Thought for the Day 2016-2017 Timeframe
WEEK
NO.
1.
w/c
THEME
THOUGHTS
5.9.16
New Beginnings 1
You can learn new things at any time in your
life if you're willing to be a beginner. If you
actually learn to like being a beginner, the
whole world opens up to you.
Barbara Sher
Part of the process of beginning anew, or
changing directions is to know where you want
to go. I know this sounds simplistic and easy,
but this is one of the most difficult of choices
to make with clarity.
Byron Pulsifer
Starting over can be challenging, but also it can
be a great opportunity to do things differently.
2.
12.9.16
New Beginnings 2
Catherine Pulsifer
First comes thought; then organization of that
thought, into ideas and plans; then
transformation of those plans into reality. The
beginning, as you will observe, is in your
imagination.
Napoleon Hill
Beginning today, treat everyone you meet as if
they were going to be dead by midnight.
Extend to them all the care, kindness, and
understanding you can muster, and do it with
no thought of any reward. Your life will never
be the same again.
Og Mandino
Though no one can go back and make a brand
new start, anyone can start from now and
make a brand new ending.
3.
19.9.16
Amaze Yourself
Carl Bard
There are amazingly wonderful people in all
walks of life; some familiar to us and others
not. Stretch yourself and really get to know
people. People are in many ways one of our
greatest treasures.
Bryant H. McGill
Nobody in life gets exactly what they thought
they were going to get. But if you work really
hard and you're kind, amazing things will
happen.
Conan O'Brien
The thing that is really hard, and really
amazing, is giving up on being perfect and
beginning the work of becoming yourself.
4.
26.9.16
Aspirations
Anna Quindlen
Let your heart soar as high as it will. Refuse to
be average.
A.W. Toze
Providence has nothing good or high in store
for one who does not resolutely aim at
something high or good. A purpose is the
eternal condition of success.
T.T. Munger
You may be whatever you resolve to be.
Determine to be something in the world, and
you will be something. “I cannot,” never
accomplished anything; “I will try,” has
wrought wonders.
5.
3.10.16
Different Paths
J. Hawes
Nothing is predestined: The obstacles of your
past can become the gateways that lead to
new beginnings.
Ralph Blum
If you want to succeed you should strike out on
new paths rather than travel the worn paths of
accepted success.
John D. Rockefeller
6.
10.10.16
Education
Some of us have great runways already built
for us. If you have one, take OFF! But if you
don’t have one, realize it is your responsibility
to grab a shovel and build one for yourself and
for those who will follow after you.
Amelia Earhart
Education is the most powerful weapon which
you can use to change the world.
Nelson Mandela
It is the mark of an educated mind to be able
to entertain a thought without accepting it.
Aristotle
The function of education is to teach one to
think intensively and to think critically.
Intelligence plus character - that is the goal of
true education.
7.
17.10.16
Fear
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Fear can be good when you're walking past an
alley at night or when you need to check the
locks on your doors before you go to bed, but
it's not good when you have a goal and you're
fearful of obstacles. We often get trapped by
our fears, but anyone who has had success has
failed before.
Queen Latifah
It is better by a noble boldness to run the risk
of being subject to half of the evils we
anticipate, than to remain in cowardly
listlessness for fear of what may happen.
Herodotus
I have learned over the years that when one's
mind is made up, this diminishes fear; knowing
what must be done does away with fear.
8.
31.10.16
Change
Rosa Parks
The greatest discovery of my age is that men
can change their circumstances by changing
the attitude of their mind.
William James
Change will not come if we wait for some other
person or some other time. We are the ones
we've been waiting for. We are the change
that we seek.
Barack Obama
I hope everyone that is reading this is having a
really good day. And if you are not, just know
that in every new minute that passes you have
an opportunity to change that.
9.
7.11.16
Remembrance
Gillian Anderson
They shall grow not old, as we that are left
grow old: Age shall not weary them, nor the
years condemn. At the going down of the sun
and in the morning, We will remember them.
As we express our gratitude, we must never
forget that the highest appreciation is not to
utter words, but to live by them.
John F Kennedy
Heroes take journeys, confront dragons, and
discover the treasure of their true selves.
10.
