Words I Live By
When I was interviewed for the local paper, the reporter asked me what my favorite phrase was. I gave her the first phrase in this list, but as I mulled over her question later, I realized that I’ve adopted several phrases that I repeat to myself over and over. As I write them down, I realize that it’s probably not a good sign that so many of them are about perseverance, but that happens to be the way things have turned out….
That which doesn’t kill me makes me stronger. A good phrase to remember when I’m shivering with a fever, confronted by unidentifiable cuisine in a foreign country, or struggling to finish a dozen projects at once.
Some days the best you can do is survive. When everything’s going wrong, I have to remind myself to step back from my “to-do” list and all my goals and ambitions. Coping with my mother’s unexpected death was one of these situations — all my plans vanished as I concentrated one by one on all the things that needed to be done. Usually the days I trot out this phrase are just frustrating — days when I keep making mistakes and can’t seem to get anything done.
I don’t have to like it; I just have to do it. Usually recited when I’m considering whether or not to go to the gym, this is also a useful phrase to remember when making appointments with the dentist or doctor, paying a small fortune at the gas pump, or attending mandatory-but-pointless meetings at work.
I can survive anything for [insert time period here]. A reminder that I can and have lived with uncomfortable situations for months, even years, and that they eventually end. A good phrase to use when I’m deciding to commit myself to a long-term plan of action that won’t be a lot of fun but will have a definite payoff at the end.
All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well. This gem of a phrase from St. Julian of Norwich is always a comfort to me; a promise that everything is part of God’s plan. When my mind begins to chatter too loudly at me with tremulous “what-ifs,” repeating this phrases gives me a renewed sense of security.
Trust God. This and the quote above make me sound more devout than I am, but despite the fact that I find church services boring and out of touch, harbor grave reservations about the Roman Catholicism I still claim as my religion, and don’t believe there’s a bearded old man passing judgment on us up in the sky, I’ve still come to trust in the Great Scheme of Things. When I don’t understand why something bad has happened, this phrase comes in handy — it’s a reminder that I don’t have to understand. That sometimes all I can do is hand over my doubts and fears to something greater than myself.
drupagliassotti @ April 27, 2008
Re: LJ comment about speech….you can use these words you live by and give examples how you used each phrase to over come one or two issues. Six phrases x 2 minutes per = 12 of the 15 to 20 minutes. Think about it.