Tag Archives: The Quotable Coach

“There is a gap between stimulus and response, and the key to both our growth and happiness is how we use that space.”

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“There is a gap between stimulus and response, and the key to both our growth and happiness is how we use that space.”

—Stephen Covey, 20th century American author & educator

Image from Unsplash by Brett Jordan

This past year has been disturbing and remarkable at the same time. My initial experience of the pandemic and other challenges confronting us was to become angry, frustrated, and down. My world seemed smaller and I felt increasingly confined and limited.

Eventually I stopped looking exclusively outside myself and began a far more intentional and rigorous journey within.

Through numerous practices such as meditation, daily walks, and extensive reading, I found the gaps. I took longer pauses in my thinking and feelings, which provided significant freedom and greater opportunities and possibilities to choose my responses.

Discovering this capacity to be increasingly mindful and aware of my own inner power has enhanced my growth and life satisfaction in many surprising ways.

EXERCISE:

How can and will you use the spaces between stimulus and response to more mindfully navigate life?

I’d very much like to learn about your efforts and progress, and hope you will consider replying to this and future posts.

“Knowledge is like underwear. It is useful to have it, but not necessary to show it off.”

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“Knowledge is like underwear. It is useful to have it, but not necessary to show it off.”

—Bill Murray, American actor

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Who are the people in your world who give you instructions to build a clock when all you ask is the time?

Knowledge can definitely be useful, but too much of a good thing can go awry pretty quickly.

We all wish to be helpful, to be of service, and to contribute. Unfortunately, in our many efforts to do so by sharing what we know, we do not always consider the openness and receptivity of those we wish to enlighten.

EXERCISE:

Where would it be much wiser to share far less of what you know in either your professional or personal communities? We all know no one likes a know-it-all.

Friday Review: Simplicity

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FRIDAY REVIEW: SIMPLICITY

In a complex world, simplicity can be helpful. Here are a few simplicity-related posts you may have missed. Click to read the full message.

 

“If you can’t explain it to a six year old, you don’t understand it yourself.”

 

 

 

“A wonderful gift may not be wrapped as you expect.”

 

 

 

“The rising sun blesses my mind with joy. The setting sun blesses my heart with peace.”

 

 

 

“Good humor is a tonic for mind and body…”

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“Good humor is a tonic for mind and body. It is the best antidote for anxiety and depression. It is a business asset. It attracts and keeps friends. It lightens human burdens. It is the direct route to serenity and contentment.”

—Grenville Kleiser, 20th Century Professor at Yale University

Image from Unsplash by Gemma Chua-Tran

To what degree do you feel the need for healing? What stresses and strains have been put on you, your family, and your world this past year?

What tonics and remedies have you tried to reduce the pain and lighten your burdens?

While we continue to try various elixirs and await the day we’ve all received COVID vaccines, how can you add a booster shot of good humor and daily chuckles to your various communities?

EXERCISE:

This link will take you to a variety of past Quotable Coach posts on this approach to better your world.

Please let me know how this strategy works for you!

“Your beliefs don’t make you a better person — your behavior does.”

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“Your beliefs don’t make you a better person — your behavior does.”

—Author Unknown

Image from Unsplash by Matt Collamer

18th Century English writer, Samuel Johnson, once said, “The road to Hell is paved with good intentions.”

Beliefs, values, and good intentions are simply not enough to improve our world.

Until values become virtues that manifest through committed action, things stay the same and can even regress.

EXERCISE:

Where in your life are you and others more talk and less action?

What issues are so important and urgent in your world that it’s time to leave the stands and get on the field with others in order to move things forward?

“One small positive thought in the morning can change your whole day.”


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“One small positive thought in the morning can change your whole day.”

—Author Unknown

Image from Unsplash by Sharon McCutcheon

Do you take a daily vitamin or perhaps a variety of supplements each morning to support your health?

What foods do you eat for breakfast to start your day?

How much time do you allow for yourself to feed your mind before you jump into your busy schedule?

Consider yourself a sprinter about to run the 100 meter dash in the upcoming Olympic Games. How important is it for you to be powerfully positioned in the blocks when the starting gun goes off?

EXERCISE:

How can you add one or more positive thoughts or nuggets of wisdom to your morning routine?

Consider sharing this lesson or insight with at least one person in one of your communities.

 

“If wrinkles must be written upon our brows, let them not be written upon the heart. The spirit would never grow old.”

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“If wrinkles must be written upon our brows, let them not be written upon the heart. The spirit would never grow old.”

—James A. Garfield, 20th President of the United States

Image from Unsplash by Pelayo Arbués

How old are you? How old do you feel? When you look in the mirror how many more wrinkles do you see compared to last year? What strategies do you use to slow down the hourglass of time?

Looking for the fountain of youth is a preoccupation for many, and potions, lotions, superfood strategies, exercise machines, and cosmetic surgery are very big business.

Books such as Younger Next Year and Real Age even promise the 44 scientific strategies to be up to 25 years younger biologically than you are chronologically.

This past year, I’ve noticed a significant shift in many people toward discovering and nurturing the inner beauty and spirit that, when exercised, remains ever youthful.

EXERCISE:

Have a conversation with folks that wear a few more wrinkles and have a bit more pep in their step than you. Inquire into the strategies they recommend to remain young at heart and bright in spirit.

Friday Review: Silence

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FRIDAY REVIEW: SILENCE

How often do you experience regular periods of silence? Here are a few silence-related posts you may have missed.

 

“The answers you seek never come when the mind is busy. They come when the mind is still, when silence speaks loudest.”

 

 

 

“Silence is one of the great arts of conversation.”

 

 

 

 

“Fools live to regret their words, wise men to regret their silence.”

 

 

 

“Wisdom is a living stream, not an icon preserved in a museum. Only when we…”

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“Wisdom is a living stream, not an icon preserved in a museum. Only when we find the spring of wisdom in our own life can it flow to future generations.”

—Thich Nhat Hanh, Vietnamese Buddhist monk & peace activist

Image from Unsplash by Pickawood

I am often asked by colleagues and clients for a list of my all-time favorite books. Many fellow bloggers create such lists and provide them readily on a yearly basis.

You are most welcome to review the past decade of The Quotable Coach posts to explore the books I reference, but on this occasion, I have an alternative suggestion:

Create your own list of books and other resources that have made the greatest impact in your life. Re-read and review these sources of wisdom and timely advice with your new eyes and greater life experience. If you are like me, you will find these deeper dives to be a treat and discover greater brilliance you missed on your previous readings.

EXERCISE:

Select one book each month this year and make the added effort to discuss and share its wisdom and relevancy with someone of a younger generation. Feel free to reply to this post with the books or resources you select.

“A life of passion makes us a healthy cell in the body of the world.”

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“A life of passion makes us a healthy cell in the body of the world.”

—Mark Nepo, The Book of Awakening

Image form Unsplash by Clyde He

Science estimates that the human body is made up of about 30,000,000,000,000 cells. That string of digits looks far more impressive than saying 30 trillion. To grasp the magnitude: 30 trillion would be the number of miles light would travel over five years at the rate of 186,000 miles per second.

So much for the science lesson.

What is your perspective of the role humans play as part of the body of the world? Consider all the other plant and animal species who share our home.

Beyond slight differences in our genetic code, it is our passions and our purposes that make us distinct in our ability to shape our world.

EXERCISE:

How can and will you passionately pursue your purpose in 2021, to be an even healthier cell in the body of the wold?

What could we achieve together if all 7.8 billion of us did the same?