Maintain Your Balance

The ancient Chinese Yin-Yang symbol represents the balance of yin (peacefulness, serenity, acceptance, rest, rejuvenation, roots, tradition) with yang (activity, strength, striving, movement, change, wings, invention, progress). A meaningful and joyful life is to be found in balance.

In the midst of movement and chaos,
keep stillness inside of you.
- Deepak Chopra

Manage the remarkable balance between acting
from your heart and close to your gifts
with completing the obligations
that your labor and tasks require of you.
Leverage opportunity AND seize joy.
- Mary Anne Radmacher

To go beyond is as wrong as to fall short.
- Confucius

Maintain a balance between skepticism and faith.
Maintain a beginner mind. Be open to possibility.
Don't give in to skepticism,
but don't give in to fantasy either.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Be aware of wonder.
Live a balanced life -
learn some and think some
and draw and paint
and sing and dance
and play and work every day some.
- Robert Fulghum

Further reading: Go With the Flow - Six Ways to Live a Happier Life

Seek Balance in Life

Balance Work and Play
     

Question every Assumption and Expectation

 

You can't base your life on other people's expectations.
- Stevie Wonder

Question every Assumption and Expectation.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

It is a better thing to weigh and measure priorities
in the illuminating light of your own mission
than to have your activities formed by the
impressions and expectations of others.
- Mary Anne Radmacher

"You always..." and "you never..." are code phrases for
"you don't meet my expectations, so I am declaring you inadequate and unacceptable."
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

People see you as an object, not as a person,
and they project a set of expectations onto you.
- Candice Bergen

Other People's Expectations are NOT Your Life's Marching Orders.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

[Your inner] Peace is a choice,
and it has nothing to do with
what other people do or think.
- Gerald Jampolsky

Take time to contemplate -
away from the opinions and influence of others -
what you really want
and what you believe to be important in your life.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Further reading: Choice, Not Obligation

A Choice for Joy

Value Your Self Respect

Criticism and Complaint
      

Balance Activity and Rest

The ancient Chinese Yin-Yang symbol represents the balance of yin (peacefulness, serenity, acceptance, rest, rejuvenation, roots, tradition) with yang (activity, strength, striving, movement, change, wings, invention, progress). A meaningful and joyful life is to be found in balance.

In the midst of movement and chaos,
keep stillness inside of you.
- Deepak Chopra

Manage the remarkable balance between acting
from your heart and close to your gifts
with completing the obligations
that your labor and tasks require of you.
Leverage opportunity AND seize joy.
- Mary Anne Radmacher

To go beyond is as wrong as to fall short.
- Confucius

Maintain a balance between skepticism and faith.
Maintain a beginner mind. Be open to possibility.
Don't give in to skepticism,
but don't give in to fantasy either.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Be aware of wonder.
Live a balanced life -
learn some and think some
and draw and paint
and sing and dance
and play and work every day some.
- Robert Fulghum

Further reading: Go With the Flow - Six Ways to Live a Happier Life

Seek Balance in Life

Balance Work and Play
     

Other People's Expectations are NOT Your Life's Marching Orders

You can't base your life on other people's expectations.
- Stevie Wonder

Question every Assumption and Expectation.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

It is a better thing to weigh and measure priorities
in the illuminating light of your own mission
than to have your activities formed by the
impressions and expectations of others.
- Mary Anne Radmacher

"You always..." and "you never..." are code phrases for
"you don't meet my expectations, so I am declaring you inadequate and unacceptable."
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

People see you as an object, not as a person,
and they project a set of expectations onto you.
- Candice Bergen

Other People's Expectations are NOT Your Life's Marching Orders.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

[Your inner] Peace is a choice,
and it has nothing to do with
what other people do or think.
- Gerald Jampolsky

Take time to contemplate -
away from the opinions and influence of others -
what you really want
and what you believe to be important in your life.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Further reading: Choice, Not Obligation

A Choice for Joy

Value Your Self Respect

Criticism and Complaint
      

Balance Activity with Serenity

 

The ancient Chinese Yin-Yang symbol represents the balance of yin (peacefulness, serenity, acceptance, rest, rejuvenation, roots, tradition) with yang (activity, strength, striving, movement, change, wings, invention, progress). A meaningful and joyful life is to be found in balance.

