give GOD a chance

A child once asked, “What does God do all day?” If the answer to that question depended on how much we allow God to do in our individual lives, some of us would have to reply, “Not much!” In difficult situations, it’s easy to say we trust God and yet try to handle things ourselves without turning to Him and His Word. This is masked unbelief. Although God is constantly working, He allows us to set a limit on the degree of work He does on our behalf. We see this truth demonstrated in Mark 6 when Jesus tried to do mighty things in His hometown. Because the people saw Him merely as a carpenter’s son and not as God’s Son, they limited what He could do for them (v.5). So Jesus moved on to other towns. During my younger years, I tried hard to be a strong Christian, seldom revealing my weaknesses. Then, through a rock-bottom experience, I made this dynamic discovery: Strong Christians are those who unashamedly admit their weaknesses and draw on Christ’s power. The more I learned to depend on God, the more opportunity this gave Him to be active in my life. Now, whenever I face a daunting task, I say, “Joanie and Jesus can do it!” So can you and Jesus. I am trusting Thee, Lord Jesus; Never let me fall; I am trusting Thee forever, And for all. —Havergal

give GOD a chance

A child once asked, “What does God do all day?” If the answer to that question depended on how much we allow God to do in our individual lives, some of us would have to reply, “Not much!” In difficult situations, it’s easy to say we trust God and yet try to handle things ourselves without turning to Him and His Word. This is masked unbelief. Although God is constantly working, He allows us to set a limit on the degree of work He does on our behalf. We see this truth demonstrated in Mark 6 when Jesus tried to do mighty things in His hometown. Because the people saw Him merely as a carpenter’s son and not as God’s Son, they limited what He could do for them (v.5). So Jesus moved on to other towns. During my younger years, I tried hard to be a strong Christian, seldom revealing my weaknesses. Then, through a rock-bottom experience, I made this dynamic discovery: Strong Christians are those who unashamedly admit their weaknesses and draw on Christ’s power. The more I learned to depend on God, the more opportunity this gave Him to be active in my life. Now, whenever I face a daunting task, I say, “Joanie and Jesus can do it!” So can you and Jesus. I am trusting Thee, Lord Jesus; Never let me fall; I am trusting Thee forever, And for all. —Havergal

give GOD a chance

A child once asked, “What does God do all day?” If the answer to that question depended on how much we allow God to do in our individual lives, some of us would have to reply, “Not much!” In difficult situations, it’s easy to say we trust God and yet try to handle things ourselves without turning to Him and His Word. This is masked unbelief. Although God is constantly working, He allows us to set a limit on the degree of work He does on our behalf. We see this truth demonstrated in Mark 6 when Jesus tried to do mighty things in His hometown. Because the people saw Him merely as a carpenter’s son and not as God’s Son, they limited what He could do for them (v.5). So Jesus moved on to other towns. During my younger years, I tried hard to be a strong Christian, seldom revealing my weaknesses. Then, through a rock-bottom experience, I made this dynamic discovery: Strong Christians are those who unashamedly admit their weaknesses and draw on Christ’s power. The more I learned to depend on God, the more opportunity this gave Him to be active in my life. Now, whenever I face a daunting task, I say, “Joanie and Jesus can do it!” So can you and Jesus. I am trusting Thee, Lord Jesus; Never let me fall; I am trusting Thee forever, And for all. —Havergal

