The Next Time You Feel Stuck.....

I went to the left, but maybe I should have gone to the right..... David Bridburg

LOL

which one was the perceptive delusion?

Marlene, they all resonate with me because each of them reminds me of a man who has bitched and whined about his problems since he was a tiny little boy. He's nearly 70 now and nothing's changed. Sometimes I want to slap him upside the head and explain that he is not the only person with problems, most of us have pain, most of us have tough challenges but not all of us spend our life whining about them all day long, every day, to anyone within earshot. Whew, thanks, I feel better now.

Kathleen...my pleasure to afford you this opportunity to vent!

Years ago, I had a very wise housemother in college. I was overwhelmed with lots of choices in just about every area of my life. I went to her for wise counsel.
She told me the following:
Choosing to do nothing, is a choice.
The person you are referencing has made choices.

“My candle burns at both ends;
It will not last the night;
But ah, my foes, and oh, my friends—
It gives a lovely light!”

― Edna St. Vincent Millay, A Few Figs from Thistles

Running on Empty - Jackson Brownne

In '69 I was twenty-one and I called the road my own
I don't know when that road turned onto the road I'm on.

I am just a naturally happy person, and I see no reason not to be. - Kevin (Keeevin) Callahan

Those are great quotes to live y, Keeeeevin!

“When you make a choice, you change the future.” ~ Deepak Chopra -- resonates the closest.

I take full responsibility for everything that takes place in my life.

If I get in my car and drive and someone runs into me, it is MY fault. I allowed myself the thought that this could happen.

No one, no god, no thing decides my fate. Only I can do that.

My first 83 years have been spectacular. Can't wait for the next 83.

BOOM! “There are two primary choices in life: to accept conditions as they exist, or accept the responsibility for changing them.” ~ Denis Waitley

Nearly all of your quotes more or less say the same thing, but this one by Denis Waitley says it so poignantly.

With everything I have been through in my life, I could be a miserable pr*ck, but I'm not. Even when I was quite young, being a victim wasn't an option, either. I've always been a survivor, partly because I choose to be, but also because I just am. Looooooong ago, I chose to accept responsibility for my life, and the result has been an incredible path to personal serenity.

It's frustrating to watch people have experiences and then make the choice of choosing to do nothing, attempting to bring everyone and everything around them down with them, or use it as a justification to do/say/be terrible things. We can set an example or try to light the way for them, but ultimately they, too, must choose to accept responsibility.

Great thread! Thank you, Marlene. =)

I enjoyed all of the quotes, Marlene. Thank you for that.

I'm not saying there aren't problems and challenges, but to summarize the philosophy of the quotes above, we are exactly what we want to be right now... I'm not so sure. I think we are all a product of the people around us. We have to pick and carefully choose the people that we live and work with because they make a difference in our lives. Sum up ten people you choose to live and work with and you are somewhere in there.

If there is a lot wrong with them, there will be a lot wrong with you. It's very hard to distance yourself from losers, but one must do this in order to wake up.

yes, Lisa.
Ultimately, we are also known by the company we keep.

yes, yes, yes. If you whine all the time, you become a whino.....

Great thread Marlene, lots of inspiration and food for thought. Life is too short to just hand over control and give in. We all must strive for what we want, and fight until we get it.

Many years ago I used to advise a younger friend that "doing nothing, is in fact doing something" and that life would move on with you or without you.

Marlene,

Both the left and the right are delusional choices, My point.

I don't know. I know a lot of doctors family and friends, they dont catch the diseases others
have very often other than the common cold. Doctors are generally the strong among us.

I think helping others who are much less fortunate does not constitute hanging with the losers.

And I am not sure I want to hang with the winners. After all what did they steal and who did they use to get there?

Are there truly winners and losers? Or other human beings?

I put my pants on one leg at a time.

Dave

This thread is not about winners or losers, David.
It is about motivations to help a person get unstuck.
There is a winners thread in the forum, however.

Motivation to help me get unstuck?

Got ya. I have nothing much to add.

I hope those who are stuck get unstuck.

Good luck,

Dave

"Amateurs look for inspiration; the rest of us just get up and go to work." Chuck Close

Your timing with this thread couldn't have been better, Marlene. I've been feeling very stuck indeed and just an hour ago had a bit of a meltdown.

I have two favorites from your list. I like Wayne Dyer's quote for its simplicity. Also, “If you limit your choice only to what seems possible or reasonable, you disconnect yourself from what you truly want, and all that is left is a compromise” resonates with me. I think most people tend to make small compromises all the time and don't live life to its fullest. If people did what they wanted most to do in their heart of hearts, I think most problems would feel insignificant and fall away. I keep meaning to re-read The Path of Least Resistance...it had a big impact on me when I read it many years ago.

Glad it helped, Peggy. None of us escapes making choices....regardless of the difficulty, these choices impact our journeys.
tThe good thing is that you don't have to overthink them....the ability to make the initial choice is still with you to adjust that choice if need be.

Adjusting my choices is kind of my problem, Marlene. I make a decision then change my mind. I do it a lot. My husband, on the other hand, is extremely slow to make choices. So we sit at a standstill a lot of the time.

In a successful relationship, somebody has to take care of the spiders.
Maybe the same goes for certain joint decisions.

One of my my favorites.........
If you compare yourself to others you may become vain and bitter: for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself"

LOL, David...great points.

I feel stuck in the house today...but it's windy outside. I could always paint. I've caught the disease of FAA forum...I better get up and start painting while the day is young.

I love them all! Right now I'm doing a 21 day meditation with Deepak (online through his website). It's a wonderful way to start each day.

Sounds heavenly, Darice!!

Marlene,
One that hit me really hard:
"We’re only on earth for a little while, so live life to the fullest and carry a smile."
Elizabeth Jacobson, A1C, USAF (RIP)

She was an Air Force cop, and the first female casualty in Iraq. This was something she said on one of her social media pages (FB, MySpace, I forget) Gets me unstuck no matter what happens.

Melany, that quote could be a mantra! thanks for adding it!

Must be fate I clicked on this thread ...I have a bunch of forks on the table and seem to be stuck somewhere between "We’re only on earth for a little while, so live life to the fullest and carry a smile." AND When you make a choice, you change the future.”

All great quotes and additions!

@ Kathleen ...I knew something sounded familiar...just hit me...That is my Dad! Sometimes I find humor the best defense...
http://www.sun-gazing.com/husband-asks-wife-biggest-secret-response-priceless/

Two that I remind myself of often:

"If we are facing in the right direction, all we have to do is keep walking."
~ Buddhist Proverb

"No one can make you feel inferior without your consent."
~ Eleanor Roosevelt

The former I use for myself quite a bit, especially when I'm question the path that I'm on. The latter, while I don't have to apply it to myself too much these days (I limit my exposure to people who would want/try to make me feel inferior), I share with others when needed, for which they are almost always grateful.

From Maya Angelou: "If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude. Don't Complain."

However my favorite from her is this one: "You can HAVE a pain, but you don't have to BE a pain."

Thanks for all the wonderful quotes; many I hadn't read before.