“What do you love doing so much that the words failure and success essentially become irrelevant?”
– Elizabeth Gilbert
From the wonderful book Big Magic. It’s like rocket fuel for any creatively minded human.
Failure and Success Are Irrelevant
Fight Your Fear Less
“It seems to me that the less I fight my fear, the less it fights back. If I can relax, fear relaxes, too.”
– Elizabeth Gilbert
From the wonderful book Big Magic. It’s like rocket fuel for every creatively minded human.
People’s Reactions Don’t Belong To You
“Recognizing that people’s reactions don’t belong to you is the only sane way to create. If people enjoy what you’ve created, terrific. If people ignore what you’ve created, too bad. If people misunderstand what you’ve created, don’t sweat it. And what if people absolutely hate what you’ve created? What if people attack you with savage vitriol, and insult your intelligence, and malign your motives, and drag your good name through the mud? Just smile sweetly and suggest – as politely as you possibly can – that they go make their own fucking art. Then stubbornly continue making yours.”
– Elizabeth Gilbert
From the wonderful book Big Magic. It’s like rocket fuel for every creatively minded human.
Letters To A Young Poet
“Perhaps all the dragons in our lives are princesses who are only waiting to see us act, just once, with beauty and courage. Perhaps everything that frightens us is, in its deepest essence, something helpless that wants our love.”
— Rainer Maria Rilke
(via James)
Quieter Voices
“Hate is usually louder than love – in society and within ourselves. What will happen if we listen to the quieter voices?”
— Charles Eisenstein
The One That Brings You Home
“There are going to be people in your life who change your trajectory. They’re going to walk into your life for a moment, a lifetime, or anytime in between. And they’re going to disrupt something in your life. They’ll challenge you, they’ll shake your beliefs, they’ll trigger you and then stand by you as you work through your healing. These people will teach you and be taught by you. You’ll dance and play. You’ll see the softer sides that others don’t get to see. They’ll lay down markers on your life’s timeline. Markers that roar “I was here”. Pre me. Post me. They’re the life changers. The good type of change. Not the one that takes you away from yourself… but the one that brings you home. “
— Vienna Pharaon
Do It On Purpose
“Find out who you are and do it on purpose.”
– Dolly Parton
(via)
What You See
“It’s not what you look for that matters, it’s what you see.”
— Henry David Thoreau
Stuck To The Job
“A diamond is a piece of coal that stuck to the job.”
— Thomas A. Edison
(via)
No Fixed Plans
“A good traveller has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving.”
– Lao Tzu
(via)
Listening Across Lines
“The purpose of listening across lines of difference is not agreement or compromise. It is understanding.”
— Valarie Kaur
Destroyed Illusions
“Sometimes people don’t want to hear the truth because they don’t want their illusions destroyed.”
— Friedrich Nietzsche
Be Patient With Yourself
“Be patient with yourself, nothing in nature blooms all year.”
— ???
I Worried: Poem by Mary Oliver
“I worried a lot. Will the garden grow, will the rivers
flow in the right direction, will the earth turn
as it was taught, and if not how shall
I correct it?
Was I right, was I wrong, will I be forgiven,
can I do better?
Will I ever be able to sing, even the sparrows
can do it and I am, well,
hopeless.
Is my eyesight fading or am I just imagining it,
am I going to get rheumatism,
lockjaw, dementia?
Finally, I saw that worrying had come to nothing.
And gave it up. And took my old body
and went out into the morning,
and sang.”
— Mary Oliver
Deep Listening
“Deep listening is an act of surrender. We risk being changed by what we hear. When I really want to hear another person’s story, I try to leave my preconceptions at the door and draw close to their telling. I am always partially listening to the thoughts in my own head when others are speaking, so I consciously quiet my thoughts and begin to listen with my senses. Empathy is cognitive and emotional—to inhabit another person’s view of the world is to feel the world with them. But I also know that it’s okay if I don’t feel very much for them at all. I just need to feel safe enough to stay curious. The most critical part of listening is asking what is at stake for the other person. I try to understand what matters to them, not what I think matters. Sometimes I start to lose myself in their story. As soon as I notice feeling unmoored, I try to pull myself back into my body, like returning home. As Hannah Arendt says, ‘One trains one’s imagination to go visiting.’ When the story is done, we must return to our skin, our own worldview, and notice how we have been changed by our visit. So I ask myself, What is this story demanding of me? What will I do now that I know this?”
― Valarie Kaur
This Instant
“When you feel confused or burdened by problems focus on *this instant* and ask yourself: What problem do I have right now? You will find that there is no problem *now*. A challenge that requires action, possibly, but not a problem.”
— Eckhart Tolle
No For Breakfast
“I eat no for breakfast.”
— Kamala Harris
Watch this for context.
Room In Your Heart
“Keep some room in your heart for the Unimaginable”
– Mary Oliver.
Anything Worth Doing
“Anything worth doing is worth doing slowly.”
— Mae West
Dance
“I don’t want to be part of your revolution if I can’t dance!
— Emma Goldman
The End of Something
“Often when you think you’re at the end of something, you’re at the beginning of something else.”
— Fred Rogers
Furious Dancing
“Hard times require furious dancing”.
— Alice Walker
5-Step Road Map For Saying No
1. Remind yourself that time is valuable and once it’s spent you absolutely can’t get it back.
2. Ask yourself: “Would I be willing to do this thing tomorrow?” It’s easy to sign yourself up for something in April when it’s only September. Do your future self a favor and try this little exercise.
3. Respond quickly. Don’t leave people hanging once you know you’re saying no.
4. Own your “no” if it’s not a priority (because something else actively is): “Thanks so much for thinking of me. I’m not going to be able to take this on, but I wish you the best with X.”
5. Reframe your “no” to assuage your guilt (if it’s something you genuinely wish you had time for). Acknowledge that this commitment is significant to you, even if you’re not taking it on. A good sample script: “This is so important that it deserves someone’s full energy, and since I can’t do that because I have XYZ other things, I would be dishonoring the importance of this event/role/weekend getaway by saying yes.”