As I get ready to go out shopping:

There many cool things in the world; whenever I see one of them I want it.  Every year, there is a better computer and a neater car that I would like to buy.  If I had yielded to these temptations I could not have paid off my mortgage, paid for my children’s college and taken an early retirement to enjoy the beaches and four seasons of Cape Cod.  When I think about what is really important to me, I am happy to drive my old car until it is too worn out to ...

After a couple of hours hiking up hill, I was discouraged to see that the summit was still far ahead.  When I paused briefly and looked behind me, the view of how far I had already come was refreshing enough to give me more than enough energy to keep going until I reached the top.  When your current work seems too hard, you might want to think back on how much you know now than you did two years ago.

It is not easy to be comfortable with our doubts.  They remind us that we don’t know everything and that our decisions might go wrong.  But eliminating doubt from our thinking doesn’t not change the fact that we are imperfect, it just blinds us to the possibilities that we could learn from the different views that others may hold.

Doubts shouldn’t stop me from acting.  Thinking through my doubts should let me move forward with confidence that I am prepared to take corrective action if-...

Out of all the billions of stars, it only takes one sun to chase away the darkness and make a day and cheerful.  When that sun is hidden behind clouds, one person with a sunny disposition can have the same effect.  Each of us has a role in making the atmosphere warmer or colder.

This bit of wisdom comes to us from ancient India.  It provides an answer to our worries about both the past and the future.  If we focus our energy each day on making that day a good experience, then tomorrow's yesterday will be a good memory and my experience will lead me to expect the next day will turn out as good as the past.