In the midst of movement and chaos,
keep stillness inside of you.
- Deepak Chopra

Manage the remarkable balance between acting
from your heart and close to your gifts
with completing the obligations
that your labor and tasks require of you.
Leverage opportunity AND seize joy.
- Mary Anne Radmacher

To go beyond is as wrong as to fall short.
- Confucius

Maintain a balance between skepticism and faith.
Maintain a beginner mind. Be open to possibility.
Don't give in to skepticism,
but don't give in to fantasy either.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Be aware of wonder.
Live a balanced life -
learn some and think some
and draw and paint
and sing and dance
and play and work every day some.
- Robert Fulghum

Further reading: Go With the Flow - Six Ways to Live a Happier Life

Seek Balance in Life

Balance Work and Play
     

Your Life, Your Choices

 

You can't base your life on other people's expectations.
- Stevie Wonder

Question every Assumption and Expectation.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

It is a better thing to weigh and measure priorities
in the illuminating light of your own mission
than to have your activities formed by the
impressions and expectations of others.
- Mary Anne Radmacher

"You always..." and "you never..." are code phrases for
"you don't meet my expectations, so I am declaring you inadequate and unacceptable."
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

People see you as an object, not as a person,
and they project a set of expectations onto you.
- Candice Bergen

Other People's Expectations are NOT Your Life's Marching Orders.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

[Your inner] Peace is a choice,
and it has nothing to do with
what other people do or think.
- Gerald Jampolsky

Take time to contemplate -
away from the opinions and influence of others -
what you really want
and what you believe to be important in your life.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Further reading: Choice, Not Obligation

A Choice for Joy

Value Your Self Respect

Criticism and Complaint
      

Balance Activity and Serenity

 

The ancient Chinese Yin-Yang symbol represents the balance of yin (peacefulness, serenity, acceptance, rest, rejuvenation, roots, tradition) with yang (activity, strength, striving, movement, change, wings, invention, progress). A meaningful and joyful life is to be found in balance.

In the midst of movement and chaos,
keep stillness inside of you.
- Deepak Chopra

Manage the remarkable balance between acting
from your heart and close to your gifts
with completing the obligations
that your labor and tasks require of you.
Leverage opportunity AND seize joy.
- Mary Anne Radmacher

To go beyond is as wrong as to fall short.
- Confucius

Maintain a balance between skepticism and faith.
Maintain a beginner mind. Be open to possibility.
Don't give in to skepticism,
but don't give in to fantasy either.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Be aware of wonder.
Live a balanced life -
learn some and think some
and draw and paint
and sing and dance
and play and work every day some.
- Robert Fulghum

Further reading: Go With the Flow - Six Ways to Live a Happier Life

Seek Balance in Life

Balance Work and Play
     

It's YOUR Life

You can't base your life on other people's expectations.
- Stevie Wonder

Question every Assumption and Expectation.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

It is a better thing to weigh and measure priorities
in the illuminating light of your own mission
than to have your activities formed by the
impressions and expectations of others.
- Mary Anne Radmacher

"You always..." and "you never..." are code phrases for
"you don't meet my expectations, so I am declaring you inadequate and unacceptable."
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

People see you as an object, not as a person,
and they project a set of expectations onto you.
- Candice Bergen

Other People's Expectations are NOT Your Life's Marching Orders.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

[Your inner] Peace is a choice,
and it has nothing to do with
what other people do or think.
- Gerald Jampolsky

Take time to contemplate -
away from the opinions and influence of others -
what you really want
and what you believe to be important in your life.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Further reading: Choice, Not Obligation

A Choice for Joy

Value Your Self Respect

Criticism and Complaint
      

Balance Action and Rejuvenation

 

The ancient Chinese Yin-Yang symbol represents the balance of yin (peacefulness, serenity, acceptance, rest, rejuvenation, roots, tradition) with yang (activity, strength, striving, movement, change, wings, invention, progress). A meaningful and joyful life is to be found in balance.

In the midst of movement and chaos,
keep stillness inside of you.
- Deepak Chopra

Manage the remarkable balance between acting
from your heart and close to your gifts
with completing the obligations
that your labor and tasks require of you.
Leverage opportunity AND seize joy.
- Mary Anne Radmacher

To go beyond is as wrong as to fall short.
- Confucius

Maintain a balance between skepticism and faith.
Maintain a beginner mind. Be open to possibility.
Don't give in to skepticism,
but don't give in to fantasy either.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Be aware of wonder.
Live a balanced life -
learn some and think some
and draw and paint
and sing and dance
and play and work every day some.
- Robert Fulghum

Further reading: Go With the Flow - Six Ways to Live a Happier Life

Seek Balance in Life

Balance Work and Play
     

Other People's Expectations are NOT Your Life's Marching Orders

 

You can't base your life on other people's expectations.
- Stevie Wonder

Question every assumption and expectation.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

It is a better thing to weigh and measure priorities
in the illuminating light of your own mission
than to have your activities formed by the
impressions and expectations of others.
- Mary Anne Radmacher