adversity quotes

Quotes About Adversity 1 Adversity Quotes and Quotes About Problems and Trouble! When you’re up against the hounds of hell, never underestimate a trip to Starbucks. – Joi @ Self Help Daily’s Creed, Motto, Way of Life, Words to Live By, Doctrine, Dogma… Not every bad break is negative in the long term; not every problem is a bona fide injustice; and not every injustice is major when juxtaposed against the millions of injustices that occur daily throughout the world. – Robert J. Ringer Quote, “Getting What You Want” Crises force our attention on the disorder in our thinking and can save us as we teeter on the brink of an even greater disaster. – David McNally Pain nourishes courage. You can’t be brave if you’ve only had wonderful things happen to you. – Mary Tyler Moore Life is thickly sown with thorns, and I know of no other remedy than to pass quickly through them. The longer we dwell on our misfortunes, the greater their power to harm us. – Voltaire If you break your neck, if you have nothing to eat, if your house is on fire, then you got a problem. Everything else is inconvenience. – Robert Fulghum In times like these, it helps to recall that there have always been times like these. – Paul Harvey The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain. – Dolly Parton Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the Lord delivereth him out of them all. – Psalm 34: 19 Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional. – M. Kathleen Casey I have learned there is a gift wrapped inside of every adversity and, if you have faith and hope, you can lose everything and still survive. – Sandi Bachom Count the garden by the flowers, never by the leaves that fall. Count your life with smiles and not the tears that roll. – Author Unknown Problems are the price you pay for progress. – Branch Rickey We shall draw from the heart of suffering itself the means of inspiration and survival. – Winston Churchill Problems are only opportunities with thorns on them. – Hugh Miller, “Snow on the Wind” Have courage for the great sorrows of life and patience for the small ones. And when you have finished your daily task, go to sleep in peace. God is awake. – Victor Hugo There are times in everyone’s life when something constructive is born out of adversity… when things seem so bad that you’ve got to grab your fate by the shoulders and shake it. – Author Unknown You have to accept whatever comes and the only important thing is that you meet it with courage and with the best you have to give. – Eleanor Roosevelt Talking about your grievances merely adds to those grievances. Give recognition only to what you desire. – Thomas Dreier Good timber does not grow with ease; the stronger the wind, the stronger the trees. – J. Willard Marriott Prosperity is not without many fears and distastes, and adversity is not without comforts and hopes. – Francis Bacon The darkest hour has only sixty minutes. – Morris Mandel There are two things that one must get used to or one will find life unendurable: the damages of time and injustices of men. – Nicolas Chamfort God brings men into deep waters, not to drown them, but to cleanse them. – John Aughey Adversity has the same effect on a man that severe training has on the pugilist: it reduces him to his fighting weight. – Josh Billings We look before and after, And pine for what is not; Our sincerest laughter With some pain is fraught; Our sweetest songs are those that tell of saddest thought. – Percy Bysshe Shelley Quote, “Ode to a Sky Lark” Rock bottom is good solid ground, and a dead end street is just a place to turn around. – Buddy Buie and J.R. Cobb, from the song, “Rock Bottom” Despair is anger with no place to go. – Mignon McLaughlin,”The Neurotic’s Notebook” To have become a deeper man is the privilege of those who have suffered. – Oscar Wilde Problems are messages. – Shakti Gawain Bygone troubles are good to tell. – Yiddish Proverb In this world there are only two tragedies. One is not getting what one wants, and the other is getting it. – Oscar Wilde, Lady Windemere’s Fan Mishaps are like knives, that either serve us or cut us, as we grasp them by the blade or the handle. – James Russell Lowell, “Cambridge Thirty Years Ago” I don’t like people who have never fallen or stumbled. Their virtue is lifeless and it isn’t of much value. Life hasn’t revealed its beauty to them. – Boris Pasternak Everybody ought to do at least two things each day that he hates to do, just for practice. – William James You gotta play the hand that’s dealt you. There may be pain in that hand, but you play it. And I’ve played it. – James Brady We have no right to ask when a sorrow comes, “Why did this happen to me?” Unless we ask the same question for every joy that comes our way. – Philip E. Bernstein The difficulties of life are intended to make us better, not bitter. – Unknown A problem is a chance for you to do your best. – Duke Ellington Difficulties are meant to rouse, not discourage. The human spirit is to grow strong by conflict. – William Ellery Channing Sometimes it’s worse to win a fight than to lose. – Billie Holiday Nothing prevents happiness like the memory of happiness. – André Gide Quote, “L’immoraliste” Every evil is some good spelt backwards, and in it the wise know how to read Wisdom. – Coventry Patmore You’ll never find a better sparring partner than adversity. – Walt Schmidt Have the courage to face a difficulty lest it kick you harder than you bargained for. – Stanislaus I, Maxims When life kicks you, make it kick you forward. – Unknown Adversity enhances this tale we call life. – Ever Garrison Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds. – Albert Einstein There are two ways of meeting difficulties: you alter the difficulties, or you alter yourself to meet them. – Phyllis Battome Accept challenges, so that you may feel the exhilaration of victory. – George S. Patton Adventure is worthwhile. -Amelia Earhart Challenges are what make life interesting; overcoming them is what makes life meaningful. – Joshua J. Marine When life kicks you, don’t let it kick you over. – Kay Yow I had a lover’s quarrel with the world. – Robert Frost Quote, “The Lesson for Today”

