Showing posts with label hope. Show all posts
Showing posts with label hope. Show all posts

Saturday, April 22, 2023

fear driven vs. hope driven


Dean Ornish, a professor of medicine at the University of California at San Francisco and founder of the Preventive Medicine Research Institute, decided to reframe the underlying mind-set beneath the patients’ narratives. He wanted to change it from “If I behave this way, I won’t die” (fear driven) to “If I behave this way, my life will be filled with joy” (hope driven). In his words, “Telling people who are lonely and depressed that they’re going to live longer if they quit smoking or change their diet and lifestyle is not that motivating. Who wants to live longer when you’re in chronic emotional pain?” How much better would they feel, he thought, if they could enjoy the pleasures of daily life without suffering any pain or discomfort? In his experiment, 77 percent of his patients managed to make permanent changes in their lifestyles, compared with a normal success rate of 10 percent.



"Getting personal about change," by Scott Keller and Bill Schaninger. McKinsey Quarterly. August 21, 2019. 

Friday, December 16, 2022

things you only hoped for


Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you do not have. Remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for.



Epicurus

The Essential Epicurus: Letters, Principal Doctrines, Vatican Sayings, and Fragments. By Epicurus. 1993. Prometheus Books. As found in 2022 Great Quotes from Great Leaders Boxed Calendar: 365 Inspirational Quotes from Leaders Who Shaped the World.

Wednesday, April 7, 2021

all politics is personal


I believe all politics is personal, because at bottom, politics depends on trust, and unless you can establish a personal relationship, it's awfully hard to build trust.... I have always followed my father's advice: Never tell a man what his interests are. Be straight and open with him about your own interests. And try to put yourself in his shoes. Try to understand his hopes and his limitations, and never insist that he do something you know he cannot. It's really just about making the effort to make a personal connection.



Joe Biden

Promise Me, Dad: A Year of Hope, Hardship, and Purpose. By Joe Biden. Flatiron Books. 2017. Preface. 129

Tuesday, April 6, 2021

rules for happiness


Rules for Happiness: something to do, someone to love, something to hope for.


Attributed to Immanuel Kant

Promise Me, Dad: A Year of Hope, Hardship, and Purpose. By Joe Biden. Flatiron Books. 2017. Preface

The real source of this quote may be George Washington Burnap in his book “The Sphere and Duties of Woman: A Course of Lectures” 1848. See post on Who Said That Really? on Tumbler. Dec 7th, 2013


Monday, March 15, 2021

hidden but never extinguished

I never lost hope… because of the courage of the ordinary men and women of my country. I always knew that deep down in every human heart, there is mercy and generosity. No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite. Even in the grimmest times in prison, when my comrades and I were pushed to our limits, I would see a glimmer of humanity in one of the guards, perhaps just for a second, but it was enough to reassure me and keep me going. Man’s goodness is a flame that can be hidden but never extinguished.



Nelson Mandela

Long Walk to Freedom: The Autobiography of Nelson Mandela. Back Bay Books. 1995. p. 662

Sunday, November 17, 2019

you're a provider of hope

“The No. 1 thing for all leaders: You’re a provider of hope,” [Coach Herm] Edwards said. “It’s a service position. You actually serve them; they don’t serve you. That’s very important. … There are two ways you lead: You lead by your seat, or you lead by your feet. I choose to lead by my feet. I know the people that I work with. I make sure I communicate with people. They want to see you.”


Wednesday, July 6, 2016

patience is...

[P]atience is not passive resignation, nor is it failing to act because of our fears. Patience means active waiting and enduring. It means staying with something and doing all that we can—working, hoping, and exercising faith; bearing hardship with fortitude, even when the desires of our hearts are delayed. Patience is not simply enduring; it is enduring well! 


"Continue in Patience", Ensign, May 2010, 56–59

Saturday, April 9, 2016

to be hopeful

To be hopeful in bad times is not just foolishly romantic. It is based on the fact that human history is a history not only of cruelty, but also of compassion, sacrifice, courage, kindness.

What we choose to emphasize in this complex history will determine our lives. If we see only the worst, it destroys our capacity to do something. If we remember those times and places—and there are so many—where people have behaved magnificently, this gives us the energy to act, and at least the possibility of sending this spinning top of a world in a different direction.

And if we do act, in however small a way, we don’t have to wait for some grand Utopian future. The future is an infinite succession of presents, and to live now as we think human beings should live, in defiance of all that is bad around us, is itself a marvelous victory.


Saturday, January 23, 2016

simplistic reductionism

[T]here is [a] temptation which we must especially guard against: the simplistic reductionism which sees only good or evil... The contemporary world, with its open wounds which affect so many of our brothers and sisters, demands that we confront every form of polarization which would divide it into these two camps. We know that in the attempt to be freed of the enemy without, we can be tempted to feed the enemy within. To imitate the hatred and violence of tyrants and murderers is the best way to take their place. That is something which you, as a people, reject.

Our response must instead be one of hope and healing, of peace and justice.... Our efforts must aim at restoring hope, righting wrongs, maintaining commitments, and thus promoting the well-being of individuals and of peoples. We must move forward together, as one, in a renewed spirit of fraternity and solidarity, cooperating generously for the common good.

The challenges facing us today call for a renewal of that spirit of cooperation, which has accomplished so much good throughout the history of the United States. The complexity, the gravity and the urgency of these challenges demand that we pool our resources and talents, and resolve to support one another, with respect for our differences and our convictions of conscience.


Pope Francis (Jorge Mario Bergoglio)
Speech given to Congress. Time Magazine. Washington D.C. 9/24/2015