- “Anyone who imagines that bliss is normal is going to waste a lot of time running around shouting that he’s been robbed. Most putts don’t drop. Most beef is tough. Most children grow up to be just people. Most successful marriages require a high degree of mutual toleration. Most jobs are more often dull… Life is like an old-time rail journey – delays, sidetracks, smoke, dust, cinders, and jolts, interspersed only occasionally by beautiful vistas and thrilling bursts of speed. The trick is to thank the Lord for letting you have the ride.” (Gordon B. Hinckley, Teachings of Gordon B. Hinckley [1997], 254)
- “When I maintain an attitude of cheerful wonder and keen interest toward my faults and flaws, I see them dissolve and transform much more rapidly than when I give myself a hard time about them. If you’re willing to adopt a playful attitude toward yourself and your shortcomings, you can make extraordinarily rapid progress. It’s easier to chuckle over things than to fret over them, and chuckling is much more fun for the people around you.” The Big Leap: Conquer Your Hidden Fear and Take Life to the Next Level (Gay Hendricks)- Page 110
- “What was especially striking to me was that the professors envied the private-practice people, who in turn were envious of the professors. From the professors’ viewpoint, the private-practice people had it made, with their big salaries, plush offices, and absence of faculty meetings. To the private-practice crowd, though, the professors were the ones with the cushy jobs. They got a steady paycheck, free office space, short hours, and plenty of time to write. As the evening wore on, I listened to one tale of thwarted hopes after another. Finally, I was jolted by an insight: none of these complaints were actually caused by pigheaded bureaucrats, lack of parking spaces, ungrateful clients, or anything of the sort. In other words, none of these brilliant, well-meaning people were upset for the reasons they thought they were. Their complaints were all symptoms of not taking the Big Leap! From this perspective, every story took on a different meaning,” The Big Leap: Conquer Your Hidden Fear and Take Life to the Next Level (Gay Hendricks)- Highlight on Page 117
- “After listening to a complaint, I would ask, “If outside influences like money or insurance companies or bureaucrats were not a problem, what would you really love to be doing?” I learned a lot from what each person told me. First, almost everyone could tell me clearly what they’d love to be doing. Their answers included things like: I’d love to have time to write the book I’ve been wanting to write. I’d love to create videos so more people could get access to the techniques I use. I’d love to have more of an impact in the world. What caught my attention, though, was the emotional tone behind those statements. Every time, the person’s face took on an expression of longing tinged with hope or burdened by despair. Longing is a persistent, lingering feeling of wanting something you can’t quite get or something you’ve judged unobtainable. If you think there’s still a possibility of attaining it, your longing is flavored by hope. If you think it’s unobtainable, your longing sinks into a bog of despair. Longing was what I was hearing in every one of those conversations.” The Big Leap: Conquer Your Hidden Fear and Take Life to the Next Level(Gay Hendricks)- Page 118
- “Refuse to complain about your problems. Keep them to yourself. As speaker-humorist Ed Foreman says, “You should never share your problems with others because 80 percent of people don’t care about them anyway, and the other 20 percent are kind of glad that you’ve got them in the first place.” Eat That Frog, Brian Tracy, Page 86
- “Keep your mind positive by accepting complete responsibility for yourself and for everything that happens to you. Refuse to criticize others, complain, or blame others for anything. Resolve to make progress rather than excuses. Keep your thoughts and your energy focused forward, on what you can do right now to improve your life, and let the rest go.” Eat That Frog, Brian Tracy, Page 88
- “Elder Orson F. Whitney once said: “The spirit of the gospel is optimistic; it trusts in God and looks on the bright side of things. The opposite or pessimistic spirit drags men down and away from God, looks on the dark side, murmurs, complains, and is slow to yield obedience.” We should honor the Savior’s declaration to “be of good cheer” (; ; ). (Indeed, it seems to me we may be more guilty of breaking that commandment than almost any other!) Speak hopefully. Speak encouragingly, including about yourself. Try not to complain and moan incessantly. As someone once said, “Even in the golden age of civilization someone undoubtedly grumbled that everything looked too yellow.”” Broken Things to Mend (Jeffrey R. Holland) Kindle Loc. 641-46
- 1 Nephi 2:12…People complain because don’t understand God
- “I meet so many people who constantly complain about the burden of their responsibilities. Of course the pressures are great. There is much, too much, to do. There are financial burdens to add to all of these pressures, and with all of this we are prone to complain, frequently at home, often in public. Turn your thinking around. The gospel is good news. Man is that he might have joy [see Nephi 2:25]. Be happy! Let that happiness shine through your faces and speak through your testimonies. You can expect problems. There may be occasional tragedies. But shining through all of this is the plea of the Lord: Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light (Matthew 11:28-30).” Manual, Teachings of Gordon B. Hinckley, Chapter 3, Cultivating an Attitude of Happiness and a Spirit of Optimism
- April 2, 1996 – Tuesday – Quito Ecuador…”We next went to Marcelo Mosquera’s house. Let me tell you about him. He got his right arm blown off to the elbow and 3 fingers and half of his left hand. He did it working in the Jungle. His wife left him. He never gets hired because of his physical impairment, so it’s very hard to get a job. The government pays him 150 mil sucres each month (about 60 bucks a month) as a retirement pay. This month he has no money at all because after getting it, he was robbed on the way home. He’s had to go 2 days without food, and today he finally was invited to eat by Elder Howard and another friend. With all these trials and problems (by the way, he lives in a one room house and basically all of his possessions (gas stove, bed, TV) were all given to him) he still works soooo hard in the church work. He sold almost all his possessions last November to go to the Lima, Peru Temple. He’s the Turubamba Ward Mission Leader and magnifies his calling sooo much. He reads his scriptures and is active. He serves others. He’s an example for me. The thing was, after telling us his situation, he testified of his love for Christ, cried while doing it, and then went looking for things to give things away to us. He gave my comp stickers. Just seeing his situation, he has all the reason to complain and be selfish. But rather he serves others. He is so awesome. I’ll be like him. I left 5 mil sucres on his table. I hope he can make good use of it. I left from there repenting of my selfishness, and of the times that I’d whined for material things. How lost I was. I’ll pray for him.” – Clinton Brown Missionary Journal