Quotes About Discouragement

Disappointments will come and go, but discouragement is a choice that you make. – Dr. Charles Stanley Do not be discouraged if your plans do not succeed the first time. No one learns to walk by taking only one step. – Catherine Pulsifer Develop success from failures. Discouragement and failure are two of the surest stepping stones to success. – Dale Carnegie Nearly every man who develops an idea works it up to the point where it looks impossible, and then he gets discouraged. That’s not the place to become discouraged. – Thomas Edison Defeat should never be a source of discouragement but rather a fresh stimulus. – Robert South It is only after an unknown number of unrecorded labors, after a host of noble hearts have succumbed in discouragement, convinced that their cause is lost; it is only then that cause triumphs. – Madame Guizot Never, never, never quit! – Winston Churchill In spite of everything I shall rise again: I will take up my pencil, which I have forsaken in my great discouragement, and I will go on with my drawing. – Vincent Van Gogh Nobody else can make us discouraged; it is a choice that we alone make when facing disappointments. – Dr. Charles Stanley What we do not see, what most of us never suspect of existing, is the silent but irresistible power which comes to the rescue of those who fight on in the face of discouragement. – Napoleon Hill Discouragement is not the absence of adequacy but the absence of courage. – Neal A. Maxwell Don’t accept discouragement, keep going! Less stress will result by not allowing discouragement to be your attitude! – Catherine Pulsifer Seeds of discouragement will not grow in the thankful heart. – Anonymous Trouble has no necessary connection with discouragement. Discouragement has a germ of its own, as different from trouble as arthritis is different from a stiff joint. – F. Scott Fitzgerald Every great work, every great accomplishment, has been brought into manifestation through holding to the vision, and often just before the big achievement comes apparent failure and discouragement. – Florence Scovel Shenn Any man can work when every stroke of his hands brings down the fruit rattling from the tree … but to labor in season and out of season, under every discouragement… that requires a heroism which is transcendent. – Henry Ward Beecher The most essential factor is persistence – the determination never to allow your energy or enthusiasm to be dampened by the discouragement that must inevitably come. – James Whitcomb Riley (Discouragement) Can be temporary–or it can destroy our life. The choice is ours. If we refuse to deal with discouragement head-on, we are opening the door for it to completely dominate our life. – Dr. Charles Stanley Good work habits help develop an internal toughness and a self-confident attitude that will sustain you through every adversity and temporary discouragement. – Paul J. Fleyer Let no feeling of discouragement prey upon you, and in the end you are sure to succeed. – Abraham Lincoln

