What To Do When You’re Wrong

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200 words, being right, common sense, courage, defensiveness, Diana Schwenk, Diana's Enormous Book of Quotes, forgiveness, growing up, health, honesty, humility, I'm sorry, integrity, kindness, lies, life, mistakes, peace, Truth, wrong

“Swallow your pride occasionally… it’s non-fattening!” ~Unknown

Upon the realization that you were wrong, you could continue to argue your point and hope that the individual who is right will just give up.

Or when it dawns on you that your neglect or malicious actions have done another harm, you could just continue to act as if you harmed no one, as if you are free from blame, as if it is the harmed one who is to blame, the one who ruined everything.

You could that, and maybe others will believe you, but you won’t find lasting peace that way.

Why not acknowledge the egg on your face. Own up to what you’ve done. Eat crow if you must. Lay in the bed you’ve made. Pay the piper. Take your licks.

You aren’t the first human to mess up, and you won’t be the last. I mean it’s not like everybody doesn’t already know. Your denial doesn’t make it go away.

So say sorry when you’re wrong. Seek forgiveness. Make amends if you can. And if there’s a price to pay for what you did, then pay it.

Swallow your pride occasionally…it’s non fattening!

~ DIANA’S ENORMOUS BOOK OF QUOTES ~

How To Destroy Your Enemies

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200 words, building community, collaboration, common ground, common sense, compassion, courage, Diana Schwenk, Diana's Enormous Book of Quotes, enemy, Fear, friend, health, integrity, love, peace, war, working together

Am I not destroying my enemies when I make friends of them? – Abe Lincoln

How To Destroy Your Enemies

1. You could dig up dirt on them and leak it to the public
2. You could study them to determine their weaknesses and chip away at them until they break under the pressure
3. You could study them to determine what/who they love and cut them off from it/them
4. You could gather data to prove that they are wrong about something and discredit them
5. You could bear false witness against them, thereby inviting the unjustified wrath of others
6. You could harm them in some way and render them useless
7. Or you could enter into a conversation with them to find out what you have in common and take it from there…

Often when disagreements surface, we feel we must clobber down those who work against us and their ideas.

We’re afraid if we don’t, we won’t get our way.

We want to win.

If we really want to win, we should start where we agree and work forward from there. And if we’re really lucky, the end result will be better than either side could have imagined alone.

~ DIANA’S ENORMOUS BOOK OF QUOTES ~

Secret To A Simple Life

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common sense, Hump Day Chronicles, life, simple, stories

I found the following unattributed piece in an old file and thought you might enjoy the wisdom in it. 🙂

Old Farmer’s Advice:

Your fences need to be horse-high, pig-tight and bull-strong.
Keep skunks and bankers at a distance.
Life is simpler when you plow around the stump.
A bumble bee is considerably faster than a John Deere tractor..

Words that soak into your ears are whispered …not yelled.
Meanness don’t jes’ happen overnight.
Forgive your enemies; it messes up their heads.
Do not corner something that you know is meaner than you.
It don’t take a very big person to carry a grudge.
You cannot unsay a cruel word.
Every path has a few puddles.
When you wallow with pigs, expect to get dirty.

The best sermons are lived, not preached
Most of the stuff people worry about ain’t never gonna happen anyway.
Don’t judge folks by their relatives.
Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.
Live a good, honorable life.. Then when you get older and think back, you’ll enjoy it a second time.

Don’t interfere with somethin’ that ain’t bothering you none.
Timing has a lot to do with the outcome of a Rain dance.
If you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is stop diggin’.
Sometimes you get, and sometimes you get got.

The biggest troublemaker you’ll probably ever have to deal with, watches you from the mirror every mornin’.
Always drink upstream from the herd.
Good judgment comes from experience, and a lotta that comes from bad judgment.

Lettin’ the cat outta the bag is a whole lot easier than puttin’ it back in.
If you get to thinkin’ you’re a person of some influence, try orderin’ somebody else’s dog around..

Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply..
Speak kindly. Leave the rest to God.

~ HUMP DAY CHRONICLES ~

Life is simpler when you plow around the stump is one of my faves in the above advice. Which piece of advice resonates with you?

Old-Fashioned Common Sense

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200 words, advanced, common sense, communicate, complicated, conversation, demographics, Diana Schwenk, Diana's Enormous Book of Quotes, just ask, surveys

“Nonsense is good only because common sense is so limited. ” ~ George Santayana

Is it just me, or have we become so advanced  that everything has become more complicated? Who was it that decided unless you are an expert in a certain field you can’t have an opinion?

Remember when if you wanted to know how something was affecting people, you just asked?

Remember listening to your gut and gauging what you would say next based on a person’s body language and responses?

When did having a simple conversation become so scary?

When did we decide the best way to figure something out is to ask everyone (except those in question)  through polls or surveys what they think?

If I want to know what your favourite meal is I won’t hire a Chef  to conduct a survey  of folks in your age group  and income level  who live in your neighbourhood to find out what they like and then serve it up to you.

I will just ask you.

Don’t get me wrong, I think surveys are fun. Studies produce helpful results.

But please let’s not forsake face to face asking.

~ HUMP DAY CHRONICLES ~

What do you think?