Category: 60 Second Wisdom

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7 Questions to Ask Before This Year Gets Away From You

“People spend a lot of time thinking about the year ahead between Christmas and New Years’ Eve each year, and the fruit of this is often new plans and New Years’ resolutions. Critics often focus on the fact that most New Years’ resolutions don’t last more than a month. But I think they are missing something.

What people get out of a few days and probably just a few hours of reflection towards the end of the years is actually significant. We just need a few more of those reflection hours throughout the year to fine tune our plans and sustain our resolutions.

So, at this point of the year, I present seven questions for you to spend some time reflection upon before this year gets away from you.

1. Who and what are you most grateful for so far this this?

2. What have you accomplished so far this year?

3. What have been your biggest distractions?

4. What personal quality is most preventing you from accomplishing what you yearn to accomplish and becoming the person you yearn to be?

5. Whom have you helped more than anybody else this year?

6. What is taking up your time, effort, and mental energy that needs to be firmly placed on your NOT TO DO list?

7. What truth are you refusing to face in your life?

There is still plenty of year left to start a business, write a book, marry the one you love, and watch more sunsets. But as Napoleon observed, “Those who fail to plan can plan to fail.”

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60 Second Wisdom – Six Keys to FULFILLMENT and SATISFACTION In Your Life

Six Keys to FULFILLMENT and SATISFACTION In Your Life – Matthew Kelly

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Video Transcript:

“Every life has highs and lows. I’ve had more than my fair share of mountaintop experiences, but like everyone else, I live in the valleys and on the plains.

There have been storms in my life and I know there will be more. Here are six truths that put things in perspective:

1. You cannot live a meaningful life by filling your life with meaningless things and activities.

2. Everyone is going to hurt you. Find the ones that are worth the suffering and heartache, don’t let anyone harden your heart, and remember, that even with your best efforts to avoid it, you are going to hurt people too.

3. Don’t complain. It’s not attractive or productive.

4. Give people the benefit of the doubt. Life is difficult and messy, and everyone is carrying a heavy burden.

5. Death comes to us all. When death approaches, the person you have become meets the person you could have been. This is a humbling encounter. Don’t wait for it. Meet with the person you are capable of becoming for a few minutes each day, then use your thoughts, words, choices, and actions, to close the gap between who you are today and who you are capable of being. This is the path that leads to a deeply fulfilling life.

6. Ignore your critics. Everyone has them. They will tear down in an hour what they couldn’t build in a lifetime. But life eventually puts all critics in their place. With time critics become remote and unimportant. The people who love you don’t care about what your critics care about; they care about you as a human being. Your critics, they don’t see you as a human being. They have dehumanized you. They see something in you that unsettles something in them. So, they have to decide: attack you or investigate their own dark mystery. Most people don’t know you well enough to compliment you or criticize you, and it is the unseen moments of our lives that define us.

Allow these six principals to guide your life and you will live an uncommon life of fulfillment and satisfaction.”

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60 Second Wisdom – How Generous are You?

The Generosity Habit – Matthew Kelly – 60 Second Wisdom

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Video Transcript:

“The generosity habit is simple: Give something away every day. It doesn’t need to be money or material things. In fact, the philosophy behind the generosity habit rests on this singular truth: You don’t need money or material possessions to live a life of staggering generosity.

Express your appreciation. Catch someone doing something right. Teach someone the thing you know most about in this world. Spread a positive message. Compliment a stranger. Be a generous lover. Encourage someone just starting out.

And if you do have money and things… Give an unexpected gift. Plant a tree. Support small businesses in your area. Buy a musicians first album. Tip twice as much as usual. Send flowers. Give chocolates. Give some more chocolates. Pay for the next person in line.

So, go on, astound the world with your generosity! Become the most generous person the people in your life have ever known!”

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60 Second Wisdom – How to Talk to Anyone

““I don’t feel very interesting!” someone said to me the other day and I was fascinated with the comment. And I started wondering, “How does someone become a more interesting person?” This in turn got me thinking about the most interesting people I know.

I’m not very good at small talk and social situations make me a little anxious. But I love a great conversation. The question that has served me best over the years is, “What are you reading at the moment?” Many of the best conversations I’ve ever had started with a discussion about a book someone was reading.

But more and more I find that people don’t read books, so I have a second question now, “What’s your favorite podcast?” And this question has also given birth to some amazing conversations.

The most interesting people I know are readers. Or they listen to podcasts. Or both. They are always learning. That’s what differentiates them.

So, if you want to become a more interesting person, get interested. Ignite your curiosity. Read books and listen to podcasts. And if you want to have some great conversations ask people, “What are you reading at the moment?” or “What’s your favorite podcast?””

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60 Second Wisdom – Less is More

“Simplicity is good for the soul. We complain about how complicated life has become, but we continue to complicate our lives. The two main ways we complicate our lives is with things and commitments. So much of our anxiety comes from these things and yet we cling to them and multiply them as is they were prizes to be cherished.

Here are seven examples of how less is more:

1. Less television means more time to read.
2. Less comparison means more contentment.
3. Less stuff means more space.
4. Less talking means more listening.
5. Fewer commitments means more time just to be.
6. Less complaining means more gratitude.
7. Less clutter means more clarity.

Less is more means different things to different people. Find out what it means to you, try it, and take note of how it changes your life.”

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60 Second Wisdom – How to Slay the Dragon

“The hardest battle to win is one you don’t even realize you are fighting, and the hardest enemy to defeat is the one you don’t even know exists. Every day you are in a battle with resistance.

Make no mistake, resistance is your enemy. It will not quietly go away and leave you alone. You have to slay it like a dragon, and you have to slay it anew each day.

