Quotes...

A friend recently asked me for my favorite quote for a project she's working on. I mulled it over and realized that I don't have a favorite quote. So, like any modern-age woman, I went to google, in search of quotes that spoke to me. Here are the ones I liked and following each is a brief description of why I chose that one.

Enjoy!

"Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans."
John Lennon

Why do I like this one? Well, because it's so damned true. Seriously...THIS defines my life! I make plans and then they get all screwed up because while I was making those plans all kinds of other stuff happened. And you know what? That's OK...because that's my life and it's a good one, so if my plans get foiled along the way due to life, well, that's how it goes!

"We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give."
Sir Winston Churchill

I have to confess...I had not heard this one until I went on my google quest for a good quote. But, I like it...I like it a lot. I believe in this. I think it's important to give in order to receive. I'm not trying to get all philosophical or theological here on you, but I really do think you have to give. I'm not saying you have to give money. You can give time...you can give of yourself. Just give something and see what happens. You know the whole "it's better to give than to receive" thing? Totally true...and I think you appreciate receiving more when you're used to giving.

"I am still determined to be cheerful and happy, in whatever situation I may be; for I have also learned from experience that the greater part of our happiness or misery depends upon our dispositions and not upon our circumstances"
Martha Washington

Can I get a "Hell Yeah" on that one? I'm pretty sure when Martha got lemons she added some sugar and made some lemonade. How insanely true is this quote? Even in the face of huge sadness and adversity you can still CHOOSE to be happy. All of us can. We have the power to choose how we're going to feel. We teach our kids that they make CHOICES and those choices determine the outcome. If you choose to ignore the homework, then that was your choice, but you also will pay the consequence. Well, if you CHOOSE to be happy and cheerful then maybe the misery is less and the happiness is greater.

"He that can have patience can have what he will"
Benjamin Franklin

Patience is hard...I think patience is way harder than choosing happiness. But, you've got to be patient...and if you can do so, then you can have what you will. That's what Ben said! In all seriousness, I think this quote is so fitting of a lesson for our current times. We have become a society of "instant gratification". We want it and we want it NOW! Patience fades into the distant memory of a simpler time...the good old days! Ben's words ring true today...we just have forgotten that not all things need to be instant...good old patience is still necessary.

"It's not that some people have willpower and some don't. It's that some people are ready to change and others are not."
James Gordon, M.D.

I like this one for obvious reasons! In my whole "Fit By Forty" adventure I have gotten lots of comments on how great I'm doing and how people wish they could do it too. Well, you can. I'm not doing some magic solution to cure obesity. I'm burning more calories than I consume, and that's the only way anyone can lose weight. It's not about my willpower. I just got tired of being fat, so I was ready to change. Some days I lose sight of wanting that change, and I slip. But, keeping that change in sight helps me get back on track and focus on the end goal.

"I think a hero is an ordinary individual who finds strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles."
Christopher Reeve

Hmmmm...the more I read that one, the more I like it. I hate it when pop stars and athletes are heralded as a hero. Ugh...I am sorry, but being effective at a 3-point shot or singing the chart-topper does NOT make you a hero. There are heroes all around us. They're ordinary people that found that strength to not only survive, but thrive in the face of tough times. That's a hero. There are military heroes. That's what jumps in my mind when I first hear "hero". But there are also those everyday heroes that do what they do and most of the time nobody even notices. The people that fit Christopher Reeve's definition of a hero are truly the heroes that we should look up to. I love the whole "ordinary individual" part of that...it makes being a hero something within the grasp of each of us. You don't have to do something grand...you don't have to save 10 people from a burning building to be considered a hero. Each of us have it within ourselves...we're all ordinary individuals, and we each have the power to choose our actions. Maybe one of those actions that you choose will make you a hero to someone...and you may not even know it! Maybe you're someones hero already...

So, those are my quotes for this blog post. I enjoyed reading through the quotes and finding ones that really clicked with me. I might do it again and just choose 5 or so and explain why I liked them. I hope you enjoyed the quotes and maybe even found one that inspires you today!

So, go forth, blog readers...make some plans and see what happens...choose happiness and give of yourself to others....be patient and some day you'll be ready to change...don't worry if you're ordinary...you too, can be a hero!