Category: Seeds of Success

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Circumstances…

Circumstances break men’s bones; it has never been shown that they break men’s optimism.
 
~ G. K. Chesterton
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Victor or victim? by Alan Weiss

The Human Condition – Victor or victim?  

There was a poll taken recently by the Pew Research Center  which found that Republicans are happier than Democrats! That is, more  Republicans pronounced themselves happy than did Democrats, and they did so  more frequently, as well.

DISCLAIMER: I am in Independent  myself, this is not a political treatise. This is stochastic, not diagnostic.  

Pew researchers claimed the cause of the difference was people  citing themselves as Republican feeling that they had the power to control  their destiny, and people citing themselves as Democratic as feeling that  other forces controlled their destiny.

I am not endorsing this  poll or even claiming it’s valid between parties. But I do want to comment on  the underlying attitudes, which I see in people, regardless (I believe) of  political persuasion.

If you believe that external forces  control your success and failure, then you have adapted a victimization  psychology. And your response will always be that of a self-appointed victim:  “What can I do, I’m helpless,” “The world is against me,” “It’s futile to  fight this.”

But if you believe that you control most of your  successes and failures, then your reaction is that of someone in control: “I’m  going to have to improve my approach to this,” “This worked well, so I’ll use  it again next time,” “What have I learned today that will help me tomorrow?”  

People who ascribe their ability to continue to learn as the  causes of their success are resilient, and react to failure and defeat by  going out to learn more so as to be more successful the next time. People who  feel they already know all that they need to know and who experience defeat  tend to become depressed and ill. Their reaction is, “I gave it my best shot  and it didn’t work, so this is a disaster.”

We have a choice to  be a victor (of our own fate) or a victim (presumably of “them” out there). It  is our choice. I don’t believe it has anything to do with political  persuasion, the Pew people notwithstanding. I think it has everything to do  with personal confidence, skills, and philosophy.

What and whom  do you choose to be? Is it up to “them,” or is it up to you?

©  1996-2008 Summit Consulting Group, Inc. All rights  reserved
Reprinted with permission from Alan  Weiss
Balancing Act (November  2008)
http://summitconsulting.com 

 

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Laughter

You don’t stop laughing because you grow old; you grow old because you stop laughing.
 
~ Michael Pritchard
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Reality…

Reality is above all else a variable, and nobody is qualified to say that he or she knows exactly what it is.  As a matter of fact, with a firm enough commitment, you can sometimes create a reality which did not exist before.
 
~ Margaret Halsey
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Happiness

Happiness is a very small desk and a very big wastebasket.
 
~ Robert Orben
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A little bit of good…

Do your little bit of good where you are; it’s those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.
 
~ Desomond Tutu
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Literature – definition

LITERATURE
–noun
 
1. writings in which expression and form, in connection with ideas of permanent and universal interest, are characteristic or essential features, as poetry, novels, history, biography, and essays.
2. the entire body of writings of a specific language, period, people, etc.: the literature of England.
3. the writings dealing with a particular subject: the literature of ornithology.
4. the profession of a writer or author.
5. literary work or production.
6. any kind of printed material, as circulars, leaflets, or handbills: literature describing company products.
7. Archaic. polite learning; literary culture; appreciation of letters and books.