Tag Archives: Pride

Sorry

Sorry- feeling distressed, especially through sympathy with someone else’s misfortune.

sorry
In the game we played as kids, some never learn the value of the word sorry.

Life is a continual path of choices. Each person will make many choices every day, from when to get up in the morning to what they eat that day.  As we move along that path, there will be opportunities to do good things or bad things. To choose to be kind and considerate of others or to make decisions with our own self-interest at heart. All people are going to make decisions they are not proud of at some point. It is part of being human.  Recognizing the wrong you perceive is difficult, but we all have the power to make it right. Say, “I’m sorry.”  This is the first step in making things right for you.  It all starts with a conscious awareness of the things you have done and do which actually cause harm to others.  Your thoughts will reveal your emotions about the things you have done, the words you have or have not used because of them, and the actions you have or have not taken.  I’m sorry is an important place to start when building understanding.

Sorry About My Pride

Pride is a feeling we all have, and it can be a positive thing, but sometimes we let it get in the way.  There are people out there with such fragile egos Im sorrythat admitting they made even the tiniest of mistakes is a threat to their whole identity.  Don’t be one of these people.  It is your ego, or your false self, speaking these words.  Never be too proud to say you are sorry.

Good people make bad choices all the time. That is a part of the process of life called learning.  Be conscious of your choices and the way they affect other people.  Seeing that your decision hurts someone else isn’t an indictment of you and your character. It is a recognition of humanity in someone else.  I’m sorry is a way to state express your understanding of the pain in another person.  You see them, understand them, and will try to help them.  It is a simple matter of putting someone else’s well-being ahead of your own.  It costs nothing, so don’t be too proud to use this phrase.

How Can I Make It Right

Along with the honest sentiment of being sorry for your choice or action, the question should be; How can I make it right?  For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction, and we learn this from physics. It is true in other Sorryparts of life too.  Hopefully, when you have hurt someone or made a poor choice, there is a way to make it right. Even the worst of behaviors can be atoned for in some way.  It starts by taking responsibility for yourself and your behavior and working toward doing what is right.

Most often, the thing to do is to stop doing the thing that is hurting someone else. That is the moment of choice because either you will put someone else ahead of yourself or are not.  I’m sorry it loses its power if clearly, you are not sorry enough to change your behavior. If you are the source of someone’s misfortune, then show your contrition by stopping that behavior. Stop making the same mistake over and over again. Use them to discover how to live a better life.

Sorry Doesn’t Fix Everything.

Simply saying that you are sorry doesn’t fix everything, and even bargaining a manner to make things right might not do the trick. Having feelings about remorse in the way you treated someone is the first step in your humanity.  And who says it is your job to fix everything.  We can do the only thing to try to become a little bit better a person than we were yesterday. To leave a little more joy in the world and less anger and pain.  To understand where you were wrong, the mistakes you made, intentional or unintentional, and sorry for them.  You can’t control the reactions of others, and who is to say what their emotional state is?  You are responsible for your actions and the footprint that leaves in the world.  This mark begins by being more conscious of your thoughts, emotions, words, and actions today and taking responsibility for feeling and saying you are sorry when you are wrong.

“If we have made an error, done a wrong, been unjust to another or ourselves, or, like the Pharisee, passed by some opportunity for good, we should have the courage to face our mistake squarely, to call it boldly by its right name, to acknowledge it frankly and to put in no flimsy alibis of an excuse to protect an anemic self-esteem.” – William George Jordan.

“An apology is a good way to have the last word.”-Unknown

“Forgiveness does not change the past, but it does enlarge the future.”-Paul Boese 

 

How Great I Am

How Great I am Muhammad Ali
How Great I am!

by Jonathan Hilton

There are many motivating things that I have come across over that past two years, and one of the most motivating people of the last half of the 20th century has been Muhammad Ali, championship boxer.

Not because he was a great boxer, but because he transcended boxing and provided inspiration that can be applied to every day life.

It doesn’t really matter what your goals are or what you really want to accomplish, if you believe in yourself like Ali did, you will have an excellent chance of achieving your goals.  I publish his affirmations with a sense of pride, because I know “How Great I Am.”

I am sure that Ali never thought that his thoughts from so long ago would ever amount to anything more than motivation for the fight he was about to undertake.  He even admitted himself that he was trying to convince himself and everybody else that he was the greatest, if he said it often enough and loud enough, people would start to believe him.

This is true to all of us, if you say how great you are, and believe it, you will be!

Below is the most motivational video of all time.  Watch it and you will feel that there is nothing you can’t do.

One of his poems The Legend of Cassius Clay:

This is the legend of Cassius Clay,

I Can Fly Muhammad Ali
I Am The Greatest

The most beautiful fighter in the world today.
He talks a great deal, and brags indeed-y,
Of a muscular punch that’s incredibly speed-y.
The fistic world was dull and weary,
But with a champ like Liston, things had to be dreary.
Then someone with color and someone with dash,
Brought fight fans are runnin’ with Cash.
This brash young boxer is something to see
and the heavyweight championship is his destiny.
This kid’s got a left, this kid’s got a right,
If he hit you once, you’re asleep for the night.

Ali provided the examples of great personal affirmations that anyone can use to help motivate them to accomplish any thing.

