Yesterday I wrote about one quote I read or recite daily. There are four other quotes that I try to review on a daily basis. I wanted to share those as well. I've already shared a couple of them in a previous post on the topic of desire. But I'll share them again here.
"Desire denotes a real longing or craving. Hence righteous desires are much more than passive preferences or fleeting feelings. Of course our genes, circumstances, and environments matter very much, and they shape us significantly. Yet there remains an inner zone in which we are sovereign, unless we abdicate. In this zone lies the essence of our individuality and our personal accountability. Therefore, what we insistently desire, over time, is what we will eventually become and what we will receive in eternity." -Neal A. Maxwell
"Righteous desires need to be relentless, therefore, because, said President Brigham Young, 'the men and women, who desire to obtain seats in the celestial kingdom, will find that they must battle every day.' Therefore, true Christian soldiers are more than weekend warriors." - Neal A. Maxwell
"When we have a vision of what we can become, our desire and our power to act increase enormously." If our righteous desires are sufficiently intense, they will motivate us to cut and carve ourselves free from addictions and other sinful pressures and priorities that prevent our eternal progress. We should remember that righteous desires cannot be superficial, impulsive, or temporary. They must be heartfelt, unwavering, and permanent. So motivated, we will seek for that condition described by the Prophet Joseph Smith, where we have 'overcome the evils of [our lives] and lost every desire for sin.' That is a very personal decision." - Dallin H. Oaks
"And, finding there was greater happiness and peace and rest for me, I sought for the blessings of the fathers, and the right whereunto I should be ordained to administer the same; having been myself a follower of righteousness, desiring also to be one who possessed great knowledge, and to be a greater follower of righteousness, and to possess a greater knowledge, and to be a father of many nations, a prince of peace, and desiring to receive instructions, and to keep the commandments of God, I became a rightful heir, a High Priest, holding the right belonging to the fathers." - Abraham. 1:2
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Sacrifice, Desire and What's Most Important in Life
Sacrifice & Desire
A few years ago, I came accross an article while searching LDS.org and found a reference to a book by James Allen. The book was entitled after the Proverb: As a Man Thinketh.
You can read that entire book and many other books by James Allen by referencing the link to the James Allen Library.
Much of the book As a Man Thinketh is very quotable. But there is one quote that I read and recite almost every day.
It goes: "The man who shrinks from self-crucifixion can never accomplish the object upon which his heart is set ... the sole and supreme use of suffering is to purify; to burn out all that is useless and impure."
The world is full of distractions and attractions. If we are not careful, we can be easily led astray from our real goals - our deepest desires - what's most important to us in life. If we are not careful, useless and impure things can creep into our lives. If they already have, then we must shift our focus and then maintain our focus on our desires. It takes commitment and sacrifice. To shed our lives of useless and impure things will take sacrifice, but we will be the happier for it as we purify ourselves and maintain focus on what's most important.
What's Most Important
The author of a blog I read recently wrote a post entitled On Remembering What's Most Important. His post was spot on.
Last year, I spent several months thinking about what is most important to me in my life. I wanted to think about and document what I want my life to be. I used a mind map (Mind Manager) to brain storm and then refine my thoughts. Next, I created a scorecard in Excel to track my daily, weekly and monthly performance. With these two tools, along with my weekly journal, I keep a sufficient focus on the things that are most imporant to me.
As is often the case, when I see myself beginning to drift from the path, I simply review my mind map and scorecard more regularly and my course is corrected.
The mind map has since morphed into my "to do" list, but it still has retained the core of my desires in life. But now, all the big, medium and daily goals are tracked. I read another blogger's post about this "to do" list (link here) which is based on Personal Kanban.
In the spirit of sharing, I wanted to pass along these nuggets and lessons I've learned over the past year. They have been extremely helpful for me and I've seen a large improvment in my life and search for happiness.
A few years ago, I came accross an article while searching LDS.org and found a reference to a book by James Allen. The book was entitled after the Proverb: As a Man Thinketh.
You can read that entire book and many other books by James Allen by referencing the link to the James Allen Library.
Much of the book As a Man Thinketh is very quotable. But there is one quote that I read and recite almost every day.
It goes: "The man who shrinks from self-crucifixion can never accomplish the object upon which his heart is set ... the sole and supreme use of suffering is to purify; to burn out all that is useless and impure."
The world is full of distractions and attractions. If we are not careful, we can be easily led astray from our real goals - our deepest desires - what's most important to us in life. If we are not careful, useless and impure things can creep into our lives. If they already have, then we must shift our focus and then maintain our focus on our desires. It takes commitment and sacrifice. To shed our lives of useless and impure things will take sacrifice, but we will be the happier for it as we purify ourselves and maintain focus on what's most important.
What's Most Important
The author of a blog I read recently wrote a post entitled On Remembering What's Most Important. His post was spot on.
Last year, I spent several months thinking about what is most important to me in my life. I wanted to think about and document what I want my life to be. I used a mind map (Mind Manager) to brain storm and then refine my thoughts. Next, I created a scorecard in Excel to track my daily, weekly and monthly performance. With these two tools, along with my weekly journal, I keep a sufficient focus on the things that are most imporant to me.
As is often the case, when I see myself beginning to drift from the path, I simply review my mind map and scorecard more regularly and my course is corrected.
The mind map has since morphed into my "to do" list, but it still has retained the core of my desires in life. But now, all the big, medium and daily goals are tracked. I read another blogger's post about this "to do" list (link here) which is based on Personal Kanban.
In the spirit of sharing, I wanted to pass along these nuggets and lessons I've learned over the past year. They have been extremely helpful for me and I've seen a large improvment in my life and search for happiness.
Saturday, March 10, 2012
2 Corinthians 4:17-18
For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;
While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.
I have heard in many Sunday School and seminary lessons about how this life is so short compared to eternity. When we think of roughly 70 or 80 years of life on this earth compared to the eternities, we quickly begin to grasp how short and how important this life is. Our afflictions then become light and are mere moments in the eternal scheme of things.
While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.
I have heard in many Sunday School and seminary lessons about how this life is so short compared to eternity. When we think of roughly 70 or 80 years of life on this earth compared to the eternities, we quickly begin to grasp how short and how important this life is. Our afflictions then become light and are mere moments in the eternal scheme of things.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)