Moment. Appreciating the moment with a butterfly.

Don’t Wait—Every Moment is Special

Looking, waiting, and wondering.

Where is the light at the end of the tunnel?

It’s a very common thing to constantly be looking forward to, planning for, or thinking about something coming up.

There often seems to an implicit assumption that the future will be, in some way, better than now. But the truth is that the light at the end of the tunnel is overrated. It always looks better than it is, and it never quite arrives.

The trick is to make the tunnel our own. With the right perspective, the tunnel itself can become the light.

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Perseverance. Determined man with a steely gaze.

Stay the Course: Making Perseverance Part of Life

The ability to keep at something—to not give up—is often underestimated. When working toward a goal, the willingness to work consistently at a sustained level is a critical factor for success. In many cases, perseverance is just as important, if not more important than, talent or intelligence. I might have all the skills in the world, but if I can’t be disciplined about working on my goal every day, talent doesn’t do me much good.

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Attachment. Two women hugging.

Attachment: Understanding What we Want

Have you ever had a burning desire for something that you couldn’t have?

How did you handle it?

We all have desires: relationships, jobs, things. Sometimes we get what we want, and sometimes we don’t. It’s often difficult to accept when we fail. We try to figure out different ways of getting something we may never have. This is not necessarily a bad thing as long as we remain honest with ourselves about our actions and our motives.

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Failure. Surfer wiping out.

Failure

Failure is an option.

What’s the worst thing that can happen?

As we go through our lives, we each make decisions about what we are going to do – in our jobs and in our personal lives, the big things and the small things, the important and the trivial. Part of what goes into those decisions are the consequences if we fail.

If we think we might fail, we worry that we’ll waste our time, that we could get hurt or embarrassed, or that the consequences will be dire. We fear failure. We worry about failure. We try to avoid failure.

But if we only do things that guarantee success, we are doing ourselves a disservice. We are not exploring our own personal boundaries. We are not testing ourselves. We’ll never find out what we’re made of.

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Aspire. Brave woman posing as super hero.

Aspire

That little voice inside your head? What guff has that guy been feeding you now?

When you’re thinking about your dreams and aspirations, you might discuss them with your friends, your family, or your parents. These people might tell you that you can do anything you set your mind to, or they might tell you not to try so you won’t be disappointed. They may have your best interest at heart, or they may have ulterior motives.

But the bottom line is that they don’t know you the way you know you.

Throughout your life, you will get a lot of advice. Some of it will be awful. Some of it will be right on the money. Some will be unsolicited, from passing acquaintances, and some welcome, from people who know you well.

But none of it will be from the most knowledgeable perspective. That perspective is yours and yours alone.

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