I am usually rather late to trends. They have generally peaked, crested and are on their way down before I jump on the bandwagon.
I usually find myself raving about the latest this or that to people who are a) bored or b) horrified they know such a laggard. And so it was with storing my phone numbers. Just as people got on the Internet and tiny little pocket computers, I fastened on to the salesman’s BFF from the ‘80’s – the trusty Rolodex.
Oblivious to the complete and utter nerdiness of my state, I would get quite excited as I took out a new pristine white card and write down the number with my favorite pen. I even searched high and low for a special hole punch to make my own cards.
Such was my thrall.
Meanwhile my kids were wondering how I never charged my cellphone. No-one seemed to understand that with two kids and all their clobber, I could never remember to carry my phone to and from the car. I couldn’t understand how just about everyone else managed to do what I apparently could not. Eventually, my husband, frustrated and bemused, bought me a car charger and the blessings of a cellphone slowly revealed themselves. And I learned how I could store all my numbers in it.
Fancy.
And so it was my Rolodex became an organizational dinosaur. But unlike dinosaurs, it didn’t die out. Propelled by my loathing for waste, I transformed it into a repository for wit, wisdom and worldliness.
Whenever someone said, or I read, something I thought remarkably insightful, I would whip out my blue pen, a new card and write. it. down.
Sayings, quotations, wisdom, tips. Down it would go.
I wasn’t terribly good at attribution. Many of the origination has been lost. I apologize right here to the authors of these great words.
So here are some words from my Rolodex. The good, the prudent, the profound.
1. Your playing small does not serve the world.
2. Do what you would do if you couldn’t fail.
3. Be your own guru.
4. Ask: What is important about today? What must get done today? What is important about the future?
5. Never hold a dustbuster and a cat at the same time.
6. Create healthy boundaries.
7. Do it anyway.
8. Use Post-Its.
9. Don’t gossip.
10. You don’t need more. You already have what you need. You just need to find it.
11. Visions and dreams are achieved through taking small steps, delaying gratification, and using strategic thinking.
12. Be an optimist, there is little point in being anything else.
13. Start sentences with : Thank you for…I like it when…You seem like…I appreciate…I notice…I like…I love…
14. Before speaking, ask: Is it kind? Is it necessary? Is it true? Is this the right time to say it?
15. There are times to attack, times to defend, times to be quiet. Wisdom is knowing which is the appropriate response in any given situation.
16. To say when someone is dying: I’ll miss you. I love you. I forgive you. I’m sorry. Goodbye.
17. You can’t feel your way to better behavior but you can behave your way to better feelings.
18. When your mom is mad at your dad, don’t let her brush your hair.
19. Buy something for the mother on the birth of a baby.
20. Live your life based on your best hopes not your worst fears.
21. If you want to create wealth or any other kind of success, you have to be a warrior.
22. ‘If you have children, the demands made upon you during the first hour of the morning can make the job of an air traffic controller seem like a walk in the park.’ ~J. Wurtman
23. Listening to conventional wisdom gets you conventional results.
24. When you’re going through hell, keep going. ~Winston Churchill
25. True love is not princes and princesses and castles and happily ever after, it is an acceptance of all that is, has been, will be and will not be.
26. Your mind will answer most questions if you learn to relax and wait for the answer.
Do you have any words of uncommon wisdom or unusual insight? Please share in the comments.
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“This post first appeared on Alison Golden.”
