I’ve kept a personal journal for nearly half of my life.
My journal is a repository for meaningful things I read or think about. Many of the entries find their way into my Sunday blog posts. I was reading my journal recently, and scattered throughout the pages were rules for living I collected over the years. I decided to bring them together and post them where I would run across them from time to time as a reminder.
Rules To Live By
Never Dwell On Personal Problems
Be like a sunflower
That turns to face the sun
As it moves across the sky
Seek Improvement Rather Than Perfection
Become just a tiny bit better
Then you were last year.
Repeat every year.
Develop habits
The purpose of a habit
Is to save the energy wasted
In deciding whether or not to do it.
Tend to small things.
More people are defeated by blisters than mountains.
Never despair
Art begins in what is broken
Only imperfect beings can make art.
Seek Purpose
Your passions should fit you exactly,
But your purpose in life should exceed you.
Work for something larger than yourself.
Watch Behaviors
It is easier
To change how you think
By changing your behavior
Then it is to change your behavior
By changing how you think.
Build Discipline
The gap between where you are
and where you want to be
Is closed by discipline.
Take Action
“Do or do not; there is no try.”
Lean into Discomfort
Accomplishments require sacrifice.
Be Kind Whenever Possible
It is always possible.
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Tim—– good rules to live by this morning—and all mornings !!!
My Favorite—-BE KIND WHENEVER POSSIBLE——-IT IS ALWAYS POSSIBLE !!!!!!!!
Kindness changes the World like no other feeling and emotion….
Wren.
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Thanks, Wren; that is also a favorite of mine and one I need further improvement on (like them all)! It’s from George Saunders, an American writer who teaches creative writing in the MFA program at Syracuse.
Tim
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These are great Tim. I recognize some that you spoke to when we worked together – but all of them resonate from knowing you. Thanks for sharing!
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Thanks Dave! Hope all is well with you. Sorry about Auburn; they busted my bracket early on! 😎
Tim
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wonderful thanks for these Tim
I particularly liked the definition of habits eliminating the need for decisions
joe
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Thanks, Joe, I didn’t know you read the blog! Thanks for your comment and for reading my blog!
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Love this one
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