Thursday, September 10, 2015

"Change your thoughts and you can change your world." ~Norman Vincent Peale

I check my “Quote of the Day” App religiously every morning and have not missed a day since I first downloaded it from the iTunes store.  If I ever miss a day, I am convinced that I will surely miss THE quote that will inspire me to single handedly cure cancer, feed the starving, shelter the homeless, and end all wars.  

That was sarcasm, if you missed it, because I in no way believe that quotes have magic powers to drive humankind into action and to de-flaw the entire species.  If this were true, then why not read Ghandi quotes to the cruel, Mother Theresa quotes to the greedy, and Martin Luther King, Jr. quotes to the apathetic?  All of the world’s problems would be instantaneously eradicated!  Of course, this tactic would never be successful.

Regardless, I believe that quotes are powerful, and that every quote gets a distinctive reaction from each person who reads it.  A quote that truly resonates with one person may not mean anything to someone else.  

I just find quotes to be thoroughly interesting.  Introducing a really good quote into your life is like feeding an insomnia cookie to your over-worked mind.  The results are instantaneous, overwhelmingly energizing and ultimately remarkable.

A couple weeks back, my quote app presented me with the following quotation by an anonymous author: “Always believe that something wonderful is about to happen.”  
I have to admit, this quote breathed new life into me.  I went about my life for the next few days with a new sense of positivity, zest, and energy, truly believing that something wonderful was about to happen.  As it turns out, nothing really did.  However, in those few sunshine and smiles, glass half-full days, I realized how a person’s quality of life can greatly improve by a simple change in mindset.  I believe that is what quotes can do for us.  That single quote by an anonymous author, whether you believe it or not, changed my entire outlook on life.

Norman Vincent Peale, a minister, author, public speaker, and expert in positive thinking once said, “Change your thoughts and you change your world.”  Notice, he does not say the world, just your world.  While the aforementioned quote about believing in the future occurrence of wonderful things was wildly successful in changing my thoughts and my world, you may not have the same reaction.  As individuals with different backgrounds and experiences, we all find the thoughts of some speakers to be more intriguing than the thoughts of others.  That is why certain words and the manner in which they are expressed have the capacity to impact our lives in immeasurable ways.

My goal with this blog is to attempt to dig up truly inspiring, non-cliche quotes.  By my last post, I hope that at least one quote resonates with you, changes your thoughts, and allows you to change your world for the better.

After all, you are the one who has to live in it.


Just by changing your thoughts, your world has the potential to turn into a vibrant, pleasant place.

5 comments:

  1. I love this so much! I've never thought of quotes in this way, and hearing it from your point of view will change the way I think about the world. I can't wait to read more!

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  2. I'm not going to lie, I am very excited about this blog! I am sort of obsessed with quotes, whether they be from famous people, from movies, or anonymous. I am also a very critical thinker, so I am excited to listen to your in-depth analysis of each quote; hopefully some of them will resonate well with me! I thought the post was well written, fluent, and readable. Your writing style made it easy to connect with you, and this will only further help you convey the points you're trying to make about the quotes you choose. Good luck on picking next week's quote, and I'm pretty pumped to read on!

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  3. This was a wonderful introduction to what you can expect from reading quotes. Not life changing revelations necessarily, but changes in mindset to help you approach something differently. I really enjoyed how you included more than one quote in your blog, it kept it lively. I look forward to see how you continue with future blogs!

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  4. This is a very good post that manages to both effectively introduce your blog and mindset and talk about your first quote. Very well done! The section on your quote was short in this blog, but I know that was so you could introduce your basic concepts. Just make sure that your next quote will have enough to discuss for a whole post. Also, I'll be holding you to the non-cliche requirement, as most quotes seem to regurgitate the same few messages over and over. Your Peale quotation managed this, though the anonymous one seemed slightly banal. Even with my criticisms, your post was successful with what it set out to accomplish.

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  5. I absolutely love this blog! It was well-written and really a pleasure to read. I think quotes have a way of making an impact on people and helping them to change their perspectives and I would love to read more about the quotes that speak to you!

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