Wednesday, February 28, 2024

Notes to Myself - End-of-Day Personal Reflections



ACTIONS & REACTIONS

1. We characterize to denigrate and denounce; playwrights do it only to dramatize
2. Every action does not call for a proportionate response 
3. Not every word said needs a reaction; they do need reflection 
4. Speak words that edify, not crucify; build not destroy; unite not divide 
5. Natures abhors a vacuum so does a comic 

ADVICE 

6. The untrodden paths are the remanent of advice not taken 
7. Unsolicited advice is like unwelcome, uninvited visitors 
8. If you wish to flatter ask for advice; it may actually be helpful 
9. Restrain the urge to advice when evidence to back it up is suspect 
10. When tables turn you should be able to digest your own advice 
11. Take advice / assurances only from those with skin in the game 
12. When giving advice ensure the recipient is still in the room mentally 
13. Open people’s mind to possibilities to clarify not to confuse 
14. When someone says be positive, they are saying it is a hopeless case 

ART 

15. The pen is mightier than the sword in the hands of an artist 
16. When an artist does a portrait, it is the trait that he hopes to portray 
17. A picture speaks a thousand words, a cartoon telegraphs it BEHAVIOUR 
18. For some people queue curiously is what other people stand in 
19. For some to admit they could be wrong is tantamount to a heresy 
20. What annoys us we project on to others; while being no different 

BELIEF & OPINION 

22. Have strong opinions – loosely held 
23. On matter of principles hold firm; on matters of opinions go with the flow 

CONDUCT 

24. Re-engineer when things don’t work out; learning notched are a bonus 
25. Take responsibility for an error of judgement to void its recurrence 
26. Walk with confidence even when you stumble 
27. Be the person you are meant to be - not expected to be 
28. Avoid gossipers, naysayers and doomsdayers – good chance you will be too 
29. Be humble and open to correction 
30. Submit not to fear, only to good sense 
31. Act with caution not from fear 
32. Procrastinate if nothing is to be gained from acting on it 
33. Be available 
34. Be still and let the world catch up 
35. Value people, not property 
36. Be well informed not to be misinformed 
37. Take work seriously – not self 
38. Learn to laugh at oneself – not at others 
39. Be free spirited but care for your soul 
40. Make friends easily but confide in few 
41. Don’t gossip - it will come to haunt you 
42. Toil and enjoy the spoils; sleep and invite starvation 
43. When Spirit is willing, tame your flesh to follow 
44. Don’t give in until there is no way out 
45. Never miss a chance to have a hearty laugh 
46. Want nothing and you will need nothing 
47. Take risks; calculated and controlled 
48. When in doubt, stop 
49. Don’t fear to live; nor fear to die 
50. Eat to live; not live to eat 3 
51. When in error, admit and move on 
52. Know when being provoked; learn to calibrate response to avoid a bust up 
53. One good deed a day keeps the doctor away 
54. Let joy follow you like a shadow 
55. To receive, first give 
56. Work to smile; frowning needs no effort 
57. Keep your family close; to help or be helped 
58. Stuff happens, stay calm, head down, move on 
59. To cushion a fall be hands-free 
60. Review the day before you sleep, make good where you fell short 
61. When served lemon make lemonade 
62. Get the process right, the outcome will follow; not always as you wished 
63. Don’t fuss over matters whose resolution is fuzzy 
64. Render to others what you would have rendered to your self 
65. Go the extra mile; just in case you have fallen short of the measure 
66. Return in kind what you failed to convey in words 
67. Cherish what you have, desire not what you don’t 
68. Be quick to apologize, you just may be in error 
69. To err is human, to forgive divine; a lightened heart is good for blood flow 
70. Be a person of no guile; neither be beguiled 
71. Politeness creates a magnetic field of attraction 
72. Your eyes are telling of your will and intent 
73. Disagree, but be not disagreeable 
74. Better to bite the tongue than wallow in regret 
75. Often a pinch of humility can avert a heap of trouble 
76. Reserve criticism and instructions; the world won’t fall apart w/o them; with perhaps 

CONSUMERISM 

77. With prosperity comes disposability 

DEATH 

79. When inert, a person becomes a body 
80. From dust we have come and to dust we shall go 
81. Passage from life to death is a step up from the earth to the heaven 