14.11.16
Friendship
Carol Lynn Pearson
Sometimes being a friend means mastering the
art of timing. There is a time for silence. A time
to let go and allow people to hurl themselves
into their own destiny. And a time to prepare
to pick up the pieces when it's all over.
Octavia Butler
Friends show their love in times of trouble, not
in happiness.
Euripides
One of the most beautiful qualities of true
friendship is to understand and to be
understood.
11.
21.11.16
Helping Others
Lucius Annaeus Seneca
I'm convinced of this: Good done anywhere is
good done everywhere. For a change, start by
speaking to people rather than walking by
them like they're stones that don't matter. As
long as you're breathing, it's never too late to
do some good.
Maya Angelou
We ourselves feel that what we are doing is
just a drop in the ocean. But the ocean would
be less because of that missing drop.
Mother Teresa
The thing to do, it seems to me, is to prepare
yourself so you can be a rainbow in somebody
else's cloud. Somebody who may not look like
you. May not call God the same name you call
God - if they call God at all. I may not dance
your dances or speak your language. But be a
blessing to somebody. That's what I think.
12.
28.11.16
Life
Maya Angelou
Life is a great big canvas, and you should throw
all the paint you can on it.
Danny Kaye
Pursue, keep up with, circle round and round
your life, as a dog does his master’s chaise. Do
what you love. Know your own bone; gnaw at
it, bury it, unearth it, and gnaw it still.
Thoreau
The life of every man is a diary in which he
means to write one story, and writes another,
and his humblest hour is when he compares
the volume as it is with what he vowed to
make it.
13.
5.12.16
Christmas 1
James Barrie
Our hearts grow tender with childhood
memories and love of kindred, and we are
better throughout the year for having, in spirit,
become a child again at Christmas-time.
Laura Ingalls Wilder
Want to keep Christ in Christmas? Feed the
hungry, clothe the naked, forgive the guilty,
welcome the unwanted, care for the ill, love
your enemies, and do unto others as you
would have done unto you.
Steve Maraboli
Christmas is built upon a beautiful and
intentional paradox; that the birth of the
homeless should be celebrated in every home.
14.
12.12.16
Christmas 2
G.K. Chesterton
Christmas is not a time nor a season, but a
state of mind. To cherish peace and goodwill,
to be plenteous in mercy, is to have the real
spirit of Christmas.
Calvin Coolidge
I truly believe that if we keep telling the
Christmas story, singing the Christmas songs,
and living the Christmas spirit, we can bring joy
and happiness and peace to this world.
Norman Vincent Peale
God is here. This truth should fill our lives, and
every Christmas should be for us a new and
special meeting with God, when we allow his
light and grace to enter deep into our soul.
Josemaría Escrivá
15.
2.1.17
New Year
I hope that in this year to come, you make
mistakes. Because if you are making mistakes,
then you are making new things, trying new
things, learning, living, pushing yourself,
changing yourself, changing your world. You're
doing things you've never done before, and
more importantly, you're doing something.
Neil Gaiman
Year's end is neither an end nor a beginning
but a going on, with all the wisdom that
experience can instil in us.
Hal Borland
Let our New Year's resolution be this: we will
be there for one another as fellow members of
humanity, in the finest sense of the word.
16.
9.1.17
Opportunities
Goran Persson
Opportunities are usually disguised by hard
work, so most people don’t recognize them.
Ann Landers
Within our dreams and aspirations we find our
opportunities.
Sue Ebaugh
People are always blaming their circumstances
for what they are. I don’t believe in
circumstances. The people who get on in this
world are they who get up and look for the
circumstances they want, and, if they can’t find
them, make them.
17.
16.1.17
Perseverance
George Bernard Shaw
I do not think there is any other quality so
essential to success of any kind as the quality
of perseverance. It overcomes almost
everything, even nature.
John Rockefeller
Perhaps perseverance has been the radical
principle of every truly great character.
J. Foster
Success in life is a matter not so much of talent
or opportunity as of concentration and
perseverance.
18.
23.1.17
Prejudice
C.W. Wendte
Racial prejudice, anti-Semitism, or hatred of
anyone with different beliefs has no place in
the human mind or heart.
Billy Graham
Prejudice is a burden that confuses the past,
threatens the future and renders the present
inaccessible.
Maya Angelou
We must become bigger than we have been:
more courageous, greater in spirit, larger in
outlook. We must become members of a new
race, overcoming petty prejudice, owing our
ultimate allegiance not to nations but to our
fellow men within the human community.