After defeating Sonny Liston the most feared fighter of his time, this affirmation was spoken:

“I knew I had him in the first round. Almighty God was with me. I want everyone to bear witness, I am the greatest! I’m the greatest thing that ever lived. I don’t have a mark on my face, and I upset Sonny Liston, and I just turned twenty-two years old. I must be the greatest. I showed the world. I talk to God everyday. I know the real God. I shook up the world, I’m the king of the world. You must listen to me. I am the greatest! I can’t be beat!”

Before fighting Ernie Terrell in 1967 Ali let the world know what he thought of his opponent.

I think Terrell will catch hell at the sound of the bell.
He’s going around saying that he’s a championship-fighter,
but when he meets me he fall 20 pound lighter.
He thinks that he’s the real heavy weight champ
but when he meets me, he’ll just be a tramp
Now I’m not sayin’ just to be funny, but I’m fightin’ Ernie because he needs the money

Last night I had a dream, When I got to Africa,
I had one hell of a rumble.
I had to beat Tarzan’s behind first,
For claiming to be King of the Jungle.
For this fight, I’ve wrestled with alligators,
I’ve tussled with a whale.
I done handcuffed lightning
And throw thunder in jail.
You know I’m bad.
just last week, I murdered a rock,
Injured a stone, Hospitalized a brick.
I’m so mean, I make medicine sick.
I’m so fast, man,
I can run through a hurricane and don’t get wet.
When George Foreman meets me,
He’ll pay his debt.
I can drown the drink of water, and kill a dead tree.
Wait till you see Muhammad Ali.

Muhammad Ali was the greatest because he not only professed his ability and went on to back it up, he also led the way for all people, everywhere, if you truly believe that you are the best, the greatest and you will succeed, then there is no power on the face of the Earth that can stop you from achieving and experiencing your greatness.  How Great I am!

Other Muhammad Ali quotes I like.

I’m retiring because there are more pleasant things to do than beat up people.

Joe Frazier is so ugly that when he cries, the tears turn around and go down the back of his head.

Frazier is so ugly that he should donate his face to the US Bureau of Wildlife.

It’s just a job. Grass grows, birds fly, waves pound the sand. I beat people up.

I’m not the greatest; I’m the double greatest. Not only do I knock ’em out, I pick the round

Since I won’t let the critics seal my fate, they keep hollering I’m full of hate.
But they don’t really hurt me none, ’cause I’m doing good and having fun.

Conclusion:

There is no person alive who can tell you that you are not capable.  There is no person alive who can tell you that you don’t have the talent.  There is no person alive who can tell you you are no good, washed up, a loser….only you can tell yourself these things.  You have the talent to be the greatest at whatever it is that you decide to do.  You simply have to believe how great you are, fight all the critics, enjoy the journey and in the end you will be The Greatest.

 

Voting Was A Great Experience

by Jonathan Hilton

Voting Was A Great Experience

voting in the 2012 election
Picture with my Ballot in the voting booth

There are many people today on November 7, who are disappointed with the outcome of the election, because in our country we all have the option to believe whatever we want. There are people who feel disillusioned and have hurt feelings, and conversely there are many who  are feeling like there is a brand new day ahead of them and there is a lot of hope for tomorrow based on these election results.  I do not belong to either group and I will tell you why.

The first thing that I am thankful for is that I have the right to vote, what I think is right regardless of what anyone else may think, I am able to make my own considerations about issues and make the choice for myself how I want to vote. There is no negative ad on television that can tell me I am wrong.  Neither can the obviously conservative individuals or blatantly liberal continuously posting on Facebook, the decision is all mine to do what I think is right, and that is a feeling of individual power and pride in my country that can’t be equaled anywhere else in the world.

placing my ballot into the machine
Placing my ballot into the machine, I had to get permission for someone to take this picture. I can’t imagine that could be illegal

After a long month of nothing but the worst common element of fear being broadcast by both  of our major political parties, it is quite frustrating to listen to both sides beat up the other about every conceivable issue.  I am feeling surprisingly good today, because the negativity could possibly end. Then if both sides actually worked together to solve all of the issues the country is facing, and look at the real way that things are done in Washington, then maybe the next election won’t be so polarizing.  I can always hope.  For me though, nothing can ruin the enjoyment I got from exercising my constitutional right, voting the way my conscience dictated.  There is no mention of political candidates or parties, because the choice of who I voted for is my business and nobody else’s.

The one issue that I was happy to see passed in the great State of Maine is Question #1 and now same sex marriage is now legal, and there is just a little less discrimination in the world.  This was a question of human rights and discrimination. Nobody is going to be compelled to enter into same sex relationships, nobody’s religious beliefs are going to be questioned, churches are not going to be required to change their doctrine, in fact the world will move around the sun much as it has throughout history, there just won’t be discrimination against same sex couples in the State of Maine.  More freedom can only be a good thing.

On this Wednesday, November 7, 2012 the sun has risen and it will more than likely set, even though the election didn’t go the way some wanted and did go the way some others have delighted in.  Every person in the country has the right to love their families, enjoy their work, look forward to the future, and to be happy regardless of who is going to be president for the next four years.  Everyone had a chance to participate, talk about and argue over the issues in public, and there were no arrests for thinking differently.  It is a great country still, we have survived world wars, depressions, civil wars and foreign attacks and still we are here.  There have been both extreme liberals and conservatives in the White House and still our country is a great place to live, and I will still feel the same way four years from now.

voting was awesom
The facebook wall post that is supportive of voting
  • Voting with a black face in a white place
  • First Time Voting: The Experience
  • an open letter and a plea to listen before you vote.