Stay Signed In
Do you want to access your site more quickly on this computer? Check this box, and your username and password will be remembered for two weeks. Click logout to turn this off.
Stay Safe
Do not check this box if you are using a public computer. You don't want anyone seeing your personal info or messing with your site.
"The naked truth is always better than the best dressed lie."
Remember when your mother told you that honesty is the best policy. Ann Landers reminds us that sometimes it just doesn't look that way. Sometimes a lie just looks so much more attractive than having to face the music (and feeling terrifyingly naked when doing so).
But honesty is indeed the best policy, because the lie gets bigger and bigger and bigger as time goes on, until it outgrows even the best accoutrements. Then the lie is big and naked. And the naked truth suddenly seems like it would have been a lot less...indecent.
Each week I will add a new thought
just keep scrolling down
Being powerful is like being a lady.
If you have to tell people you are, you aren't.
Margaret Thatcher
We cannot expect people to have respect for law and order until we teach respect to those we have entrusted to enforce those laws.
Hunter S. Thompson
Great people talk about ideas, average people talk about things, and small people talk about wine.
Fran Lebowitz
Canada is the linchpin of the English-speaking world.
Sir Winston Churchill
Canada will be a strong country when Canadians of all provinces feel at home in all parts of the country, and when they feel that all Canada belongs to them.
Pierre Trudeau
In my experience tact is usually worse than the brutalities of truth
Robertson Davies
Canada was built on dead beavers.
Margaret Atwood
If I'm on the course and lightning starts, I get inside fast. If Got wants to play through, let him.
Bob Hope
Time you enjoy wasting, was not wasted.
John Lennon
We've got this gift of love, but love is like a precious plant. You can't just accept it and leave it in the cupboard or just think it's going to get on by itself. You've got to keep watering it. You've got to really look after it and nurture it.
John Lennon
“I believe in everything until it's disproved. So I believe in fairies, the myths, dragons. It all exists, even if it's in your mind. Who's to say that dreams and nightmares aren't as real as the here and now?”
John Lennon
If someone thinks that love and peace is a cliche that must have been left behind in the Sixties, that's his problem. Love and peace are eternal.”
John Lennon
"A dream you dream alone is only a dream. A dream you dream together is reality.”
John Lennon
“Reality leaves a lot to the imagination.”
John Lennon
Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans”
John Lennon
Imagine all the people living life in peace. You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one. I hope someday you'll join us, and the world will be as one.
John Lennon
HAPPINESS
"Happiness is an inner state of well-being that enables you to profit from your highest thoughts, intelligence, wisdom, awareness, common sense, emotions, health, and spiritual values."
BREAKFAST
If you are about to reach for a coffee and donut breakfast, stop!
Brain Chemistry expert Dr. Bradford Weeks describes this combination of carbs, sugar and caffeine as the worst possible breakfast, shooting up your blood sugar only to feel it plummet shortly after, impairing memory and cognitive thinking, and making you moodier during the day.
Instead, reach for fruit and protein for maximum performance during the day.
PERSPECTIVE
I'll share with you q cartoon my brother had on his fridge door and I photocopied at least a decade ago. It still hangs over my computer today.
Two cavemen, one with a coin ready to be tossed, are speaking to two apes: "It's agreed then: you call it in the air...winners get to lounge around in trees all day eating bananas and losers have to develop civilization and live in hot, crowded cities."
I hope that helps you put your own priorities back into perspective. :-)
TONE-OF-VOICE
Have you heard this one? The sole purpose of a child's middle name is so she can tell when she's in trouble. How we speak to people is just as important as what we say. Sometimes we want to deliver a very clear message, so we adjust our tone accordingly.
Unfortunately, we often adjust our tone of voice without thinking and send the wrong message. As parents, I know that we often send the can't-you-just-do-something-right tone even at some pretty minor annoyances.
It is hard to always control our tone, but it is certainly worth trying.
There are two ways to live your life.
One is as though nothing is a miracle.
The other is as though everything is a miracle.
-- Albert Einstein
SIMPLICITY
You might have heard the phrase that something is so simple that even a child could do it. That is usually an ominous warning that I will NOT be able to do it.