19.
30.1.17
Progress
Haile Selassie
Have confidence that if you have done a little
thing well, you can do a bigger thing well too.
David Storey
The moment a man ceases to progress, to
grow higher, wider and deeper, then his life
becomes stagnant.
Orison S. Marden
20.
6.2.17
Reading
I am suffocated and lost when I have not the
bright feeling of progression.
Margaret Fuller
The only important thing in a book is the
meaning that it has for you.
W. Somerset Maugham
Don’t just read the easy stuff. You may be
entertained by it, but you will never grow from
it.
Jim Rohn
Reading, after a certain age, diverts the mind
too much from its creative pursuits. Any man
who reads too much and uses his own brain
too little falls into lazy habits of thinking.
21.
13.2.17
Respect
Albert Einstein
I firmly believe that respect is a lot more
important, and a lot greater, than popularity.
Julius Erving
One of the most sincere forms of respect is
actually listening to what another has to say.
Bryant H. McGill
When you are content to be simply yourself
and don't compare or compete, everybody will
respect you.
22.
27.2.17
Sense of Direction
Lao Tzu
If you don’t have a plan of life, you’ll never
have order.
Josemaria Escriva
He who wishes to fulfil his mission in the world
must be a man of one idea, that is, of one
great overmastering purpose, overshadowing
all his aims, and guiding and controlling his
entire life.
Julius Bate
You are here to enrich the world and you
impoverish yourself if you forget that errand.
23.
6.3.17
Smile
Woodrow Wilson
A gentle word, a kind look, a good-natured
smile can work wonders and accomplish
miracles.
William Hazlitt
Smile, for everyone lacks self-confidence and
more than any other one thing a smile
reassures them.
Andre Maurois
Too often we underestimate the power of a
touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an
honest compliment, or the smallest act of
caring, all of which have the potential to turn a
life around.
24.
13.3.17
Success
Leo Buscaglia
It is through cooperation, rather than conflict,
that your greatest successes will be derived.
Ralph Charell
A successful person is one who can lay a firm
foundation with the bricks that others throw at
him or her.
David Brinkley
Think of yourself as on the threshold of
unparalleled success. A whole clear, glorious
life lies before you. Achieve! Achieve!
25.
20.3.17
Talent
Andrew Carnegie
Talent wins games, but teamwork and
intelligence wins championships.
Michael Jordan
The man who is born with a talent which he is
meant to use finds his greatest happiness in
using it.
Johann von Goethe
Use what talents you possess; the woods
would be very silent if no birds sang except
those that sang best.
26.
27.3.17
Easter 1
Henry Van Dyke
The rising trees, the new flowers, and birds
that beautifully sing, whisper to me that it's
Easter. Here is wishing a kindness for your soul
on Easter and always. Happy Easter.
Anon
Let the resurrection joy lift us from loneliness
and weakness and despair to strength and
beauty and happiness.
Floyd W. Tomkins
27.
3.4.17
Easter 2
A man who was completely innocent, offered
himself as a sacrifice for the good of others,
including his enemies, and became the ransom
of the world. It was a perfect act.
Mahatma Gandhi
The stone was rolled away from the door, Not
to allow Christ to come out, but to enable the
follower to go in. Happy Easter.
Anon
Easter is meant to be a symbol of hope,
renewal, and new life.
Janine di Giovanni
28.
24.4.17
Teenage Years
The symbolic language of the crucifixion is the
death of the old paradigm; resurrection is a
leap into a whole new way of thinking.
Deepak Chopra
As a teenager I was so insecure. I was the type
of guy that never fitted in because he never
dared to choose. I was convinced I had
absolutely no talent at all. For nothing. And
that thought took away all my ambition too.
Johnny Depp
It takes courage to grow up and become who
you really are.
e. e. cummings
My teenage years were exactly what they were
supposed to be. Everybody has their own path.
It's laid out for you. It's just up to you to walk
it.
29.
1.5.17
The Mind
Justin Timberlake
A great mind may change its objects, but it
30.
8.5.17
Trust
cannot relinquish them; it must have
something to pursue; variety is its relaxation,
and amusement its repose.
Colton
A mind once stretched by a new idea never
returns to its original dimensions.
