A 50 Quote Prescription for a Positive Quarter-End

I believe in positive thinking.  I learned early on in life that most people spent far too much time dwelling on the negative and very little time on what’s a positive. Since most negativity is the result of false assumptions based on past experience or ‘programming,’ I decided I didn’t want to be there.  It was counterproductive and it prevented me from fully living today, which as we all know, will be yesterday, tomorrow.

 

It occurred to me that with quarter end approaching, even the most positive businesses are dealing with financials, goal assessments and some heavy duty decision-making that can drain that energy right out of us, and leave us vulnerable.  We’re half way through the year and yet many of us feel overworked, over-tired and just plain bent out of shape. Our perspective is out of whack. We lose focus.  After all, it’s hard to feel positive when you’re stuck in the muck.

 

If that sounds like you right about now,  it’s a a major symptom that your inner resources are depleted.  You need to recharge.  Get your energy back.

 

You know you need to take care of yourself, but you’ve just been too busy.

 

Let’s look at the treatment plan.  We know we recover and get our ‘mojo’ back when we:

 

  • Get enough sleep
  • Get a little exercise
  • Get out of the office and taking breaks
  • Meditate and practice mindfulness
  • Give themselves a little think time daily
  • Read more.  Learn something new.
  • Maintain a healthy diet – no skipping lunch.
  • Smile more
  • Laugh more

 

While all that’s true, it’s a tall order.  Especially for those of us with small businesses.

 

Dr. Hank’s recommendation? Start small. Set your priorities. Do what you can do now and add the rest when the pressure eases up. Realistically it’s hard  to maintain our daily responsibilities and do everything on that list consistently.

 

Priorities that are easily attainable include getting a handle on our sleep, establishing good eating habits and taking a walk around the block to clear our heads.

 

Beyond that, the easiest, quickest, and least invasive way to sustain energy, be healthier, better, more productive, stronger, and better able in maintain a positive outlook is simple.

 

Laugh more.

 

It’s fast acting and guaranteed to enable us to see things – and ourselves in a different light, because it actually changes brain chemistry.  It helps us to gain clarity, and positive energy.  As a result, laughing even enables us to find solutions where we thought there were none.

 

It works for everyone; and, while there are no adverse side effects, it can be habit forming. Users should note that when they laugh, the effects of their positive energy will be felt by everyone they’re in contact with, and consequently make everyones’ day just a little bit better.

 

So, to get you started, here’s a list of 50 work-related quotes, from mainly unexpected sources. I think we can all relate to many of them. They’re quite insightful. You’ll find some wisdom, and some good laughs that will hopefully put a lot of smiles in your day.

 

After you finish, take a break. Walk around the block and smell the roses.

 

  1. “The best way to make dreams come true is to wake up.” – Paul Valery
  2. “Blessed are the flexible, for they shall not be bent out of shape.” – Anonymous
  3. “The key to being a good manager is keeping the people who hate me away from those who are still undecided.” –  Casey Stengel
  4. “I have noticed that even people who claim everything is predetermined and that we can do nothing to change it, look before they cross the road.” – Stephen Hawking
  5. “I not only use all the brains I have, but all I can borrow.”  Woodrow Wilson
  6. “Most people don’t take the time to think. I made an international reputation for myself by deciding to think twice a week.”  – George Bernard Shaw
  7. “Ideas are like rabbits. You get a couple, learn how to look after them, and pretty soon you have a dozen.” – John Steinbeck
  8. “People who repeatedly attack your confidence and self-esteem are quite aware of your potential, even if you are not.” ? Wayne Gerard Trotman
  9. “When I was growing up I always wanted to be someone. Now I realize I should have been more specific.” ? Lily Tomlin
  10. “You’ve always had the power … you just had to learn it for yourself.” — Glinda the Good Witch of the North from “The Wizard of Oz”
  11. “Trust yourself. You know more than you think you do.” – Benjamin Spock
  12. “Be miserable. Or motivate yourself. Whatever has to be done, it’s always your choice.” – Wayne Dyer
  13. “We don’t stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.” – George Bernard Shaw
  14. “There are two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.” – Albert Einstein
  15. “In the confrontation between the stream and the rock, the stream always wins – not through strength, but through persistence.” – Buddha
  16. “Impossible only means that you haven’t found the solution yet.” – Anonymous
  17. “In order to attain the impossible, one must attempt the absurd.” – Miguel de Cervantes
  18.  “I put a dollar in one of those change machines.  Nothing changed.” — George Carlin
  19. “Even if you stumble, you’re still moving forward.” – Anonymous
  20. “You should never sneeze at a small victory. It might have great implications.” – Bill Clinton
  21. “When leaders can boil down their themes to memorable takeaways, they connect with people. – Bill Clinton
  22. “When you talk, you are only repeating what you already know; but when you listen, you may learn something new.” – Dalai Lama
  23. “Confidence is 10% hard work and 90% delusion.” Tina Fey
  24. “It’s not who you are that holds you back, it’s who you think you’re not. Unknown
  25. “Always remember you are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.” – Christopher Robin
  26. “If you see a snake, just kill it. Don’t appoint a committee on snakes.” – Henry Ross Perot
  27. “First rule of leadership: everything is your fault.” – “A Bug’s Life”
  28. “Would I rather be feared or loved? Easy. Both. I want people to be afraid of how much they love me.” -Michael Scott, ‘The Office’
  29. “The problem with being a leader is that you’re never sure if you’re being followed or chased.” – Claire A. Murray
  30. “Leadership has been defined as the ability to hide your panic from others.” – Lao Tzu
  31. “It’s hard to lead a cavalry charge if you think you look funny on a horse.” – Adlai E. Stevenson II
  32. “People who enjoy meetings should not be in charge of anything.” – Thomas Sowell
  33. “Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups.” – George Carlin
  34. “Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he wants to do it.” – Dwight Eisenhower
  35. “I’m a leader not a follower. Unless it’s a dark place, then you are going first.” – Anonymous
  36. “Oh, you hate your job? Why didn’t you say so? There’s a support group for that. It’s called EVERYBODY, and they meet at the bar.” – Drew Carey
  37. “All I ever wanted was an honest week’s pay for an honest day’s work.” – Sergeant Bilko
  38. “No man goes before his time – unless the boss leaves early.” – Groucho Marx
  39. “If A equals success, then the formula is A= X + Y + Z. Where X is work. Y is play. Z is keep your mouth shut.”  – Albert Einstein
  40. “Work is the greatest thing in the world. So we should always save some of it for tomorrow.” –  Don Herold
  41. “I truly believe the wireless mouse was invented so people at work had one less thing to hang themselves with.” – Mike Vanatta
  42. “The problem with the rat race is that even if you win, you’re still a rat.” –  Lilly Tomlin
  43. “One of the symptoms of an approaching nervous breakdown is the belief that one’s work is terribly important.” –  Bertrand Russell
  44. “If you really want something in this life, you have to work for it. Now, quiet! They’re about to announce the lottery numbers.” – Homer Simpson
  45. “I hold a little fundraiser every day. It’s called going to work.” – Stephen Colbert
  46. “Adults are always asking little kids what they want to be when they grow up because they’re looking for ideas.” – Paula Poundstone
  47. “ “Ambition is a poor excuse for not having sense enough to be lazy.” Charlie McCarthy
  48. “They were a people so primitive they did not know how to get money except by working for it.” – Joseph Addison
  49. “Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until they speak.”  –  Steven Wright
  50. “Sometimes you have to take a break from being the kind of boss that’s always trying to teach people things. Sometimes you have to just be the boss of dancing.” Michael Scott, ‘The Office’