consistency

It’s easy to go running once. It isn’t even that hard to go running for an entire month. What’s really difficult is going running, day after day, for years. It’s easy to start something; it’s much harder to consistently finish it. Many people think consistency is a matter of willpower. That the people who exercise every day, always save a percentage of their income. Or those who manages to upkeep a blog for years have a special ability to endure. I completely disagree. I think consistency has little to do with willpower and I want to use this article to explain why. How I Became Consistent I’m not perfectly consistent in my life. But, for the important things, I have been pretty good at showing up. I’ve exercised 4-5 times per week, nearly every week for the last four years. I’ve maintained a vegetarian diet and kept detailed records of my spending for almost as long. I also just finished writing my 724th article for my own website, which has had regular updates every week for more than three years. Not always was I as consistent. I was a starter—good at starting projects, bad at sustaining them. I would hop between obsessions, starting a new project or pursuit, and giving it up as soon as I got bored. I think a lot of people are like how I used to be—great starters, lousy finishers. But gradually, I became consistent, and I think you can too. The problem isn’t your willpower, just the approach you are taking to new goals and projects. The Power of Consistency Before I start talking about how to be consistent, I think it’s important to clarify why I believe consistency is important to start with. Many people associate consistency with boredom and a lack of initiative. People have told me earnestly that if something isn’t improving after a few weeks or months, you need to change it. If that’s your attitude, consistency will be difficult. Consistency is about working on a larger timescale than weeks and months. A consistent person doesn’t care that their weight loss plan isn’t working after three weeks, or that their website isn’t earning six figures after three months. A consistent person looks at the longer time horizon, where the little hiccups of progress are smoothed out over the next years and decades. Consistency works because while continually starting has short-term momentum, it doesn’t build anything. Doing the same thing every day eventually snowballs into tremendous progress because it doesn’t stop. What’s the best way to be in shape? Exercise, for five years. What’s the best way to launch an online business? Practice running one for a decade. What’s the best approach to enhance your social life? Put yourself outside your comfort zone, every day, for years. Sustainability Instead of Speed The reason I struggled with consistency was that I cared more about speed than sustainability. In other words, I worked on my goals to achieve the maximum progress I thought was possible in the shortest amount of time. Aim to read a book every day. Set the deadline for a six-month project in eight weeks. More, faster, sooner. The reason it’s easy to go for a day or a month but not ten years is that the two time frames require completely different mindsets. To do something for a day or a month, you need to put a lot of effort into it. To do something every day for a year, you need the opposite, you need to have the activity require less effort so it doesn’t exhaust you. When I started my business, I was working on a software program. I had created an intense deadline which was incredibly difficult to achieve. So difficult that, near the end of it, I was completely burnt out. At the time, I thought I was doing what was best for my new business, working extremely hard. But after three years and dozens of projects, I realized I had things backwards. Sure, hard work is important, it is always going to be important. But if I can’t sustain that hard work, it isn’t worth it. Setting an impossible deadline and crushing myself to meet it meant I was useless for a few months afterward. If I had planned ahead, set the project in a sustainable way, I wouldn’t have lost that time. If you’re going to start running, aim to run every day, just for a little bit. Don’t aim to break personal records on every single run, just aim to run. When you tweak your expectations slightly, it becomes far easier to continue for the long haul. Show Up Every Day, Not Once in Awhile This lesson might sound redundant, but it’s often missed. Many people try to be consistent by doing something irregularly. I suppose, technically, if you ran six days per month, every month for a decade, that would be consistent. But I know very few people who can pull that kind of schedule off. Surprisingly, doing something every day or nearly every day is far easier to sustain than doing it once in awhile. If you want to be consistent with a new habit, run it every day uninterrupted for a month. Make it an irreplaceable part of your life, not an afterthought you do occasionally. Sometimes you can’t do something every day. But you can at least make it work on a fixed schedule. Once per week, every week, I sit down and record all my expenses into a spreadsheet. I don’t bother with it every day, but I do it on a regular enough schedule that it is part of