A child sees things very simply. We adults tend to complicate things. To be sure, many things are complicated. But those same things can also be very simple. So simple that a child could do it.
STRESS
I think I have heard that blackberry radio commercial once too many times. On his way to work, the man has finished all his emails, prepared his presentations and basically done his whole day's work. Then he pretends it is Tuesday, whatever that means.
Either this man is commuting from Iqaluit to downtown Manhatten every day, or he has way too little work and way too much pressure to cram way too much of it into way too little time.
Commercials like this are the breeding ground for stress. It is OK to take a break and let your commute to and from the office be downtime. Everybody needs downtime for their own mental well-being (not to mention their productivity at work).
VALUES
What does a flag remind you of? Patriotism? War? Hometown pride?
What about values? Watch a flag wave in the breeze. You will see it wave, but not waver. It is planted firmly in the ground.
Are you as firmly planted? Do you have values? Do you have the integrity to wave, without wavering, when the wind blows strong?
EDITORIAL
Remember when everybody used to complain about having to watch 45 minutes of commercials during a 2-hour movie on TV? Now, we can get by with no ads...or watch a station that still shows 45 minutes of ads!
Let's see. We get to choose the torture of by constant interruptions or the torture of no bathroom break.
Is it just me, or do none of the TV networks understand what you and I understand about life - that it is not all or nothing. That being extreme is no help to people around us. That we need to balance our lives, our relationships and even, yes, our TV schedules.
You can do better than those high-priced TV executives. You can balance your life.
CONFIDENCE
There is something just so uplifting about a high-five...even when your daughter misses!
Maybe it's the upward thrust of the arm. Maybe it's the connection of two people's hands. Maybe it's the sharing of positivity. Maybe it's the touch of another person in a society that keeps us all in bubbles. Maybe it's the rush of energy in a lifestyle that rarely uses our muscles. Maybe it is the inherent sense of accomplishment, the self-confidence and the pure joy that are conveyed when we give someone a high-five.
Wow! Isn't today a wonderful, successful day. Give someone a high-five right now...just "because".
* * * * * *
CURIOSITY
One common trait about all human beings is that we are a curious lot. This has helped our development immensely, allowing us to discover ways to repair torn ligaments, harness energy, and interrupt dinners to sell insurance.
As much as we want to know everything that is our business to know, and even more that is not, should we not leave some things to our imagination? If there is one trait that is as ubiquitous as our curiosity, it is out imaginations.
May we never know too much, even if we try to.
CHOICES
What will you choose to do today: to enjoy the world, or to improve it?
Both are noble causes. Both are the meanings of life (Yes, it would appear that life has two meanings.)
Of course, some people are a little more partisan than others about improving the world. And some area little more partisan about enjoying it. But if you do one and not the other today, can you say that you have really lived?
SELF-IMPROVEMENT
Here's another reason to work on personal growth and self-improvement: The time you spend improving yourself is time you save disapproving of others.
Have you ever stopped to think how much time we spend trying to correct other people? Or shake our heads in disbelief or resignation? I am sure you know what I mean...all those OTHER bad drivers. All those OTHER people with rude manners. All those OTHER people with not a lick of sense. Funny how we are all those other people, too.
What if we tried to improve ourselves, so that all those other people will have one less other person to worry about? The time you spend improving yourself is time you save disapproving of others. Isn't that a bargain?
We do not worry about being respected in towns through which we pass. But if we are going to remain in one for a certain time, we do worry. How long does this time have to be?
– Blaise Pascal
Numerous social psychological studies have confirmed Aristotle's observation that "We become just by the practice of just actions, self-controlled by exercising self-control, and courageous by performing acts of courage." If we are dissatisfied with some aspect of our lives, one of the best approaches is to act more like the person we want to be, rather than sitting around analyzing ourselves.
STRESS
Do you squeeze the toothpaste from the top or from the bottom of the tube? In the end, it probably doesn't matter, because you'll squeeze the whole thing anyway. And in life, you'll get moist things done anyway, too, whether you do them right away or wait for the last minute.
However, if your relationship with the last minute feels a lot like hugging a tree trunk as it tips over a waterfall, perhaps it is time to start squeezing the toothpaste of life from the bottom.