Here are 4 ways to slay resistance every day:

1. Expect resistance. You should be surprised. It’s going to be there breathing fire every day.

2. Know what you want more than the mindless comfort of procrastination.

3. Focus on one thing at a time. Multi-tasking is a mega-resistance trap.

4. Just do it.

And remember, don’t just be yourself, become the best version of yourself!”

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60 Second Wisdom – What to Do if Your Life Isn’t Working

“Every day we make dozens of decisions and choices. Many of them we make unconsciously. They all have consequences. They have intended consequences and unintended consequences, and we have to live with both.

These smaller choices and decisions prepare us or prevent us from making life’s biggest choices in a way that is life-giving for everyone involved.

For decades researchers have been exploring what people consider to be the biggest decisions of life. From generation to generation there can be some jockeying for top position, but what is on the list is not surprisingly consistent from one generation to another.

Today, these are considered life’s six biggest decisions:

1. Having children
2. Getting married
3. Buying a home
4. Where to go to college and what to study
5. Moving cities
6. Changing career later in life

Others that make the longer list include:

When to retire; whether or not to end a relationship; choosing to spend or save; quitting a job; getting a pet; setting boundaries with toxic family members and friends; standing up for yourself; putting an elderly relative in a care home; and, whether or not to accept a promotion.

These are all important decisions. They can each be difficult in their owns ways. And yet together they paint a picture that is worth reflecting upon. There seems to be something missing. The bigger things. The deeper things. These may be the “what” but where is the “why.”

In many ways, these things, some of them profoundly important, seem to have been reduced to a list of personal preferences. And as a result, decision making seems to have been reduced to an exercise of personal preference selection.

The larger perspective seems to be missing. Who are we? What are we here on earth for? What matters most? What matters least? How is the best way to spend our short lives?

And most of all, who or what are we going to place at the center of our lives? For this alone will determine almost everything else. This alone will drive our decisions, large and small.

So, the best place to start is by asking the question: Who or what is at the center of your life? Career, money, things, self, God, children, spouse, friends, expectations?

If your life isn’t working, change what is at the center of it.”

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60 Second Wisdom – Is it Possible to be 10 Times Happier?

“If I told you by doing something that takes ten seconds, ten times a day, you would become ten times happier, would you do it? Most people wouldn’t. That’s human nature. We say we want to be happy but then we busy ourselves with things that make us restless and unhappy.

But maybe you are one of the few, so here it is.

We’ve all heard the term “Count your blessings!” It comes from the Jewish tradition that encourages people to count 100 blessings each day.

100 is a lot and you aren’t going to do that in ten seconds, but you can do this. Pause ten times a day for ten seconds and do these two things. First, take a deep breath, a really, really deep breath. Second, identify one person, thing, experience, or opportunity you are grateful for and just let that gratitude wash over you.

10 seconds. 1O times a day. I promise you, it will change your life. Gratitude is one of the most life-altering experiences a human being can have.”

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60 Second Wisdom – What Would You Do If You Weren’t Afraid?

“Everything in life requires courage. Whether it is playing football or coaching football; crossing the room to ask a woman on a date or rekindling a love that has grown cold; whether it’s your first day at school or your first day back at school after twenty years; starting a new business, battling a potentially fatal disease, getting married, struggling to overcome an addiction, or sitting humbly with your God in prayer—life requires courage. It’s a prerequisite. Courage brings us to life and makes everything else possible.

So, what are we waiting for? You only get one shot at life. What would you do if you weren’t so afraid? Whatever it is, take one small step toward it today, then take another step toward your hopes and dreams tomorrow.

Life favors the courageous. So, summon a little courage. You will be amazed what life will give you in return for a little bit of courage.

In Part Two of this series we will discuss fear and how it paralyzes us.”

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60 Second Wisdom – 5 Ways to Increase Your Enthusiasm

5 Ways to Increase Your Enthusiasm – Matthew Kelly

Get Matthew’s 60 Second Wisdom delivered to your inbox: https://www.matthewkelly.com/subscribe

Video Transcript:

“When was the last time you felt amazing? Trauma, sickness, anxiety, depression, loss—so many things rob us of our enthusiasm for life. And after difficult seasons in our lives, it is natural to wonder if we will ever feel amazing again.

Here are five concrete things you can do to infuse your daily life with enthusiasm:

1. Prioritize your legitimate needs. Diet, exercise, sleep, and prayer all increase your capacity for enthusiasm. Take a walk today, make a healthy meal, get to bed early, and watch your enthusiasm begin to grow!

2. Schedule 15 minutes every day to do something you love doing. Why are children so consistently enthusiastic? Because they do so many things every day just for the joy of it. You don’t have to spend all day doing something you love, start small, fifteen minutes a day.

3. Say “no” to people, activities, and things that drain your energy and enthusiasm. Develop an awareness of who and what drains your enthusiasm. Protect your enthusiasm by learning to say, “no.”

4. Spend time with enthusiastic people. We rise or fall to the level of our friends in most things. Who are the most enthusiastic people you know? Are you spending enough time with those people? Your enthusiasm is probably the average of the five people you spend the most time with. If you wish to raise your level of enthusiasm in life, surround yourself with enthusiastic people.

5. Dream. Your dreams are your dreams for a reason. Our dreams animate us, they literally breathe new life into us. So, what are your dreams and what are you doing about them? Start pursuing your dreams and they will fill you with new passion, energy, enthusiasm, and vitality.

It’s time to rediscover your enthusiasm and flourish. And just remember, everyone who really cares about you wants you to flourish.”