11 Difference between Being Tall and Being Small

by Chalene Johnson on November 4, 2009 (http://chalenejohnson.blogspot.com)

1. A Tall person says, “I can see your point. I will work on that.” A small person says, “That’s your problem. I’m fine the way I am.

2. A Tall person doesn’t need drama and works to keep it at bay. A small person doesn’t realize how drama dependent they have become.

3. A Tall person gives everyone the benefit of the doubt. A Small person assumes the worst of people.

4. A Tall person works to be their best. A Small person just needs to be right and refuses to change.

5. A Tall person recognizes they grow stronger when they focus on self-improvement. A Small person sees admitting the need for improvement as weakness.

6. A Tall person conducts themselves with integrity, even when it’s not convenient. A Small person consistently places their own interest first.

7. A Tall person looks at where they’re going and who they can help along the way. A Small person looks at where they could be and blames others for
their circumstances.

8. A Tall person works to surround themselves with people who challenge them to be more. A Small person surrounds themselves with people who
will nod in agreement.

9. A Tall person can see both sides of the story. A Small person shares “their side” of the story with anyone who will listen, in order to feel better about themselves.

10. A Tall person looks to those who are more successful and learns from their experiences. A Small person resents those more successful and works to convince others of their faults.

11. A Tall person is able to see the positive side of even the most doomed situation. A Small person is blinded by only the negative and strains to see the positive.

Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves.

- Carl Jung

"The disciple who accepts a trial as an invitation to grow

and therefore qualify for eternal life can find peace admist the struggle."

Elder Eyring, April 2009 General Conference

The tree that never had to fight

For sun and sky and air and light,

But stood out in the open rain

And always got its share of rain,

Never became a forest king

But lived and died a scrubby thing.

Good timber does not grow with ease,

The stronger wind, the stronger trees.

--Douglas Malloch

"...faith is things which are hoped for and not seen; wherefore, dispute not because ye see not, for ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith."

-Ether 12:6

"Negativity reinforces itself until we see ourselves as sorry creatures with few abilities or gifts. But understanding that there will be problems throughout life diminishes pressure and allows us growing room as we work our way toward our goals...to dwell on our problems is to restrict our growth and guarantee more stumbling than necessary. When we are busy juggling all the “should be’s,” we don’t have time or energy to get on with the doing."

--Mildred Barthel, “Happiness along the Way,” Ensign, Apr 1987, 42

"None of us will escape tragedy and suffering.  Each of us will probably react differently.  However, if we can recall the Lord's promise, 'for I the Lord am with you,' we will be able to face our problems with dignity and courage.  We will find the strength to be of good cheer instead of becoming resentful, critical, or defeated.  We will be able to meet life's unpleasant happenings with clear vision, strength, and power...

"What a joy it is to see someone of good cheer, who, when others because of an unpleasant happening or development live in angry silence or vocal disgust, meets the situation with cheerful endurance and good spirits."

--Elder Marvin J. Ashton, Ensign, May 1986, 66

"Wherefore, men are free according to the flesh...They are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil."

2Nephi 2:27

"We stand at the crossroads, each minute, each hour, each day, making choices.  We choose the thoughts we allow ourselves to think, the passions we allow ourselves to feel, and the actions we allow ourselves to perform.  Each choice is made in the context of whatever value system we've selected to govern our lives.  In selecting the value system, we are, in a very real way, making the most important choice we will ever make...

"...Since the foundation of  all happiness is thinking rightly, and since correct action is dependent on correct opinion, we cannot be too careful in choosing the value system we allow to govern our thoughts and actions.  

"And to know that God governs in the affairs of men, that he hears and answers prayers, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him, is indeed, a powerful regulator of human conduct."  --Benjamin Franklin

Quoted by Elder Ballard, Ensign, March 2009, pg. 54

"Pray as though everything depended upon God.  Work as though everything depended upon you."

-Sage advice given of old; quoted by President Monson, Ensign, March 2009

Today's test is tomorrow's testimony.

-Unknown

"The most cherished and sacred moments of our lives are those filled with the spirit of love.  The greater the measure of our love, the greater is our joy.  In the end, the development of such love is the true measure of success in life."

-Elder Wirthlin

HAPPY  is  a  CHOICE

I am a child of God

When we seek inspiration to help make decisions, the Lord gives gentle promptings.  These require us to think, to exercise faith, to work, to struggle at times, and to act.  Seldom does the whole answer to a decisively important matter or complex problem come all at once.  More often, it comes a piece at a time, without the end in sight.

Elder Scott, Ensign, Nov. 1989, 32.

We can do no great things, only small things with great love. 