Make a list and start ticking things off before they have to be done yesterday.
CURIOSITY
Aren't you just a little bit curious what I'll be talking about today?
Of course you are. If you were not a little bit curious, you would never have opened this email. Curiosity is not just something for detectives and gossipers...it is the single biggest driving force behind most of our actions that do not fulfill physical needs (eating, drinking, sleeping, breathing).
Exercise your curiosity. Look around and start to wonder what something is for, what was there before it, how Shakespeare would view it if he suddenly appeared here.
Curiosity is a wonderful thing. Don't let it atrophy.
ENTITLEMENT
A few weeks ago, a Dose I wrote drew a very vocal reaction from some quarters. Most of the reaction was from people who had a sense of entitlement...and they were hopping mad at me and about the situation I was writing about.
That is the thing about entitlement. As soon as you start to feel entitled to something, you can get very angry and very personal about losing that thing. This is not conducive to happiness. Worst of all, even when you get what you want, you can't really enjoy it because you feel entitled to it rather than fortunate to have gotten it.
Try picturing yourself the way God made you -- naked. There is just you. Everything that comes your way will be a delightful bonus. Life is good.
Drip. Drip. Drip. Drip.
If that goes on long enough, one of two things is bound to happen. Either the sound will slowly recede into the background, where you will hardly even notice it - like the hum of the refrigerator motor. Or the noise will grow on you until it eats away at your very consciousness and propels you to reach for a sledgehammer.
Just fix the drip before you find out. Either way, you'll waste a lot of water over time.
By the way, the same thing goes with your physical and mental health. Don't wait to find out if a problem will drive you crazy or destroy you while you peacefully ignore it. Get it fixed
COMFORT
Ah. Isn't that comfortable? I mean, you know who you are. You know where you are. You know the people around you (and you might even like some of them). You know what's expected of you. It is...comfy. You are in your comfort zone.
Surely there is more to life. Comfort is great, but too much for too long makes for a very dull existence. Isn't there something you are dreaming of. Somewhere you long to go, something you actually want to accomplish before the angels come to tell you that your accomplishing days are over?
Don't get too comfy for too long. Let's see what life has to offer.
BEAUTY
What is the one thing a woman can best do to make her face prettier?
Eye shadow?
Lipstick?
Blush?
Hair dye?
Not even close. How about smiling? Yes, a smile is the single best way to make a woman's face look prettier?
P.S. Men, it will work just as well for you, too, and you will wear it so much better than eye shadow!
PRIDE
Pride is good. Pride tells you that you have done a good job and encourages you to repeat the success. Pride builds self-esteem.
Pride is bad. Pride makes you feel better than other people. Pride leads you to believe you deserve what others around you do not. Pride builds snobbishness.
Good pride. Bad pride. Can you grasp the good and leave the bad behind?
REALISM
I often encourage you to dream big and reach for the stars. But sometimes it is necessary to sit back and ask, "Am I being realistic?" What happens when you discover that the starts really are beyond your reach?
That's the point. If you reach for the ceiling, you might never get out of your seat. But if you reach for the stars, you'll end up on the balcony and see things you might never have seen otherwise.
You are not a failure if the stars are out of reach. Success does not come from landing on a star; it comes from reaching for one.
IT'S NOT YOUR FAULT.
Over 95% of those who make the decision to change and improve their life fail. This is a fact. You can either accept this or discover the one simple ingredient that makes the other 5% SUCCESSFUL.
Who Else wants to change " What if..." to " I AM..." ?
GOALS
Sometimes the main thing between us and reaching our goals is decide what those goals should be.
What are your goals? What do you want to accomplish in life? What do you have to do to look back and say, "Yup, that was a life well done. Now I can check it off my to-do list"?
This is not a simple decision, but it is a lot easier when viewed this way that trying to pick goals out from the air.
MOTIVATION
Are you finding it hard to keep motivated? Do you have plans and seem to be wandering off-track?
Try reading. That's right, read some success stories. Go to your local library or bookstore and read a biography of somebody who did something similar to what you are trying to do. Let the person ion the book be a mentor of sorts, a beacon shining light on your path.
