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8751.  Like physical pain our psychological pain is an indication of something out of equilibrium some limitation that has been exceeded;

8752.  Like our physical pain our psychological pain is not necessarily always bad or even undesirable;

8753.  In some cases experiencing emotional or psychological pain can be healthy or necessary;

8754.  Problems never go away they just improve;

8755.  The solution to one problem is merely the creation of the next one;

8756.  Don’t hope for a life without problems; hope for a life full of good problems;

8757.  Happiness comes from solving problems;

8758.  Happiness is a constant work-in-progress because solving problems is a constant work-in-progress.  The solutions to today’s problems will lay the foundation for tomorrow’s problems and so on;

8759.  True happiness occurs only when you find the problems you enjoy having and enjoy solving;

8760.  Some people deny that their problems exist in the first place.  And because they deny reality they must constantly delude or distract themselves from reality.  This may make them feel good in the short term, but it leads to a life of insecurity, neuroticism and emotional repression;

8761.  Some choose to believe that there is nothing they can do to solve their problems even when they in fact could.  Victims seek to blame others for their problems or blame outside circumstances.  This may make them feel better in the short term, but it leads to a life of anger, helplessness and despair;

8762.  People deny and blame others for their problems for the simple reason that it’s easy and feels good while solving problems is hard and often feels bad;

8763.  Almost anything can become addictive depending on the motivation behind using it;

8764.  Emotions are simply biological signals designed to nudge you in the direction of beneficial change;

8765.  Negative emotions are a call to action.  When you feel them it’s because you’re supposed to do something;

8766.  Positive emotions are rewards for taking the proper action;

8767.  Apparently, the Chinese symbol for crisis/danger and opportunity are the same;

8768.  Crisis can be seen as crisis . . . or it can be seen as (an) opportunity;

8769.  Substitutes for butter in baking: 1.  Applesauce: You can replace butter in baking recipes with unsweetened applesauce by using half of the amount of applesauce as the amount of butter called for in the recipe.  This works well in sugar cookies, cakes and breads like banana or zucchini bread; 2.  Vegetable oil: You can substitute ¾ cup of vegetable oil for every 1 cup of butter.  This works well in all manner of baking recipes; 3.  Buttermilk: You can substitute ½ cup of buttermilk for every 1 cup of butter.  This works well for all recipes with the exception of pie crust (i.e., it changes the consistency of the dough and makes it crumbly instead of flaky.  No buttermilk on hand?  Just add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar per cup of milk and let stand 5 minutes; 4.  Avocado: You can substitute pureed avocado in equal parts for the amount of butter called for; 5.  Greek yogurt: For a higher protein substitution, use half of the amount of Greek yogurt as the amount of butter.  This works especially well in cakes because it creates a velvety texture; 6.  Pumpkin puree: For every cup of butter called for in a recipe, use ¾ cup of pumpkin (or butternut, Hubbard or other similar squash) puree.  You can also substitute pumpkin puree in equal amount to the quantity of oil in a baking recipe; 7.  Coconut oil: If the recipe calls for a substantial amount of butter, you might notice a flavor difference in the finished product so it is not the best in savory breads, but works fine in cakes, cookies and muffins; 8.  Prune puree: Similar to pumpkin puree, substitute ¾ cup of prune puree (you can use prune baby food) for every cup of butter in a baked item.  This works best for cakes and brownies, but it will darken the color of the finished product adding a reddish-purple tone; 9.  Olive oil: Use ¾ cup of olive oil for every cup of butter called for.  Note that olive oil has a strong flavor and works best in savory items like herb breads or biscuits and would likely hurt the flavor of sweeter items such as cakes, cookies or pie crusts.  It is a tasty substitute for butter in crusts for meat or pot pies ; and 10.  Applesauce & buttermilk: If you are concerned about the integrity of the taste of the dish, use ¼ cup unsweetened applesauce and ¼ cup buttermilk for every cup of butter in a recipe.  It does not work well for pie crust; it changes the texture too much;

8770.  (Putting) peanut butter in ramen (noodles) is pretty good. . . . Who knew?  It makes (kind of) a peanut sauce;

8771.  Knowing is not enough; we must apply.  Being willing is not enough; we must do;

8772.  Negative emotions are a call to action.  When you feel them, it’s because you’re supposed to do something;

8773.  Positive emotions are rewards for taking the proper action;

8774.  Emotions are part of the equation of our lives, but not the entire equation.  Just because something feels good doesn’t mean it is good.  Just because something feels bad doesn’t mean it is bad.  Emotions are merely signpost, suggestions that our neurobiology gives us not commandments.  Therefore, we shouldn’t always trust our own emotions;

