. . .

Carpe diem.

[Seize the day.]

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. . .

An artist’s failures are as valuable as his successes.
By misjudging one thing he confirms something else,
even if at the time he does not know what that something else is.
[Bridget Riley]

. . .

“The heights by great men reached and kept

were not obtained by sudden flight.

But they, while their companions slept,

were toiling upward in the night.”

– Thomas S. Monson

. . .

‎”Progress is impossible without change,

and those who cannot change their minds

cannot change anything.”

– George Bernard Shaw

. . .

“Tell me what a man finds sexually attractive, and I will tell you his entire philosophy of life. [. . .] Man will always be attracted to the woman who reflects his deepest vision of himself. The man who is proudly certain of his own value, will want the highest type of woman he can find, the woman he admires, the strongest, the hardest to conquer–because only the possession of a heroine will give him the sense of achievement.” — (Francisco d’Anconia, Atlas Shrugged)

The Optimist Creed

Promise yourself…. 

To be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind;

To talk health, happiness, and prosperity to every person you meet;

To make all your friends feel that there is something in them;

To look at the sunny side of everything and make your optimism come true;

To think only the best, to work only for the best, and to expect only the best;

To be just as enthusiastic about the success of others as you are about your own;

To forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the greater achievements of the future;

To wear a cheerful countenance at all times and give every living creature you meet a smile;

To give so much time to the improvement of yourself that you have no time to criticize others;

To be too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear; and too happy to permit the presence of trouble;

To think well of yourself and to proclaim this fact to the world, not in loud words, but in great deeds;

To live in the faith that the whole world is on your side so long as you are true to the best that is in you.

– By Christian D. Larsen

In My Inspiration Box

When I made my day planner in August (or my Daily Action Plan, as I like to call it– sounds best with a snobby British accent), I included a small box, tucked away between my boxes for Applications and Two Minute Tasks, called Inspiration.

I thought, “Oh hey! I’ll include this little box and fill it will awesome sayings and drawings. It’ll be great!”

But the sad thing is, I’m usually too busy to write anything in that box. I mean, the actual writing part doesn’t ever get done. I read lots of quotes online whenever I need inspiration, but none of them make it into my actual action plan. Which is a shame. I think that little box gets pretty lonely.

Except today. Today I flipped the page to Monday, and lo and behold! Something was sitting there in my tiny inspiration box, just waiting to inspire someone.

It read, “If you don’t take care of the producer, there won’t be a product.”

How fitting. While working for Teach For America in Philadelphia this summer, my manager Molly said that to our team, and it really struck home with me.

I mean, that’s always been me. I’ve always been in the “I’ll sleep when I’m dead” camp. Sleep is overrated. Sleep is a waste of time. Yada yada. Blah blah blah.

Who has time to exercise or eat well? Not me. I’m busy writing papers and agendas and stuff. Important stuff. Friends and food and health? Not important. I’ll work on that later.

But really, Virginia (I’ve taken to talking about myself in the third person and it’s quite fun. Kinda shifts the blame away), if you don’t take care of yourself, you aren’t going to be able to take tests or give presentations or attend Christmas parties. You are going to fall into a deep dark pit of despair and greasy pimples. I’ve seen it happen to the best of them.

And with an insanely stressful four days in front of me (and a busy two weeks after that — FINALS!), my little inspiration box couldn’t have raised it’s hand and flagged me down at a better time.

My new challenge to myself is to take my health seriously for the next three weeks.

Goals:
1. Get seven hours of sleep a night. Not six and a half. Seven.
2. No more drinking soda. And no more coffee after eight (unless it’s decaf).
3. If I can’t make it to the gym, at least do jumping jacks or something every day.
4. Try to make it up to ten real push-ups in a row without falling on your face.
5. No more hamburgers.
6. Eat more vegetables. Try to eat more of the green ones.
7. Drink at least three bottles of water every day.

There. That should do it. Now if only the execution were as easy as the typing. I need to find myself one of those “Don’t just dream– Do” quotes for when I get weak and really crave that caffeinated sugary syrupy liquid deliciousness that corrodes your teeth and tastes oh so yummy. Because as you can see, my willpower hasn’t been so great lately. I’m going to need all the help I can get.