DOING 

82. To get things done a dash of daring is the secret sauce 
83. To dispel darkness, strike a match, light a candle, let the glow liberate you 
84. We need to do what is in our capacity, often beyond our known abilities 
85. In life very little is guaranteed, less so if you haven’t tried 
86. When you eat less, you eat less; when you eat more, you eat more 
87. You gain energy from expending it; conserving it leads to gain of fat 
88. Do when it needs to be done 
89. Develop your brain, cultivate your values - your body will take care of itself 
90. Make friends of your enemies; do them good so as not to be undone by them 
91. When you donate blood, your body returns the favor with interest 
92. Expressing love has zero production cost; the returns stretch to eternity 
93. After a loss lick your wounds for a bit, after victory sit not on your laurels 
94. As you live for today prepare for tomorrow too 
95. Don’t force outcomes, it may be against your interest 
96. Excellence is a habit; tardiness too
97. Housekeeping begins at home 
98. For wind in your sail, exercise your will in consonance with God’s will 
99. You can push the envelope but know it will still be stationery 

EMOTIONS & REASON 

100. Emotions lead to action; reason leads to conclusion 
101. Reason and logic are impediments to hearts melding 
102. With rare exceptions, most things of self-important nature are just that 

FAITH 

104. Only three things matter – love, hope, and faith 
105. The widow’s mites are the ultimate in giving 
106. Blessings are returning boomerangs; so are curses 
107. What God says is; once spoken it is done 
108. What comes from God’s mouth, like rain to the earth, accomplishes it purpose 
109. For what does it profit to gain the whole world, but suffer the loss of your soul 
110. Hope that does not disappoint is preceded by suffering and perseverance 
111. In as much as we do, we gain; not everything has to be done for profit 
112. Be not delusional: Angels will not hold you up if you jump off a cliff 
113. God does not shield us from temptations, but he arms us to repel it 
114. Temptations come in all forms auto-filled, if you press ‘Ok’ it’s hard to undo 
115. Accidents and coincidences are God’s way of steering you on to the right path 
116. Give thanks in all things; you will never know what you have just been spared 
117. Farmers sow seeds, the harvest in in God’s hands; sowing is key 
118. God cannot be rushed; He is not your spouse 
119. Pray, discern, act, accept, repeat – all will be well with you 
120. Belief drives outcome; those who Jesus healed believed a priori 
121. God in His providence takes care of the particulars 
122. When you pray you join forces with a higher being to triumph over evil 
123. Ask, you will receive, seek, you will find, knock, doors will be opened 
124. Renew your mind not to fall victim to the pattern of this world 
125. All who labor and are heavy laden; Christ invites to seek his rest 
126. Do not be afraid; only believe 
127. Go forth your faith has healed you; to the ears of the healed it is joy unbound 
128. Faith is the substance of things hoped for, evidence of things not seen 
129. Ask God to be a light to your path and a lamp to your feet 
130. Greatness does not lie in conquest of power, but of hearts 
131. Judge not and you will not be judged; forgive and you will be forgiven 
132. Persist - your prayers could be a whisker away from its realization 
133. Just as ointment cure; prayers heal 
134. God’s love is not conditional, but unrestrained and immeasurable 
135. What you give is banked in heaven and in the hearts of the receivers 
136. We cannot pick on God for not giving us what is not in his plan for us 
137. When prayers are not answered, take it that it is answered 
138. Fear not, but believe 
139. For with the measure you use, will be measured back to you 
140. God gives: Full measure, pressed down, shaken together, flowing over 
141. Pride precedes a great fall 
142. Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants God has perfected praise 
143. From the fullness of the heart the mouth speaks; insulate your heart from evil 

FORESIGHT 

144. In hindsight everyone sounds brilliant; what’s valuable is foresight 

INVESTING 

145. Create appreciating assets; not debilitating debt 
146. A penny saved is a penny earned; a penny found is a penny lost 
147. Expect to live long so plan for it now 
148. In business revenue is vanity, profit is sanity, cash is reality 

