Tag: Proverbs

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accountability motivation

What’s the big deal about discretion?

Cartoon of two women. One looks like a pig and has a gold ring in her nose. The caption says, "I don't get it. I thought the jewelry would get me tons of dates."

Proverbs 11:22 paints a picture. It’s imagery we use today without thinking about the verse. Who would want to put a gold ring in a pig’s snout anyway? Would anybody waste a piece of jewelry on a hog?

A beautiful woman who lacks discretion is like a gold ring in a pig’s snout.

Proverbs 11:22 (NLT)

When I drew this cartoon, I quoted the New International Reader’s Version. That translation uses “no sense.” Discretion adds quite a bit of meaning. It means to use good judgment and to speak in such a way as to not cause offense or reveal sensitive information.

We live in an age where discretion seems to be lacking.

  • Celebrities broadcast their dirty little secrets
  • Social media causes people to broadcast the most trivial parts of their private lives
  • Politicians weaponize words to make rival parties the enemy

Discretion’s challenge

Discretion calls all of us to use our better judgment. That can be difficult when we are rushed to make a quick comment or when we’re tempted to say something flippant.

However, it could keep many people out of trouble. How many times have you said something only to wish you could take it back? Yes, me too. Discretion can keep us from saying something that we will come to regret. It can help us keep our friendships and establish goodwill.

What if discretion came in vogue once again? What would that look like?

  • Celebrities could exchange TMI for respect
  • We could use social media to inspire and encourage others
  • Politicians could learn to compromise again and get something done

I know. It’s dreamy, pie-in-the-sky thinking. Still, the world would look and feel much better if more people used some discretion. At the very least, it could help a few more single people get some dates without a gold ring in the snout.

Cartoon of two women. One looks like a pig and has a gold ring in her nose. The caption says, "I don't get it. I thought the jewelry would get me tons of dates."
Categories
motivation

Failure is Success if…

Failure is success if we learn from it

Malcom Forbes in Brainyquote.com

That is the whole key to success. Success isn’t about doing everything right the first time. If it is that easy for you, then you probably aren’t living up to your potential. After all, how do you know what your limits are if you’ve succeeded at everything you’ve set out to do?

The challenge is to learn from it. We humans can get stuck at doing the same foolish thing over and over again. Addictive behaviors, negative thinking patterns and unhealthy habits can make us believe we can never escape from failure.

It reminds me of the verse found in Proverbs 26:11. As a dog returns to his vomit… what a repulsive image! Yet when we don’t learn from our failures and repeat unhealthy behaviors, whe are like the dog and the fool who returns to his folly.

Let’s learn from our failures. They don’t have to hold us down. We can use them as a springboard to success.

Categories
motivation

More Hope for Fools Than the Conceited

Cartoon: Pride and Humility

In 1980, Mac Davis had a hit with the song, It’s Hard to be Humble. Whenever I heard it, I thought it was hilarious because it seemed the singer had no clue how off putting it is to be so conceited. One verse particularly stood out to me:

Well, I could have lotsa friends if I wanted,
But then I wouldn’t stand out from the crowd.

Hard to be Humble lyrics at MetroLyrics.com

When I heard that, I would think that this poor guy didn’t have a clue. Conceit has a way of blinding the conceited person and making them a pariah. A conceited fool is someone to be pitied.

Seest thou a man wise in his own conceit? there is more hope of a fool than of him.

Proverbs 26:12 (KJV)
Cartoon: Pride and Humility

Whenever a person, company or organization has success, they can fall into the conceit trap. Employees working for conceited companies can become conceited themselves. Have you ever tried to call customer service at a company that is a monopoly? Lily Tomlin had a skit where she was Ernestine, the Telephone Operator. It’s a take on two monopolies that had lost touch with customer service. I thought of that skit when “The Phone Company” was going through a court-ordered break up in the 1980s. I thought of it when Kodak imploded because thought they invented the digital camera, they were too conceited to sell it until it was too late. I thought of it when General Motors went through bankruptcy.

