Know when to shut up. Talking does not make you appear smarter. Listening is the best way to learn. Letting others speak and not always offering up your opinion can be to your advantage.
Don’t let your environment mold you. Your surroundings can influence you, but only your choices can shape you. Avoid blaming your family or friends or outside circumstances for the outcomes in your life. You don’t always control your outside, but you do control your inside.
Just because you can, does not mean you will. Procrastination is prevalent. We are able of so much happiness and success, but we deny its fulfillment because it takes more work than we are willing to perform. You have to find the inner motivation to produce the life you are perfectly capable of.
Often we get the future we set. The best things in your life did not just jump into your lap. More than likely, you set out to achieve them by defining goals, planning and executing your intentions. If you are not already engaged in setting goals for yourself, then get in the habit of doing it. If not, mediocrity will underscore your life.
Let happiness erupt your life. To be happy is what everyone wants. You can have all the money in the world, but if you aren’t happy it will mean little. Find ways to enjoy life; to be happy. Look for the good in yourself, and others. Be happy in both your small and large victories.
Let integrity be your guide. Stay true to your values. Do what you think is right. Integrity is a great ways to set your self apart from the crowd since most people lack it.
Pain can lead to actions that create pleasure. Have you ever been in so much pain that when your doctor told you to do something you did it without hesitation? Pain is a way of letting you know that you need to change course or to adjust your path. What pain are you experiencing? What do you need to change in order to experience more pleasure?
Belief in self supersedes circumstance. Okay, I get it that if you weight 105 pounds you will not be a linebacker in the NFL. Yet, the majority of time it is a belief in self that will overcome outside forces. The same is true when others deny you.
Respect is never gained by disrespect. You won’t win people to your cause by scorn, disdain, or insolence. People will not have a high opinion of you, if you act as though they are inferior to you. It’s true that you get respect by giving respect.
Never let other people define you. We are who we define ourselves as, or when we accept how others define us. Undue criticism, letting people tell you that you are not good, or that what you want is impossible can only exist if you allow it.
Losers don’t like to keep score. Keeping score is a form of measurement. Unless you are willing to evaluate your progress how will you ever know how you are doing? Don’t bury your head in the sand by refusing to measure your development.
Don’t shift your responsibilities onto someone else. Other people don’t own your problems, you do. Pushing your responsibilities onto someone else will not make you stronger. Nor will your responsibilities disappear by pretending they don’t exist.
You can only control you. Stop trying to control other people. Focus your energy on doing your best so you can provide an example for others to follow, if they choose to.
Let gratitude lead your greatness. Stop to take a moment to acknowledge your blessings. Start making it a daily practice of getting in touch with the concept that you experience more successes and happiness by appreciating your current lot.
Why not be who you can be? Are you afraid of your own greatness? Or are you consumed by falling short of being your best, so you don’t even try? What is holding you back? Go for it. Do it. Be it!
You can make a change. Grab onto one or a few of these maxims and put it into action.
Best of success to you!
