Me Thinks

 Three books I learned from:

I have long admired the wisdom of Steven Covey.

 

Imagine you were to come upon someone in the woods working feverishly to saw down a tree. 

“What are you doing?” you ask.

“Can’t you see?” comes the impatient reply. “I’m sawing down this tree.”

“You look exhausted!” you exclaim.  “How long have you been at it?”

“Over five hours,” he returns, “and I’m beat! This is hard work.”

“Well, why don’t you take a break for a few minutes and sharpen the saw?” you inquire.  “I’m sure it would go a lot faster.”

“I don’t have time to sharpen the saw,” the man says emphatically.  “I’m too busy sawing!” (pg. 11)

It is possible to be busy—very busy—without being very effective (pg. 42).

You have to decide what your highest priorities are and have the courage—pleasantly, smilingly, unapologetically—to say “no” to other things.  And the way you do that is by having a bigger “yes” burning inside (pg. 68).

 

Bob Goff reminded me to love people; 

 

Loving the people who are easy to love made me feel like I was really good at it (pg. 2).

God didn’t give us neighbors to be our projects; He surrounded us with them to be our teachers (pg. 21).

Catch people on the bounce.  When they mess up, reach out to them with love and acceptance the way Jesus did. When they hit hard, run to them with your arms wide open to hug them even harder (pgs. 56, 57).

If you want to become love, stop just agreeing with Jesus.  Go call someone right now.  Lift them up in ways they can’t lift themselves.  Send them a text message and say you’re sorry.  I know they don’t deserve it.  You didn’t either.  Don’t put a toe in the water with your love; grab your knees and do a cannonball.  Move from the bleachers to the field and you won’t ever be the same (pg. 219).

It is at the dinner table that we socialize and civilize our children, teaching them manners and the art of conversation. At the dinner table parents can determine portion sizes, model eating and drinking behavior, and enforce social norms about greed and gluttony and waste.  Shared meals are about much more than fueling bodies; they are uniquely human institutions where our species developed language and this thing we call culture (pg. 189).

A diet based on quantity rather than quality has ushered a new creature onto the world stage: the human being who manages to be both overfed and undernourished, two characteristics seldom found in the same body in the long natural history of our species (pg. 122).

Eat food. Not too much.  Mostly plants (pg. 1).

Don’t eat anything your great grandmother wouldn’t recognize as food (pg. 148).

Don’t eat anything incapable of rotting (pg. 149).

Eat meals. We are snacking more and more and eating fewer meals together. Americans have added to the traditional big three—breakfast, lunch, and dinner—an as-yet-untitled fourth daily eating occasion that lasts all day long: the constant sipping and snacking we do while watching TV, driving, and so on (pg. 188).