Oliver Wendell Holmes
The mind, grappling with great aims and
wrestling with mighty impediments, grows by a
certain necessity to the stature of greatness.
Bryant
The toughest thing about the power of trust is
that it's very difficult to build and very easy to
destroy.
Thomas J. Watson
Trust yourself, you know more than you think
you do.
Benjamin Spock
You may be deceived if you trust too much, but
you will live in torment if you don't trust
enough.
31.
15.5.17
Truth
Frank Crane
If you tell the truth, you don't have to
remember anything.
Mark Twain
Some people think that the truth can be
hidden with a little cover-up and decoration.
But as time goes by, what is true is revealed,
and what is fake fades away.
Ismail Haniyeh
Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact.
Everything we see is a perspective, not the
truth.
32.
22.5.17
Wisdom
Marcus Aurelius
By three methods we may learn wisdom: First,
by reflection, which is noblest; Second, by
imitation, which is easiest; and third by
experience, which is the bitterest.
Confucius
Whatever you do in life, surround yourself with
smart people who'll argue with you.
John Wooden
A man must be big enough to admit his
mistakes, smart enough to profit from them,
and strong enough to correct them.
33.
5.6.17
Work
John C. Maxwell
I have always admired the ability to bite off
more than one can chew and then chew it.
William DeMille
Hard work spotlights the character of people:
some turn up their sleeves, some turn up their
noses, and some don't turn up at all.
Sam Ewing
All life demands struggle. Those who have
everything given to them become lazy, selfish,
and insensitive to the real values of life. The
very striving and hard work that we so
constantly try to avoid is the major building
block in the person we are today.
34.
12.6.17
Teamwork
Pope Paul VI
As a community, great things can happen
when each individual contributes, according to
their strengths, toward a common goal.
Idowu Koyenikan
People who work together will win, whether it
be against complex football defences, or the
problems of modern society.
Vince Lombardi
Individual commitment to a group effort - that
is what makes a team work, a company work, a
society work, a civilization work.
35.
19.6.17
Being an individual
Vince Lombardi
You all laugh at me because I'm different, I
laugh at you because you're all the same.
John Davis
Every individual has a place to fill in the world,
and is important in some respect, whether he
chooses to be so or not.
Nathaniel Hawthorne
Perhaps the surest test of an individual’s
integrity is his refusal to do or say anything
that would damage his self-respect.
36.
26.6.17
Loneliness
Monson
Alone we can do so little; together we can do
so much.
Helen Keller
It is far better to be alone, than to be in bad
company.
George Washington
Language... has created the word 'loneliness'
to express the pain of being alone. And it has
created the word 'solitude' to express the glory
of being alone.
37.
3.7.17
Character
Paul Tillich
You can easily judge the character of a man by
how he treats those who can do nothing for
him.
Anon
When the character of a man is not clear to
you, look at his friends.
Japanese Proverb
Character cannot be developed in ease and
quiet. Only through experience of trial and
suffering can the soul be strengthened, vision
cleared, ambition inspired, and success
achieved.
38.
10.7.17
Determination
Helen Keller
Desire is the key to motivation, but it is
determination and commitment to an
unrelenting pursuit of your goal - a
commitment to excellence - that will enable
you to attain the success you seek.
Mario Andretti
When confronted with iron-will determination,
I can see Time, Fate and Circumstance calling a
hasty conference and deciding, “We might as
well let him have his dream. He’s said he’s
going to get there or die trying.”
Jim Rohn
An individual who doesn’t consciously select
his goals is not really in control of his life. He is
controlled. Without really knowing it, he is
controlled by goals imposed by outside
pressures (the expectation of other), or by
habits (procrastination), or by desires (the
longing to be honoured and admired) and so
on.
39.
17.7.17
Moving on
Anon
Don't dwell on what went wrong. Instead,
focus on what to do next. Spend your energies
on moving forward toward finding the answer.
Denis Waitley
Take those chances and you can achieve
greatness, whereas if you go conservative,
you'll never know. I truly believe what doesn't
kill you makes you stronger. Even if you fail,
learning and moving on is sometimes the best
thing.
Danica Patrick
It's time to say goodbye, but I think goodbyes
are sad and I'd much rather say hello. Hello to
a new adventure.
Ernie Harwell
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7.3.15