“Be the ball” — The quote I live by.
Above image from: https://i.ytimg.com/vi/1A-4zTLlop8/sddefault.jpg
Quote I heard from the TV show Big Bang Theory when Sheldon and friends were bowling, really got stuck with me. Because when I heard this simple phrase, I thought how amazing it is to be able to just say this in any situation and someone who is willing to listen to it will be able to interpret it in their own way and it will motivate them somehow.
My fellow friends have (unfortunately) have been at the receiving end of these quotes that I would pick up from books and TV shows and some that I would create for myself from my own experiences in life. Most of my friends, will be able to catch on to these said vague quotes and they will interpret it in their own situation (mostly in a positive manner), but there are also some who are unable to appreciate these somewhat too (open-ended) philosophical quotes.
Where am I getting at it with this is, I do like dropping quotes/poetic advises every now and then and there are some that I would like to share with the world which I find very relevant to my life.
People treat you the way you treat yourself
I always give the example, of someone dressed in an un-ironed shirt with maybe a few holes in there (which might be unnoticeable to them) walking next to a person wearing an ironed shirt with colour complementing accessories, who do you think is more likely to get more opportunities? People will treat you the way you treat yourself. Putting in effort to dress yourself shows that you respect and take care of yourself, naturally (most) people will give the respect back. But if one does not put in effort in looking good, smelling good (for others around them), it little reason for others to give respect back. So please dress yourself well at all times. Learn some basic styling tips.
I know the most common thought to this is “I don’t care about what others think” — to which I say this is mostly a good thought if your work/business does not rely on others. But if it does, you should be caring about what others think…
Over-confidence leads to failure
Confidence is necessary in this world but there is a limit to it. Over-confidence is when you take things for granted. I was in Primary 4 (4th Grade) when I came to this realisation when for a few consecutive quizzes I was doing well. So my confidence spiked and didn’t study for the next quiz because I am an expert in such quizzes. Of course, got a good lesson that day when I scored terribly because the reason I was doing well previously was because I was diligently studying for the topics accordingly. It wasn’t that I was good at quizzes, I was studying. I let the success over my head instead of keeping at my way of working.
You are the average of the people you surround yourself with
Imagine having 5 friends around you who constantly talk about business ideas and look into self growth.. now imagine having 5 friends who are constantly lamenting about cost of living rising and not growing in their careers. You will end up like the average of the people you surround yourself with because motivation goes a long way. HERD MENTALITY is real.. so choose your herd.
Everything is Perception
Yes this is like glass half-empty or half-full kind of thing. A person leaving an online meeting abruptly can be seen as rude or can be seen as “they probably had some urgent thing to tend to”. With this positive mindset, you have saved yourself from hours of negativity and can make peace with the meeting and moving on. But the few hours of negativity, had you taken the other perception, would have led to the negative energy spreading out to the rest of the members in the meeting, and the rest of your day. You have now let the person (and your perception of that person) stay rent-free in the home of your mind.
This also applies to you taking your failures as a lesson instead of a sign of not proceeding further. PERCEPTION.
If you really want, you can change yourself (for the better)
I often hear people say I can’t change myself, I am like this. “I can’t wake up at 5am, I am a night owl, I am an introvert” — to which I say it’s possible to change yourself IF YOU REALLY WANT TO, that is. I have definitely been able to change myself just by sheer attitude of changing myself for the better. I have been able to reduce my overthinking nature. I have been able to speak better in public. I have been able to be more understanding of people and their feelings. And yes even wake up early. All this just by understanding how I work, what motivates me. I like having a plan in the morning to look forward to, that gives me a reason to wake up.
I do not like sudden changes, so I phase things in my life. First wake up 10 mins before my normal time, then 20 then 30 then 1hr. It’s do-able, of course it is, it’s just about how much you want it.
I do not like talking to people, but since I discovered the power of networking, I am talking to people, and yes I DM people on linkedin to go on coffee chats now!
I saw what overthinking was doing to me, I observed and learnt how others deal with it and embodied their thought process, and I can’t tell you how free-ing it is to not be overthinking!
Hope these quotes that I follow all throughout my life will be able to help someone out there as well!