"You always..." and "you never..." are code phrases for
"you don't meet my expectations, so I am declaring you inadequate and unacceptable."
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

People see you as an object, not as a person,
and they project a set of expectations onto you.
- Candice Bergen

Other People's Expectations are NOT Your Life's Marching Orders.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

[Your inner] Peace is a choice,
and it has nothing to do with
what other people do or think.
- Gerald Jampolsky

Take time to contemplate -
away from the opinions and influence of others -
what you really want
and what you believe to be important in your life.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Further reading: Choice, Not Obligation

A Choice for Joy

Value Your Self Respect

Criticism and Complaint
      

Balance Activity with Serenity

The ancient Chinese Yin-Yang symbol represents the balance of yin (peacefulness, serenity, acceptance, rest, rejuvenation, roots, tradition) with yang (activity, strength, striving, movement, change, wings, invention, progress). A meaningful and joyful life is to be found in balance.

Be aware of wonder.
Live a balanced life -
learn some and think some
and draw and paint
and sing and dance
and play and work every day some.
- Robert Fulghum

In the midst of movement and chaos,
keep stillness inside of you.
- Deepak Chopra

To go beyond is as wrong as to fall short.
- Confucius

Manage the remarkable balance between acting
from your heart and close to your gifts
with completing the obligations
that your labor and tasks require of you.
Leverage opportunity AND seize joy.
- Mary Anne Radmacher

Maintain a balance between skepticism and faith.
Maintain a beginner mind. Be open to possibility.
Don't give in to skepticism,
but don't give in to fantasy either.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Further reading: Seek Balance in Life

Go With the Flow - Six Ways to Live a Happier Life

Balance Work and Play
     

Question All Your Assumptions and Expectations

You can't base your life on other people's expectations.
- Stevie Wonder

"You always..." and "you never..." are code phrases for
"you don't meet my expectations, so I am declaring you inadequate and unacceptable."
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

It is a better thing to weigh and measure priorities
in the illuminating light of your own mission
than to have your activities formed by the
impressions and expectations of others.
- Mary Anne Radmacher

People see you as an object, not as a person,
and they project a set of expectations onto you.
- Candice Bergen

Question every assumption and expectation.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Further reading: Choice, Not Obligation

Value Your Self Respect

A Choice for Joy

Criticism and Complaint
      

Seek Balance in Life

The ancient Chinese Yin-Yang symbol represents the balance of yin (peacefulness, serenity, acceptance, rest, rejuvenation, roots, tradition) with yang (activity, strength, striving, movement, change, wings, invention, progress). A meaningful and joyful life is to be found in balance.

Be aware of wonder.
Live a balanced life -
learn some and think some
and draw and paint
and sing and dance
and play and work every day some.
- Robert Fulghum

In the midst of movement and chaos,
keep stillness inside of you.
- Deepak Chopra

To go beyond is as wrong as to fall short.
- Confucius

Manage the remarkable balance between acting
from your heart and close to your gifts
with completing the obligations
that your labor and tasks require of you.
Leverage opportunity AND seize joy.
- Mary Anne Radmacher

Maintain a balance between skepticism and faith.
Maintain a beginner mind. Be open to possibility.
Don't give in to skepticism,
but don't give in to fantasy either.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Further reading: Seek Balance in Life

Go With the Flow - Six Ways to Live a Happier Life

Balance Work and Play
     

Other People's Expectations

You can't base your life on other people's expectations.
- Stevie Wonder

People see you as an object, not as a person,
and they project a set of expectations onto you.
- Candice Bergen

It is a better thing to weigh and measure priorities
in the illuminating light of your own mission
than to have your activities formed by the
impressions and expectations of others.
- Mary Anne Radmacher

"You always..." and "you never..." are code phrases for
"you don't meet my expectations, so I am declaring you inadequate and unacceptable."
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Question every assumption and expectation.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Further reading: Value Your Self Respect

Choice, Not Obligation

Criticism and Complaint

A Choice for Joy
      

Yin-Yang -- Seek Balance In Life

The ancient Chinese yin-yang symbol represents the balance of yin (peacefulness, serenity, acceptance, rest, rejuvenation, roots, tradition) with yang (activity, strength, striving, movement, change, wings, invention, progress). A meaningful and joyful life is to be found in balance.

