My Riffs

No matter what, end on a good note. You never want to end anything on a bad note. Beginnings are important, but endings are as much or more important. How something ends will carry far into the future. Long after something is over, how it ended it often how it's remembered. 

You can either feed or starve a feud. You can either feed or starve a craving. You can either feed or starve a habit. You can either feed or starve a rumour. You can either feed or starve gossip. This list could go on and on.  When we encounter something we can either put energy into it and further it or we can withhold energy and not add to its momentum. It’s important to remember that our words carry consequences. A casual approval may spur a bad behaviour. A quiet response may let something die. 

We can be overtaken by things that shouldn’t control us. News, fears, divisions and on the list goes. These things can consume us, our time and our energy. There’s great value in learning what should be able to have that much control over us. Energy being consumed by these things is energy that could have been invested into positive and appreciating assets. 

Your best is enough. And if it’s not, that’s where having a solid crew back you up is important. 

We are swift to share bad news. Much quicker than good news. What if we trained ourselves to be spreaders of good news? I presume more people would want to be around you. If not, it may weed out people who aren’t positive influences. 

One of the signs of strength I’ve noticed is the ability to hold back. It takes a strong person to reserve their strength and not use it every time they can. They exert the proper amount of strength necessary for the situation and not an ounce more. That’s a true sign of strength. 

Labels matter very much because they frame how we think and talk about things. We have to be careful labelling someone or something because we don’t always have all the facts. Be slow to label something until you’re sure. 

What constitutes a bad day? The fewer days you have ahead of you the more you're grateful for each day. What can ruin your day when you're grateful for each day? 

I’ve noticed something about people who are constantly accusing others. The accuser is usually doing the same thing or something just as wrong as what they’re accusing others of.  The lesson is to not take accusers too seriously.

Have you ever been around a blabber mouth? You end up tuning them out.  No need to say it all. People don’t need to hear everything we know. The more we speak the more possibility that our words become cheaper.  A proverb says that a word spoken fittingly is like apples of gold in pitchers of silver. Meaning that a well spoken word is beautiful and effective.

The most valuable lessons are the ones that have cost the most.  Times of hurt and pain and even big mistakes can be prices we have paid to learn important and valuable lessons.  Wisdom costs pain. Valuable lessons don’t come cheap. 

The funny thing I've noticed about hypocrisy is when it's pointed out to the hypocrite they rarely change. The lesson is if someone points out an area of hypocrisy in yourself, use it as an opportunity to make yourself better.

Another lesson I've learned with my son is sometimes he just needs just a bit of encouragement. He may be trying to tackle a hill with his new legs and needs just a small bit of encouragement to get up the hill. Sometimes a little encouragement is all someone needs to get over their difficulty.

One of the worst self inflicted harms we can do is lie. Either tell lies or live lies. It’s one of the most damaging and harmful things we could do.  Living and speaking honestly are among the most powerful things we can do.  Lying is self inflicted damage. Truth telling is self sourced strength. 

Two people can look at the same thing and see two entirely different pictures. Perspective is everything. When we realize we get a choice in perspective that changes everything. 

News, work, social media all clog the head. It's hard to find a time and space to get a clear head. The more we operate from a clogged head the worse we are going to perform. And I'm not just talking about job performance, I'm talking about life performance. Finding a way, time and space to get a clear mind is so important in these crazy times we live in. Clearing your mind may look different for each person, but it's important to figure out how to do just that.

Some of the best advice you can take on handling rude and inconsiderate people is to simply turn the other cheek. To not try and stop them, because you likely aren't going to change a rude person. Let their true colours come out for all to see.

Often your presence if often one of your best presents. This means that your time is one of your best gifts you can give. Give it to the next generation and give it to lonely and hurting people.

Nothing great has ever been done without courage. 

Why is patience a virtue? I think it's because it's a necessary part of a healthy life. Good things take time. Big investments take time. Short and rushed things produce shallowness. Patience produces depth.

I posted this a while back, but it's really worth putting out there again. One of the best life hacks you can implement is using gratitude. The benefits of learning and using gratitude range from mental to physical health and quality of life. It's a difficult change to make if negativity has been dominating, but it's one of the most profound things you can do. Practice gratitude intentionally until it becomes instinctive. You can practice gratitude by journaling or writing. You can practice it by taking time every day to speak about or mentally take stock of things you're grateful for. 

A good rule I have been reminded of recently is don't do anything for someone if they can do it themselves. I know I've posted this before, but teaching my son to walk has reminded me of it. I have to let him walk on his own and get back up again when he falls. If I always pick him up he won't learn. So sometimes helping somebody isn't really helping them. It's a totally different story if somebody needs help and can't do something themselves. Then it's our moral duty to help them.

There's some real truth behind the phrase that the pen is mightier than the sword. The principle behind it is an effective communicator can do more with that communication than someone merely exerting force. Communication is a skill that can be practiced and learned. It's one of the most beneficial and powerful skills we could ever have. The better you communicate, the more effective you are.

Telling the truth has become more important than ever. In a world where bad is called good and lies are common pace, truth is ever the more important to speak. It just has to be spoken with love. 

The thing with getting gains is there has to be a loss somewhere. Nothing is completely free. There’s always a cost associated with things.

Forcing things doesn't seem to work as well. Letting things happen as they should often does a better job. This isn't applicable across everything. This doesn't mean sitting back and letting life just come to you. It means forcing other people and situations. For example, my son is just over a year old and he's just starting to walk. But it was because I started forcing him too. He's doing well, but maybe he wasn't quite ready for it. He's still learning, but maybe slower than had he naturally started.  How many other times do we do this in life. Forcing a situation or a reaction from someone? When letting it play out would have been better.  Situations in our control we should take control of. Situations that aren't in our control, we make a mess trying to exert control over. Did I do the wrong thing for me son? I don't think so, I was getting tired of carrying him lol :) 

It’s easy to write off someone or something. It’s easy to write things off prematurely too. If there’s life there’s hope.

I see so much fighting today. Much of it online. And it really accomplishes nothing positive. It doesn’t change anyone’s minds. It only stokes fires. Let’s use our socials to encourage and put positive things out there.

Trust is the fundamental currency in relationships. Without it, there are no proper and healthy relationships. It begins with ourselves. 

Strength comes from resistance. More accurately it comes from overcoming resistance. Just because you feel resistance that doesn’t mean it’s a bad thing. It may be what you need to get stronger.