LIABILITY 

149. A good memory can be a liability if you are known to keep scores 

LIFE TODAY 

150. Smartphones monitor your movement like ankle bracelets a felon 
151. Smartphone pings impinge 
152. With voice commands the finger is the new appendix 
153. Virtual meets are seeing a renaissance in multitasking - many tasks same time 
154. White mode and dark mode represent the transition from book to screens 

LISTENING & TALKING 

155. Reserve disbelief, for now listen without eyes squinted or raised eyebrows 
156. Listen with ears open, mouth closed 
157. Try not to understand what your spouse is saying; listening is enough 
158. Talk less – listen more; less to defend too 
159. Hear to listen; not to judge; pause and respond; the person may not be done 
160. Converse, don’t badger and bore 
161. When harboring unforgiveness we choose our words carefully or we rant 
162. Let not what you speak be an afterthought 
163. What goes into our mouth does not make us unclean; what comes out could 
164. If conversations spark conflict incline to silence to engender serenity 
165. It is not how it is said that matters but how it is heard that soothes or hurts 
166. Bend your ears to clasp whispers of wisdom 
167. Often sheer cussedness deprives us of goodness God has in store for us 
168. Slip, don’t butt into an ongoing conversation 
169. When you say something, say it, and say it again, to ensure it is said 
170. Sometime sugary sweetness can be grating like sharp crystals 

MEMORIES 

171. You gain tenure in people’s minds if your deeds were deposits of joy to them 
172. Joy is ephemeral; allow it to bubble up often and it can be made life lasting 
173. Value of a person realized post facto survive only as shards of regrets 

MISCONCEPTION 

174. Being infamous is not the same thing as not being famous 

PAST 

175. We are shaped by the past but we don’t have to be defined by it 
176. Past is not a great predictor of the future, make most of the present 

PERCEIVING 

177. Light is not the absence of darkness; darkness is the absence of light 

PHILOSOPHY 

178. 50:50 makes 100 
179. To punch above your weight, you need outsized arms 

POWER 

180. People in positions of power can do good or allow it to be their undoing 

PROPAGATION 

181. A lie repeated is truth defeated 
182. There is truth and there is conjecture; discern and disseminate 

PROBLEM SOLVING 

183. Problems cannot be solved at the same level of thinking that created it 

PSYCHOLOGY 

184. Public transport is a good antidote to feelings of isolation 

PURPOSE 

185. A ship is safe in the harbor but that’s not what it was built for 
186. To stay on course, take charge 

RELATIONSHIP 

187. Like water finds its level and flows where it will so a healthy relationship 
188. Where your treasure is that’s where you heart will be 
189. Your tone of voice and choice of words sets up the relationship 

SELF & OTHERS 

190. Your life is not about you, just saying 
191. You live only once so get it right; less likely you will get it right in the next 
192. What tomorrow brings only tomorrow knows; make today count 
193. Be generous in assessing people; reserve suspicion for the barest few 
194. Be fair to those you work with; they may be your boss some day 
195. Project on to people the goodness you see in yourself 
196. If you wish to receive a favor, preface with doing one first 
197. Make friends; enemies can be a challenge 
198. Wake up expecting nothing but the best; retire having got the best 
199. Be mindful and you will have less on your mind 
200. Don’t confuse a made-up mind with facts 
201. Change is a constant so is a vow 
202. Age is only a number; not quite when it is numbered 
203. Know thyself; Google does 
204. It’s how you are doing on your worst days that mark you for who you are 
205. When setting expectations for another provide the scaffolding for success 
206. Unwittingly, and often, we cut our nose to smite our face 

SUFFERING 

207. Do not waste your suffering, but offer it for the salvation of many 

THINKING 

208. As you think so you are 
209. Silence your mind when the threads of thought are self-defeating 
210. Worrying starts when the effort to find a solution meets its end 
211. Curb your worst instincts and urges within boundaries of your fantasy 
212. To what you pay attention you give meaning – remember Eve in Eden 
213. A man is a product of his thoughts; a woman too I think 
214. Forego giving a ‘piece of your mind’, a sure shot way to gain peace of mind 
215. Your self-talk is a good measure of your limitations or success 
216. To worry before it is necessary is to worry more than it is necessary 
217. Let your pale of worry turn into a flood of relief 

TRUISM 

218. Quantity leads to Quality