Don’t Get Stranded

The optimist lives on the peninsula of infinite possibilities; the pessimist is stranded on the island of perpetual indecision. - William Arthur Ward Sometimes, when I pick these quotes out, they say something to me. Then when they pop up during the week I wonder what the heck was I thinking about. Today is one of those times.  I just know it's important not to get sucked into the pessimistic mindset. Don't get stranded! I don't know what it is about the pessimistic mindset, but it's so easy to fall into, and even easier to stay there.  It truly takes the same amount of energy to think in an optimistic way as it does a pessimistic way, yet so many of us tend toward the more negative side.  I wish I knew why.  I tend to focus my energies on positive thinking. I love the image of pessimism being an island and being stranded.  It calls to mind, for me, a barren rocky outcropping surrounded by stormy seas on all sides.  No place to go, and being endlessly buffeted by rain and wind.  Who would willingly go there.  And when I think of optimism being a peninsula, I see sunny…

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Imagine, Achieve, Dream, Become – Challenge Day 25

If you can imagine it, you can achieve it. If you can dream it, you can become it. - William Arthur Ward. Imagination is where it starts.  It's probably the most important thing you can do.  Allow yourself to let your mind roam free.  Imagining and dreaming are skills, and they take practice.  And hey, if you're going to have to practice something, why not practice dreaming!  So practice dreaming, because that's where it begins.  And from the dreaming comes the achieving.  You can't and won't ever achieve anything unless you think (dream) about it first!  So allow yourself the gift of imagination and make your dreams as big as they can be.  Open yourself up to the possibilities and then watch those possibilities become realities. I've always had a very active imagination, sometimes a little too active, according to my teachers.  I can slip into a daydream at the drop of a hat, and my grades in school sometimes reflected that. So while I will encourage everybody to dream and develop their imagination, I'll also toss in the caveat of don't get lost in your dreams.  We still need to function and live in the real world.  So yes,…

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