March 12

Words of Wisdom I’ve Accumulated Over the Years

• Don’t worry about things or situations you can’t change.
• You’re not always rewarded for doing the right thing.
• Your actions affect people’s lives more than you realize.
• You don’t have to convince people when you’re right, but you do need to apologize when you’re wrong.
• Don’t worry if things don’t go your way; be flexible enough to react to contingencies.
• Look for the best in every situation; even the worst things in life happen for a reason.
• Emotions are often beyond our control; however, our actions and how we react to these emotions can be controlled.
• Play the tape all the way through before you choose a course of action. What’s the ultimate point of an action? Use the filter (your brain) between emotion and action.
• When you’re considering other’s feelings, don’t forget your own (don’t be a martyr).
• There’s always more time in the day than you originally thought.
• Don’t put off doing the right thing. Bad situations don’t get better with time.
• Procrastination never works unless time is needed to heal or temper other’s feelings. Know when to act and do it promptly, and know when to wait.
• Life is continually progressing, even when it appears that we’re going backwards. Sometimes we need to revisit situations so we can learn how to handle them properly.
• Trust in God. He’s there to lean on and to help us through good times and bad times, but he doesn’t live our lives for us.
• Be a participant in life, not an observer. Give back to your community.
• Focus on the important things in life – family, friends, and community. Nobody’s obituary reads that they worked 60 hours a week.
• Don’t feel guilty about having a bad day. It happens to everyone, and sometimes you just have to accept it.

Bruce Kirby