SAVED BY CRITICISM IN LIFE

Peanut the cat chasing his own tail - “Realize what you really want. It stops you from chasing butterflies and puts you to work digging gold.”

One of my favorite stories comes from pilots Peter Gaylor and Stephanie Pound of Navajo Aviation. A funny thing occurred once when they flew their tiny airplane over the bay on an ash-scattering mission. With them were the two sons, in their twenties, of a late mother who was being consigned to the winds.

As Stephanie opened the cockpit door, a stiff breeze blew the ashes back into the plane, dusting the four occupants. A moment's stunned silence, and then one of the boys sighed, "Just like Mom - she was always all over everyone."

Maybe it was because she was their mother and believed it was her lot to correct. Children, especially, may feel that parents are "always all over them." Few of us particularly like others to point out areas for improvement. Dr. Norman Vincent Peale said it well: "Most of us would rather be ruined by praise than saved by criticism."

I hold that encouragement is often more effective than criticism, and we should criticize sparingly. But those who are wise will regularly seek out someone they trust to hold a mirror before them that they may see themselves more accurately. It is important to know the truth, and it is often heard better when spoken by one who sincerely cares.

Someone accurately said, "Criticism, like rain, should be gentle enough to nourish one's growth without destroying one's roots." If you are in a position to critique, may your words nourish growth.

If you are the one reflected in the mirror, remember that what you see may be your salvation. Learn what you can and discard the rest. It may be more enjoyable to be ruined by praise, but what truth you hear will help you grow.

From Lifesupport.

Lifesigns Life Quotes

SLOW DOWN FOR LIFE

Waiting at the registration counter - “May the love hidden deep inside your heart find the love waiting in your dreams. May the laughter that you find in your tomorrow wipe away the pain you find in your yesterdays.”

An American racing enthusiast entered his horse in Britain's famous Epsom Downs Steeple­chase. Just before the race began, he slipped his horse a white pellet. The Duke of Marlboro, who was serving as steward, caught the owner in the act and objected. "I say, old man, really you can't do that sort of thing over here!"

"Just a harmless sugar lump," the Ameri­can assured him. He gulped one down himself. "Here, try one," he said.

The Duke took a pill, swallowed it, and seemed satisfied. As the jockey mounted, the American whispered in his ear, "Son, keep that horse on the outside and stay out of trouble, be­cause once he starts running, there ain't nothing that can catch him...except me and the Duke of Marlboro!"

Do you ever feel that way - running so fast that nothing can catch you? Our busy and full lives are too often like that; we rush here and hurry there. We eat fast food. We run our errands. We use e-mail and put off reading our messages until we have the time. We hurry through meals and can only give friends "just a minute." We live fast-paced and anxious lives. Too often, we run so fast we lose our center.

But, in the end, it's not how fast you lived that matters, but how well you lived. Are you tak­ing time to enjoy? Have you left enough time for you? Is there time to listen to a friend or visit a relative in need? Are you leaving time each day to nurture your faith? Do you need to slow down? After all, the only race that matters goes, not to those who run it quickly, but to those who run it well.

From Lifesupport.

Lifesigns Life Quotes

SOMETHING ONLY YOU CAN DO FOR LIFE

Colorful flower motif design art - “Religion is the masterpiece of the art of animal training, for it trains people as to how they shall think.”

Tallulah Bankhead quipped, "Nobody can be exactly like me. Sometimes even I have trouble doing it." But the truth is...we DO have trouble being ourselves, don't we? Especially in a world that wants us to conform. "To be nobody but yourself in a world that is doing its best day and night into making you like everybody else," said poet E. E. Cummings, "is to fight the hardest battle there is and never stop fighting."

One of the deepest cravings of young people, especially teens, is to be liked by their peers. They want to be accepted. Like all of us, they want to be valued. It's during those critical teen-age years, according to Earl Nightingale, that they begin to play a game called "Follow the Follower." The game is not the same as "Follow the Leader." Following the follower is about conforming...talking, dressing, acting and thinking like one another. Everyone follows everyone else.

In adulthood, we discover who we really are and do our best to grow into that person. We find our value, not in acceptance by others, but because we believe in our worth. It's a wonderful day when we can say in honesty, "I know who I am and I'm glad I am me."

The lovable children's author Dr. Seuss got it right when he wrote, "Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind." It takes strength to swim against the tide. It takes courage to speak your convictions. It takes trust to act on your own intuitions. In the end, your success will always be a result of your being true to yourself rather than an imitation of somebody else.

You'll never have to give an account for not being more like your favorite celebrity, that shining star in your chosen field or anybody else. However, at the end of my life, the question I never want to be asked is, "How come you weren't more like you? You had such great potential. You were a wholly unique person -- an unrepeatable creation. Why you weren't more like you?"

Whatever your ambitions, your greatest success will be derived from your being the best YOU possible. In a world that wants you to conform -- be yourself. It's a challenging and rewarding job...and nobody can do it as well as you.

From Lifesupport.

Lifesigns Life Quotes

ONE LIGHT FOR LIFE

Crystal globe display ornament - “The sea is everything. It covers seven tenths of the terrestrial globe. Its breath is pure and healthy. It is an immense desert, where man is never lonely, for he feels life stirring on all sides.”

Imagine an artist painting a winter scene. She depicts a white, frozen ground and evergreens draped in snow. Her hand brings the day to a close as she paints night falling on the canvas. In the deep shadows of dusk, she has painted a grim, log cabin, barely visible to the casual observer.

Then she dips her brush in yellow paint and, with a few quick strokes, places a brightly burning lamp in one of the cabin's windows. Warm rays dance on white snow, now made brighter by the light. The lonely lamp wholly changes the tone of the picture, replacing feelings of dark and gloom with warmth and security.

Edith Wharton has said that there are two ways of spreading the light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it. Sometimes we are candles. We shed light of love and hope. We shine encour­agement into dark souls. Or we illuminate with in­sight.

But sometimes we reflect the light. We are mirrors to enable others to see the light of their own goodness and beauty. And when we have no other light of our own, we are mirrors which re­flect a greater Light.

For some, the world can be bleak and cold. They feel frightened, lonely and even hopeless. But it's true that no amount of darkness can extin­guish the light of one, small candle. You?

From Lifesupport.

Lifesigns Life Quotes

ALGEBRA HELP FOR LIFE

My cousin, who also happens to be my next door neighbor, has no qualms running to my house bugging me for algebra 1 help. My cousin does not just stop there with her algebra 1 problems. As if I am a walking book of algebra 1 answers, she would ask me all sorts of questions pertaining to the subject.

I guess this is partially my fault, because I have always given the impression that I am an expert in algebra 1 and algebra 2. I always got lucky in school in solving algebra 2 problems. But truth be told, age has gotten the better of me and I tend to take longer in giving out algebra 2 answers. I thought about this for a while and to buy me time, I would introduce my cousin to all sorts of distractions from the latest MMORPG to the latest blockbuster movies. I admit that this is not of any help whatsoever as her exams are coming up soon. It is too late to look for a tutor who can provide algebra 2 help to my cousin this late in the day. I crossed my fingers and went online. I remember my friend telling me about TutorVista a few months back, so I decided to check it out. I was in luck. TutorVista is the perfect solution for my cousin's requirements.