my life. t’s easy to go running once. It isn’t even that hard to go running for an entire month. What’s really difficult is going running, day after day, for years. It’s easy to start something; it’s much harder to consistently finish it. Many people think consistency is a matter of willpower. That the people who exercise every day, always save a percentage of their income. Or those who manages to upkeep a blog for years have a special ability to endure. I completely disagree. I think consistency has little to do with willpower and I want to use this article to explain why. How I Became Consistent I’m not perfectly consistent in my life. But, for the important things, I have been pretty good at showing up. I’ve exercised 4-5 times per week, nearly every week for the last four years. I’ve maintained a vegetarian diet and kept detailed records of my spending for almost as long. I also just finished writing my 724th article for my own website, which has had regular updates every week for more than three years. Not always was I as consistent. I was a starter—good at starting projects, bad at sustaining them. I would hop between obsessions, starting a new project or pursuit, and giving it up as soon as I got bored. I think a lot of people are like how I used to be—great starters, lousy finishers. But gradually, I became consistent, and I think you can too. The problem isn’t your willpower, just the approach you are taking to new goals and projects. The Power of Consistency Before I start talking about how to be consistent, I think it’s important to clarify why I believe consistency is important to start with. Many people associate consistency with boredom and a lack of initiative. People have told me earnestly that if something isn’t improving after a few weeks or months, you need to change it. If that’s your attitude, consistency will be difficult. Consistency is about working on a larger timescale than weeks and months. A consistent person doesn’t care that their weight loss plan isn’t working after three weeks, or that their website isn’t earning six figures after three months. A consistent person looks at the longer time horizon, where the little hiccups of progress are smoothed out over the next years and decades. Consistency works because while continually starting has short-term momentum, it doesn’t build anything. Doing the same thing every day eventually snowballs into tremendous progress because it doesn’t stop. What’s the best way to be in shape? Exercise, for five years. What’s the best way to launch an online business? Practice running one for a decade. What’s the best approach to enhance your social life? Put yourself outside your comfort zone, every day, for years. Sustainability Instead of Speed The reason I struggled with consistency was that I cared more about speed than sustainability. In other words, I worked on my goals to achieve the maximum progress I thought was possible in the shortest amount of time. Aim to read a book every day. Set the deadline for a six-month project in eight weeks. More, faster, sooner. The reason it’s easy to go for a day or a month but not ten years is that the two time frames require completely different mindsets. To do something for a day or a month, you need to put a lot of effort into it. To do something every day for a year, you need the opposite, you need to have the activity require less effort so it doesn’t exhaust you. When I started my business, I was working on a software program. I had created an intense deadline which was incredibly difficult to achieve. So difficult that, near the end of it, I was completely burnt out. At the time, I thought I was doing what was best for my new business, working extremely hard. But after three years and dozens of projects, I realized I had things backwards. Sure, hard work is important, it is always going to be important. But if I can’t sustain that hard work, it isn’t worth it. Setting an impossible deadline and crushing myself to meet it meant I was useless for a few months afterward. If I had planned ahead, set the project in a sustainable way, I wouldn’t have lost that time. If you’re going to start running, aim to run every day, just for a little bit. Don’t aim to break personal records on every single run, just aim to run. When you tweak your expectations slightly, it becomes far easier to continue for the long haul. Show Up Every Day, Not Once in Awhile This lesson might sound redundant, but it’s often missed. Many people try to be consistent by doing something irregularly. I suppose, technically, if you ran six days per month, every month for a decade, that would be consistent. But I know very few people who can pull that kind of schedule off. Surprisingly, doing something every day or nearly every day is far easier to sustain than doing it once in awhile. If you want to be consistent with a new habit, run it every day uninterrupted for a month. Make it an irreplaceable part of your life, not an afterthought you do occasionally. Sometimes you can’t do something every day. But you can at least make it work on a fixed schedule. Once per week, every week, I sit down and record all my expenses into a spreadsheet. I don’t bother with it every day, but I do it on a regular enough schedule that it is part of my