Conceit blinds us all. It turns successful people and companies into irrelevant dinosaurs. It blocks us from finding solutions to challenges. It makes us even more risk-averse because who wants to try something new and risk failure when they’ve been so successful in the past? It turns formerly productive people into lazy slugs.

Oh Lord, it’s hard to be humble! But find a way to do it anyway. We must place ourselves in situations that require humility if we want to spare ourselves from becoming a conceited, irrelevant bore.

Categories
motivation

Trusting in a Fool

Cartoon of a boy with a halo. a girl says, "I'm your sister. You can't fool me!"

I felt anxious the other day only to find out I was on my fifth cup of coffee. I felt despondent and sluggish the other day only to find out it was past my bedtime. I felt angry the other day when a sem-trailer cut me off on the freeway. Later, I realized I may have been in his blind spot and he had no idea I was back there. It reminded me I have blind spots every day.

It’s a good thing I can remember my emotions and insights are fickle.

Those who trust their own insight are foolish, but anyone who walks in wisdom is safe.

Proverbs 28:26
Cartoon of a boy with a halo. a girl says, "I'm your sister. You can't fool me!"

Insights change along with emotions and our maturity.

  • I once thought I could grow up to be an astronaut, artist, and a paramedic all at once
  • I once thought my little sisters were annoying. Then we grew up and I discovered they were mature, young women with amazing talents and wisdom.
  • I used to think my parents could learn a thing or two from me until I got married and had kids of my own. It’s amazing how many people without kids are parenting experts until they have kids!

One of the most liberating conclusions I ever had was that I am a fool… and so are you! We all are if we are not careful.

  • We change
  • Our past experiences affect our future perceptions
  • Our emotions are fickle
    • Chronic negative emotions turn into bad attitudes that are unhelpful, even harmful.
  • We are affected by groupthink
  • We can be manipulated by the media, politicians, and anyone with charisma

So how do you get wisdom? Personally, I’ve found the book of Proverbs to be very helpful. If you are not a Bible reader, seek out books of wisdom or read biographies of people you admire and respect. See what has guided them. Seek out old adages, such as Ben Franklin’s adages.

Wisdom does not change with the times or our emotions. Certain bedrock truths like treating everyone the way you want to be treated and haste makes waste, will guide us when we feel like chucking it all in and acting like a selfish jerk.

Categories
motivation

The Freedom to Make Bad Choices

Cartoon of a boy with a big mouth about to consume a birthday cake. The caption reads, "This choice make come back to haunt him."

Ooh! That choice may come back to haunt him! But I can relate. My inner child likes to make gluttony an Olympic sport. I’ve been called a cookie monster fairly recently. I have made my way through scores of cakes, pies, and assorted baked goods over the years. They would probably fill an Olympic size pool.

Cartoon of a boy with a big mouth about to consume a birthday cake. The caption reads, "This choice make come back to haunt him."

We have the freedom to make bad choices every day. Of course, there is always a price to pay. If I didn’t attempt to control my appetite and never exercised, I could be facing a much heavier body with chronic illness. But that would be my choice.

I could choose to weigh thirty pounds heavier as I did twenty years ago. It would be my choice, because as Zig Ziglar said, “I never accidentally ate anything!”

Some bad choices are made knowing there are consequences. Some are made out of ignorance. We can be foolish and choose to ignore the wisdom that can save us from heartache. Some bad choices are made out of entitlement. We think we deserve something so we feel justified in making that choice.

But when we make a bad choice, let’s be honest enough to admit it was our choice. It does no good to blame others for our bad choices. It reminds me of this proverb:

The foolishness of man perverteth his way: and his heart fretteth against the Lord.

Proverb 19:3 KJV

Yes, we have the freedom to make bad choices. But we also have the responsibility to own up to them. The next time I see a plate of cookies (especially chocolate chip cookies), I will probably indulge. But I won’t blame anyone but me if I gain a few pounds.