My Riffs

Be a peacemaker. There's a difference between making peace and faking peace. You can fake peace, but that only delays the issues. Peace making involves confronting issues and working through them.  So make peace, to do so sometimes you have to be assertive and even confrontational. You can still be kind, but to bring real peace you have to deal with the issues.

We’re all teaching the next generation. What we say to them is so important. But they’re really learning by what we do. Not so much by what we say. Our words can damage or inspire them. But they’re gonna tend repeat our actions. So it’s our actions that are doing the teaching. You can say all the right things but if you’re not doing them you’re not teaching. 

So, so many distractions. Notifications. Calls. Screens. And so many other. What could we accomplish if we could minimize these distractions? Even just for a few hours per day or even just per week. 

We always can and should learn. We only stop learning when we shut it brains off to new things. We stop learning when we think we know it all. Stay hungry and stay curious. 

Division is so prevalent today. Social media seemingly has exasperated divisions. You feel like you have to choose a side. What if we decided to side with principals instead of specific sides? I think the divisiveness would lessen. Let's try taking the side of truth and love. You can't err when choosing that side. It doesn't mean being a push over and not making a stand; it means doing so with wisdom and not as personal attacks. Choose love, truth and kindness for maximum effectiveness.

There are times to stop, to retreat and to withdraw. Not quit. But stop and change course. Wisdom guides us on when it’s time to stop. Immaturity may have us continue to push through something and end up in a much worse place than had we realized it was time to stop. 

We love comfort, but we're not really built for it. Comfort leads to ruin. Comfort makes us apathetic. Comfort misaligns us with our goals. Comfort is one of our greatest enemies. There's times to momentarily retreat to comfort. But it should be short and rare. We're conditioned to respond well to challenges. If we're not challenged we're without purpose. Slipping into comfort is the way to slowly become nothing. Getting comfortable should be a warning sign.

There may be much chaos in your day. But if you have solid inner peace, you can withstand the outer chaos. You can be connected and empathic all while insulating your peace. It takes a mature mind and emotions to handle that tension. Immature minds get drawn into chaos. Mature minds are empathetic but don’t allow in chaos. 

Living with Gratitude is one of the best life hacks there is. There’s so much to be thankful for. So find things to be grateful for. It will minimize all the things you’re currently seeing as issues. 

If you’re feeling challenged, that’s a good thing. Feeling comfortable isn’t. True growth doesn’t happen in comfort.  And if we’re not growing, we’re shrinking. Use challenges to grow. Use growth to help others. 

Up is the way to go. Yeah we need depth and roots; but only so we can reach higher and wider. So look up, reach up and out. 

We want to be right so desperately. But it’s not always worth it. Sometimes it’s best to let time prove you right. Being right may cost you more than you want to pay. Let time and your actions prove you right if it costs too much.  

I like to try and reflect at the end of each day. Things that went good and things that didn’t. But what really matters is if I made a difference in somebody’s day. Did I take the opportunities to say a kind or encouraging word? Or was I too wrapped up in my own task and busyness? 

Today may feel like a mundane or routine day, but that's something to be thankful for. Because the day could be filled with chaos. Every day is a gift but it's only fully utilized if we relish in it.

Life is measured better by why you give rather than what you take. Give and you’ll see how much fulfillment you get in return. 

Be consistent. Sure being erratic will keep people guessing but you won’t build anything of value. Be consistent and you’ll make your mark. 

If you're given your best, you can rest. It's when we don't give our best that we are left with what if's. When we give our best, the best possible outcome will happen. Even if it's not the outcome we wish for, it's still the best possible one. If something is worth doing, it's worth giving it our best shot.

Ben Franklin said to search for others virtues but for yourself search for your vices. Be generous and patient with other people but hold yourself to the highest practical standard. Don’t worry about the problem in someone else when you yourself have unresolved problems. Search for the good in others. Search yourself for areas to improve in. 

Are you looking up or down? You’ll head in the direction you’re looking. Keep your eyes up and on good things. 

Don’t get weary in doing good. It’s easy to get apathetic and let down. But if you’ve done something good and leveled up, don’t let down for a second. It may be hard to climb that mountain once again. 

We like smooth sailing, but smooth sailing never made a good sailor. We need the opposition to form us into something better. Opposition winds can form us into better people. Stronger people. Use the opposition to get better. 

Speak life. Build up. The power of life is in the tongue. Speak life. 

If you can't speak truth, you aren't free. Freedom means you are free to share what you think and feel. Find freedom. You may not always be right about what you think and feel but if you hold them in you won't ever know.

Our schedule should be flexible. Tasks are important but people and relationships are more important. What could be more important than building a relationship! A schedule is good, but leave room for building relationships. Cancel other plans if you have to in order to build relationships. That’s more fulfilling and longer lasting than any tasks you could be doing. 

Think ahead, or else you will rarely end up where you need to go. But be present, don't be so caught up in what if's that you miss the present.

Everyone wants to be the best. Well, most people do anyway. But in doing so, we're trying to be like other people. It's better if we just try and be the best version of ourselves. Be less like other people and more like the best version of ourself. So when we're the best at something, it simply means we're the best we can be. It it less about comparison and more about us becoming.

Today’s a new month. A reminder that we can simply turn the page. That doesn’t mean quitting. It simply means start fresh. Take a new angle. Take a breath. Turn the page and you have a new start. It’s more simple than you may think.