Henceforth, I will consider each day’s effort as but one blow of my blade against a mighty oak. The first blow may cause not a tremor in the wood, nor the second, nor the third. Each blow, of itself, may be trifling, and seem of no consequence. Yet from childish swipes the oak will eventually tumble. So it will be with my efforts of today.
I will be liken to the rain drop which washes away the mountain; the ant who devours a tiger; the star which brightens the earth; the slave who builds a pyramid. I will build my castle one brick at a time for I know that small attempts, repeated, will complete any undertaking.
is going to help me do anything but look silly. Maybe I'm just a pragmatic rationalist.
Interesting that you chose the word pragmatic, since pragmatism says that an idea needs to be tested and found valid before considered true. I've done that to the best of my ability in my own life, while you're rejecting it out of hand, without testing or validation.
As for rationalism, are you really convinced that it's irrational or unreasonable to believe that reading the same thing over and over will help reinforce it in your mind? Perhaps you're the type of person who can hear something once and immediately apply it to all relevant areas of your life, but I'm not.
I know that I should just small steps towards a very challenging goal. I know that not giving up in the face of overwhelming adversity is important. I know that time is the most valuable resource I have. But those things are hard to remember in the thick of it, when my emotions are telling me to stop, give up, waste time.
At the end of the day, you are a slave to your habits and your defined ways of thinking about yourself and the world around you. Better to be a slave to good habits and positive ways of thinking. Greatness is rarely achieved without a healthy dose of hubris about one's own abilities, ignorance about what is realistic, or both.
Let's flip this around: what are you trying to accomplish with your life? And what's the biggest internal roadblock to you accomplishing it?
Henceforth, I will consider each day’s effort as but one blow of my blade against a mighty oak. The first blow may cause not a tremor in the wood, nor the second, nor the third. Each blow, of itself, may be trifling, and seem of no consequence. Yet from childish swipes the oak will eventually tumble. So it will be with my efforts of today.
I will be liken to the rain drop which washes away the mountain; the ant who devours a tiger; the star which brightens the earth; the slave who builds a pyramid. I will build my castle one brick at a time for I know that small attempts, repeated, will complete any undertaking.
is going to help me do anything but look silly. Maybe I'm just a pragmatic rationalist.