Posted by Dennis Mellersh in Personal Development Potential.
Tags: Eric Hoffer, inspiration, life, personal growth, philosophy, self-actualization, self-esteem, writing
In our constant focus on reaching our personal growth potential, we can fall into the trap of self-abortion in the personal growth process.
This can have results totally at variance with our improvement goals.
Such as sometimes forgetting the maxim that our own growth should do no harm to the self-esteem and aspirations of others.
It can be a small thing, such the words and tone we use when explaining a principle to someone who is not yet beyond the beginner stage in self-improvement.
I believe it was Eric Hoffer who, commenting on an old European proverb, said:
“The tongue has no bones, but it can break bones.”
Words can be more hurtful than we may realize.
— Dennis Mellersh
Posted by Dennis Mellersh in Personal Development Potential.
Tags: inspiration, life, philosophy, self-improvement, the future, the past, worry, worrying, writing
In our personal growth efforts we can reduce our emotional discomfort by making conscious choices concerning what we will worry about.
It’s similar approach to the concept of “choosing our battles” carefully.
As with most advice on achieving our self-improvement potential, however, such suggestions are easier to accept intellectually than they are to actually put into practice.
So what follows is not anything we don’t already know, but more of a reminder for us (when possible) to try to think consciously about worrying rather than falling into doing it reflexively.
One definition of worry describes it as “A state of anxiety and uncertainty over actual or potential problems.”
To that we might add “or imaginary problems” that will likely never actually develop.
To choose what we worry about, here are is a reminder about just a few of the well-known key worry “inducers” we should concentrate on reducing or eliminating:
* Focusing on the past
* Dwelling on the future
* Thinking too much about things we can’t control
* Assuming bad outcomes
* Constantly trying to please others
Our worry patterns are baked-in over our lifetimes, so we can’t just will ourselves to stop worrying.
But when we catch ourselves obsessing/worrying at any given time, we are able to rationally approach that particular worry and decide if it is worth investing our emotional and intellectual energy.
Worry quote:
“I am an old man and have known a great many troubles, but most of them have never happened.” – Mark Twain
– Dennis Mellersh
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