life. t’s easy to go running once. It isn’t even that hard to go running for an entire month. What’s really difficult is going running, day after day, for years. It’s easy to start something; it’s much harder to consistently finish it. Many people think consistency is a matter of willpower. That the people who exercise every day, always save a percentage of their income. Or those who manages to upkeep a blog for years have a special ability to endure. I completely disagree. I think consistency has little to do with willpower and I want to use this article to explain why. How I Became Consistent I’m not perfectly consistent in my life. But, for the important things, I have been pretty good at showing up. I’ve exercised 4-5 times per week, nearly every week for the last four years. I’ve maintained a vegetarian diet and kept detailed records of my spending for almost as long. I also just finished writing my 724th article for my own website, which has had regular updates every week for more than three years. Not always was I as consistent. I was a starter—good at starting projects, bad at sustaining them. I would hop between obsessions, starting a new project or pursuit, and giving it up as soon as I got bored. I think a lot of people are like how I used to be—great starters, lousy finishers. But gradually, I became consistent, and I think you can too. The problem isn’t your willpower, just the approach you are taking to new goals and projects. The Power of Consistency Before I start talking about how to be consistent, I think it’s important to clarify why I believe consistency is important to start with. Many people associate consistency with boredom and a lack of initiative. People have told me earnestly that if something isn’t improving after a few weeks or months, you need to change it. If that’s your attitude, consistency will be difficult. Consistency is about working on a larger timescale than weeks and months. A consistent person doesn’t care that their weight loss plan isn’t working after three weeks, or that their website isn’t earning six figures after three months. A consistent person looks at the longer time horizon, where the little hiccups of progress are smoothed out over the next years and decades. Consistency works because while continually starting has short-term momentum, it doesn’t build anything. Doing the same thing every day eventually snowballs into tremendous progress because it doesn’t stop. What’s the best way to be in shape? Exercise, for five years. What’s the best way to launch an online business? Practice running one for a decade. What’s the best approach to enhance your social life? Put yourself outside your comfort zone, every day, for years. Sustainability Instead of Speed The reason I struggled with consistency was that I cared more about speed than sustainability. In other words, I worked on my goals to achieve the maximum progress I thought was possible in the shortest amount of time. Aim to read a book every day. Set the deadline for a six-month project in eight weeks. More, faster, sooner. The reason it’s easy to go for a day or a month but not ten years is that the two time frames require completely different mindsets. To do something for a day or a month, you need to put a lot of effort into it. To do something every day for a year, you need the opposite, you need to have the activity require less effort so it doesn’t exhaust you. When I started my business, I was working on a software program. I had created an intense deadline which was incredibly difficult to achieve. So difficult that, near the end of it, I was completely burnt out. At the time, I thought I was doing what was best for my new business, working extremely hard. But after three years and dozens of projects, I realized I had things backwards. Sure, hard work is important, it is always going to be important. But if I can’t sustain that hard work, it isn’t worth it. Setting an impossible deadline and crushing myself to meet it meant I was useless for a few months afterward. If I had planned ahead, set the project in a sustainable way, I wouldn’t have lost that time. If you’re going to start running, aim to run every day, just for a little bit. Don’t aim to break personal records on every single run, just aim to run. When you tweak your expectations slightly, it becomes far easier to continue for the long haul. Show Up Every Day, Not Once in Awhile This lesson might sound redundant, but it’s often missed. Many people try to be consistent by doing something irregularly. I suppose, technically, if you ran six days per month, every month for a decade, that would be consistent. But I know very few people who can pull that kind of schedule off. Surprisingly, doing something every day or nearly every day is far easier to sustain than doing it once in awhile. If you want to be consistent with a new habit, run it every day uninterrupted for a month. Make it an irreplaceable part of your life, not an afterthought you do occasionally. Sometimes you can’t do something every day. But you can at least make it work on a fixed schedule. Once per week, every week, I sit down and record all my expenses into a spreadsheet. I don’t bother with it every day, but I do it on a regular enough schedule that it is part of my life.