In the midst of movement and chaos,
keep stillness inside of you.
- Deepak Chopra

Manage the remarkable balance between acting
from your heart and close to your gifts
with completing the obligations
that your labor and tasks require of you.
Leverage opportunity AND seize joy.
- Mary Anne Radmacher

To go beyond is as wrong as to fall short.
- Confucius

Be aware of wonder.
Live a balanced life -
learn some and think some
and draw and paint
and sing and dance
and play and work every day some.
- Robert Fulghum

Maintain a balance between skepticism and faith.
Maintain a beginner mind. Be open to possibility.
Don't give in to skepticism,
but don't give in to fantasy either.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Further reading: Go With the Flow - Six Ways to Live a Happier Life

Finding Balance in Life

Balance Work and Play
     

Victim of Your Own "Story"

Beware the Rattlesnake of the Mind
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

"Rattlesnake of the Mind" is a metaphor inspired by the Zen term, "Monkey Mind," which refers to the mind's tendency to invent an unending sequence of creative stories about everything we see and hear.

Life does not consist mainly,
or even largely, of facts or happenings.
It consist mainly of the storm of thoughts
that is forever flowing through one's head.
- Mark Twain

The most erroneous stories are those
we think we know best -
and therefore never scrutinize or question.
- Stephen Jay Gould

Cease lying to yourself, and stop telling yourself stories
about why you behave the way you do.
Stop blaming your behavior on other people
and take responsibility for your emotional reactions.
- Sheri Rosenthal

The greatest obstacle to a Joyful Life
is your "story" about your life.
Your story is filled with perceived needs and obligations,
and littered with resentments and regrets.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Further reading: Stilling Your Mind

Overflowing Cup of Tea - Zen Koan

Opening Your Mind

Ten Little Tips to Feel Happier Right Now
    

Choice, Not Obligation

Happiness cannot thrive within the prison of obligation.
Live wild, life free, live as master of your own fate.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Be of service because you CHOOSE to be,
never because of a feeling of obligation.

Is freedom anything else than the right
to live as we wish? Nothing else.
- Epictetus

To know what you prefer
instead of humbly saying Amen
to what the world tells you you ought to prefer,
is to have kept your soul alive.
- Robert Louis Stevenson

Choose the whole of your environment, things and events,
based upon the value, meaning and function they hold.
Do not allow obligation or immediacy
to bind you to physical things or specific actions.
- Mary Anne Radmacher

We disrespect ourselves and our free-will
whenever we say that we NEED to do something.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Further reading: Social Obligations (in contrast to legal or moral obligations)

Your To-Do List

Expectations are Demands

Gifts freely given are never obligations

Question Every Assumption and Expectation

 

Your To-Do List

Beware the barrenness of a busy life
- Socrates

Never be in a hurry; do everything quietly and in a calm spirit.
Do not lose your inner peace for anything whatsoever,
even if your whole world seems upset.
- Saint Francis de Sales

There is more to life than increasing its speed.
- Mohandas (Mahatma) Gandhi

He who sows hurry reaps indigestion.
- Robert Louis Stevenson

An overfull calendar, like an overfull stomach,
is a consequence of taking on too much.
Commit, and eat, in moderation.
-Jonathan Lockwood Huie

If you appreciate these Daily Inspirations, invite someone you care about to subscribe themselves at www.jlhuie.com

Further reading: Don't Fight Against Time

Feel Overwhelmed?

Step Back from the Clamor

Overwhelm

Honor Your Heart

Time is my friend

Demands

To know what you prefer
instead of humbly saying Amen
to what the world tells you you ought to prefer,
is to have kept your soul alive.
- Robert Louis Stevenson

Is freedom anything else than the right
to live as we wish? Nothing else.
- Epictetus

There is no passion to be found playing small -
in settling for a life that is less
than the one you are capable of living.
- Nelson Mandela

There is nothing I ever need to have.
There is nothing I ever need to do.
I say NO to the demands of the world.
I say YES to the longings of my own heart.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

We disrespect ourselves and our free-will
whenever we say that we NEED to do something.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Further reading: Joy is a Choice - but Not an Easy Choice

Appreciate the Unexpected

Expectations are demands

Question Every Assumption and Expectation

Demands

Choice

Obligation

Freedom

Quotes about Expectation

Disrespect

Social Obligations

Happiness cannot thrive within the prison of [social] obligation.
Live wild, life free, live as master of your own fate.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Watch your thoughts, for they become words.
Watch your words, for they become actions.
Watch your actions, for they become habits.
Watch your habits, for they become character.
Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.
- Anonymous

Choose the whole of your environment, things and events,
based upon the value, meaning and function they hold.
Do not allow obligation or immediacy
to bind you to physical things or specific actions.
- Mary Anne Radmacher

Further reading: Social Obligations (in contrast to legal or moral obligations)

Gifts freely given are never obligations

Practice makes perfect - sometimes

Joy is a Choice - but Not an Easy Choice

Quotes about Obligations

Choices Quotes

Quotes about Habits

Moving On Quotes

Letting Go Quotes

Life Lessons Quotes