Mother Theresa

On this upward and sometimes hazardous journey, each of us meets our share of daily challenges. If we are not careful, as we peer through the narrow lens of self-interest, we may feel that life is bringing us more than our fair share of trials—that somehow others seem to be getting off more lightly.

But the tests of life are tailored for our own best interests, and all will face the burdens best suited to their own mortal experience. In the end we will realize that God is merciful as well as just and that all the rules are fair. We can be reassured that our challenges will be the ones we needed, and conquering them will bring blessings we could have received in no other way.

If we constantly focus only on the stones in our mortal path, we will almost surely miss the beautiful flower or cool stream provided by the loving Father who outlined our journey. Each day can bring more joy than sorrow when our mortal and spiritual eyes are open to God’s goodness. Joy in the gospel is not something that begins only in the next life. It is our privilege now, this very day. We must never allow our burdens to obscure our blessings. There will always be more blessings than burdens—even if some days it doesn’t seem so. Jesus said, “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.”19 Enjoy those blessings right now. They are yours and always will be. 

– Jeffrey R. Holland, “What I Wish Every New Member Knew—and Every Longtime Member Remembered,” Ensign, Oct 2006, 10–16

"Take therefore no thought for the morrow, 

for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself.  

Sufficient is the day..."

3 Nephi 13:34

"The rewards of parenting come from being attentive to our children's feelings.  It is impossible to accept and validate a child's emotion at the same time you wish it would just go away.  Acceptance and validation come instead from epathy--that is, feeling what your child is feeling in the moment...

...Once you dedicate yourself to being present with your child's emotions, you will find opportunities to connect with her in meaningful ways on a day-to-day basis.  From a series of seemingly mundane incidents, you'll form an important, lasting bond.  You'll become...'a collector of moments.'  You'll recognize your interactions as precious opportunities and value aspects that others might miss.  And when you look back, you'll see your relationship with your child as you would a treasured string of pearls."

-John Gottman, "Raising an Emotionally Intelligent Child"

It’s what you do that counts, not how you feel.

- Jeffrey Schwartz in “Brain Lock”

If you hate a person, you hate something in him that is part of yourself.  What isn't part of ourselves doesn't disturb us.
  - Hermann Hesse

Ch. 24 Leading in the Lord's Way

This is from our lesson in Relief Society yesterday.  I feel like a lot of what I read or hear gets applied to motherhood and being a parent.   The lesson was focused on qualities of a good leader, some of which are:

Integrity Open-minded Obedient Loyalty

Humble Patience Perseverance Fair

Friendly Supportive Sacrifice Love

Good worker Reliable Service Caring

Delegate Organized Put others first Lead by example

These can really be applied to our interaction with anyone and everyone around us.

 Another amazing quote is by Joseph Smith: 

“Teach them correct principles, and they govern themselves.”  

I have thought about this before and reminded me again of how we cannot force someone to behave the way we want them, no matter how much we know it will benefit them.  I felt this way on my mission and now as a parent.  The ability to choose is an amazing blessing that has been given to us because of the plan that was carried out by our Savior.  We can only teach the things we know to be good and right, but then we have to step back and give the other the chance to exercise his agency.  In a way it takes greater love to do that than to force and dominate.  

"It is said that in Chinese the ideogram representing 'opportunity' is encompassed in the ideogram for 'crisis.'  Nowhere is the linking of these two concepts more apt than in our role as parents. . . negative experiences can serve as superb opportunities to empathize, to build intimacy with our children, and to teach them ways to handle their feelings.  

For many parents, recognizing children's negative emotions as opportunities for such bonding and teaching comes as a relief, a liberation, a great 'ah-ha.'  We can look at our children's anger as something other than a challenge to our authority. "

Expert from "Raising an Emotionally Intelligent Child" by John Gottman

I have yet to find the man,

however exalted his station,

who did no do better work

and put forth greater effort

under a spirit of approval

than under a spirit of criticism.

–Charles Schwab

"A cheerful look sends an uplifting message that says, 'Whether I feel it or not, there is something to smile about.  There is something in our lives for which we can be glad!' "

--Karol Ladd from "The Power of a Positive Mom"

“And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness.  I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.” 

 Ether 12:27

"Life is difficult. This is a great truth, one of the greatest truths. It is a great truth because once we truly see this truth, we transcend it. Once we truly know that life is difficult - once we truly understand and accept it - then life is no longer difficult. Because once it is accepted, the fact that life is difficult no longer matters."

- M. Scott Peck in “The Road Less Travelled”

 

If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams

and endeavors to love the life which he has imagined,

he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.

–Henry David Thoreau