The Power of Words
Starting Each Day With A Little Thinking...Worth
As is often the case, I did a quick Google of the definition of the word I’m looking at highlighting for the day’s post — I love Mr. Webster!
- Webster’s Dictionary on the etymology of worth: Middle English, from Old English weorthan; akin to Old High German werdan to become, Latin vertere to turn, Lithuanian versti to overturn, Sanskrit vartate he turns. First Known Use: before 12th century
- Webster’s Dictionary on the definition of worth: To the fullest extent of one’s value or ability
For me the concept of “worth” has been a real challenge from time to time. Sure I do a good job of providing for my family, supporting my friends, and contributing to society. But I can’t help but on occasion wonder: What value am I REALLY delivering? What is my worth to society? Thank goodness for Mr. Webster as he helped me to put my personal worth in perspective:
If you look at the etymology of the word you see phrases such as “to become”, “to overturn” and “he turns”. Couple these with the “fullest extent” component of the definition and things become a little more clear in my mind. You demonstrate your “worth” when you overturn the old you to become the new you that uses your talents to the fullest extent. Perhaps another way to look at it is that the worth of an individual is defined by how much they have learned, grown, and lived.
With that in mind:
How do you define your worth?
As always, thanks for the time.
A FAVOR TO REQUEST – If you enjoy reading these posts, please share with a friend or two. My goal is to help as many folks find ways to learn, grow and live more fully. Thanks!
Hesitate
Sometimes it’s fun to break down old adages. Take the following:
- He who hesitates is lost
On first glance, you conclude: You need to be ready to seize the opportunity when it arises. Definitely true. But let’s break this down a bit more / look at it a bit differently:
- He who hesitates. Is lost.
A totally different perspective! Taking the adage this way, it suggests that sometimes we are not sure of the path we should follow. At those times it makes good sense to stop, evaluate, determine an action and than proceed.
There’s nothing wrong with hesitation. In fact, a session of introspection is often invaluable. Where we get in to trouble is where we fall in to the paralysis by analysis trap. So go ahead. Take a bit of time to hesitate. Then grab a hold of that opportunity and trust that you can and will achieve your vision.
With that in mind:
Are you hesitating to find the action or because you are afraid of the action?
As always, thanks for the time.
A FAVOR TO REQUEST – If you enjoy reading these posts, please share with a friend or two. My goal is to help as many folks find ways to learn, grow and live more fully. Thanks!
Unexpected
Sometimes the most wonderful experiences are totally unexpected. You can spend hours, days, and weeks making the perfect plan, and it’s often the chance event or encounter that really makes things click.
I’m all about plans and hard work; however, sometimes taking the time to relax and “not try so hard” actually pays the biggest dividends.
So the next time you’re stuck, don’t worry about it. Head out to some place where there’s an opportunity to meet with a bunch of new folks, talk to a few of them, and be amazed at what you learn.
With that in mind:
When was the last time you did something unexpected?
As always, thanks for the time.
A FAVOR TO REQUEST – If you enjoy reading these posts, please share with a friend or two. My goal is to help as many folks find ways to learn, grow and live more fully. Thanks!
Excuses
We’ve all got our pet peeves and/or the things that just drive us crazy. For me, it’s excuses. Screwing up is part of life — I’ve done it more than my fair share of times! Mistakes don’t bother me as we’re all human and they’re the best way to learn. What drives me absolutely crazy is excuses.
Unfortunately, my perception is that society as a whole is becoming/has become much too tolerant of excuses. There’s always a reason that little Johnny couldn’t finish his homework, a reason that we couldn’t spend time on the things that were important, a reason that we didn’t find time to exercise or eat healthy, a reason that we didn’t follow our savings plan. In my opinion, most of the time that reason is NOT because of the contrived excuse that folks come up with. Rather, most of the time, the reason that we don’t succeed is through our own personal shortcomings. And that’s fine! We try, we fail, we try again. That’s a healthy process that allows us to learn, grow, and live more fully. When we acknowledge that we failed and commit to fixing the flaw, getting back on our feet, and trying again, we are one step closer to success. When we come up with an excuse that places blame externally, we’re failing to take responsibility for our own actions and falling in to a dangerous downward spiral.
No doubt they’ll be someone that reads this that concludes “You don’t understand, sometimes things are just beyond our control and there’s nothing that we can do”. Most situations ARE difficult and external factors DO influence the outcome. However, folks that fall back on the “there’s nothing I can do” mantra, are selling themselves WAY too short. That’s a shame as they’d likely be in a much better place if they looked inward, reflected on their actions, and determined how they can better influence the situation the next time. That next time won’t be easy, but if they take responsibility for their own self determination, they’re likely going to end up in a much better place.
With that in mind:
Is it really worth while to come up with excuses?
As always, thanks for the time.
A FAVOR TO REQUEST – If you enjoy reading these posts, please share with a friend or two. My goal is to help as many folks find ways to learn, grow and live more fully. Thanks!
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