8775.  Many people are taught to repress their emotions for various personal, social or cultural reasons particularly negative emotions.  Sadly to deny one’s negative emotions is to deny many of the feedback mechanisms that help a person solve problems;

8776.  Decision-making based on emotional intuition without the aid of reason to keep it in line pretty much always sucks;

8777.  A fixation on happiness inevitably amounts to a never-ending pursuit of “something else” . . . a new house, a new relationship, another child, another pay raise.  And despite all of our sweat and strain, we end up feeling eerily similar to how we started: inadequate;

8778.  The “hedonic treadmill” is the idea that we’re always working hard to change our life situation, but we actually never feel very different;

8779.  Everything comes with an inherent sacrifice.  Whatever makes us feel good will also inevitably make us feel bad.  What we gain is also what we lose.  What creates our positive experiences will define our negative experiences;

8780.  We like the idea that there’s some form of ultimate happiness that can be attained.  We like the idea that we can alleviate all of our suffering permanently.  We like the idea that we can feel fulfilled and satisfied with our lives forever, but we cannot;

8781.  A question that most people never consider is, “What pain do you want in your life?  What are you willing to struggle for?”  Because that seems to be a greater determinant of how our lives turn out;

8782.  Most people want to get the corner office and make a boatload of money, but not many people want to suffer through 60-hour workweeks, long commutes, obnoxious paperwork and arbitrary corporate hierarchies to escape the confines of an infinite cubicle hell.  Most people want to have great sex and an awesome relationship, but not everyone is willing to go through the tough conversations, the awkward silences, the hurt feelings and the emotional psychodrama to get there.  And so they settle;

8783.  Happiness requires struggle.  It grows from problems.  Joy doesn’t sprout out of the ground like daisies and rainbows.  Real, serious, lifelong fulfillment and meaning have to be earned through the choosing and managing of our struggles;

8784.  What determines your success isn’t “What do you want to enjoy?”  The relevant question is, “What pain do you want to sustain?”  The path to happiness is a path of shit heaps and shame.  You have to choose something.  You can’t have a pain-free life.  It can’t all be roses and unicorns all of the time.  Pleasure is the easy question;

8785.  Our struggles determine our successes.  Our problems birth our happiness along with slightly better, slightly upgraded problems;

8786.  Elizabeth likes Gillian Welch . . . and John Prine (i.e., singer-songwriters);

8787.  The best tasting Oreo I’ve ever had was the one I ate after coming down from LSD;

8788.  Hot, frozen pizza tastes really good after coming down from LSD;

8789.  Elizabeth likes “The xx” (i.e., English indie pop band);

8790.  Things which matter most must never be at the mercy of things which matter least;

8791.  Merely feeling good about yourself doesn’t really mean anything unless you have a good reason to feel good about yourself;

8792.  Adversity and failure are actually useful and even necessary for developing strong-minded and successful adults;

8793.  A true and accurate measurement of one’s self-worth is how people feel about the negative aspects of themselves;

8794.  A person who actually has a high self-worth is able to look at the negative parts of her/his character frankly and then acts to improve upon them;

8795.  Entitled people because they are incapable of acknowledging their own problems openly and honestly are incapable of improving their lives in any lasting or meaningful way.  They are left chasing high after high and accumulate greater and greater levels of denial;

8796.  Most people don’t correctly identify as entitlement are those people who perpetually feel as though they’re inferior and unworthy of the world.  Construing everything in life so as to make yourself out to be constantly victimized requires just as much selfishness as the opposite.  It takes just as much energy and delusional self-aggrandizement to maintain the belief that one has insurmountable problems as that one has no problems at all;

8797.  Realization that you and your problems are actually not privileged in their severity or pain is the first and most important step toward solving them;

8798.  If you’re exceptional at one thing, chances are you’re average or below average at most other things;

8799.  To become truly great at something, you have to dedicate a lot of time and energy to it.  Because we all have limited time and energy few of us ever become truly exceptional at more than one thing if anything at all;

8800.  We’re all for the most part pretty average people, but it’s the extremes that get all of the publicity;

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8701.  You will never be happy if you continue to search for what happiness consists of.  You will never live if you are looking for the meaning of life;

8702.  Ever notice that sometimes when you care less about something you do better at it?

8703.  What’s interesting about the backwards law is that it’s called “backwards” for a reason: not caring works in reverse.  If pursuing the positive is a negative then pursuing the negative generates the positive;

8704.  Being open with your insecurities paradoxically makes you more confident and charismatic around others;

8705.  The pain of honest confrontation is what generates the greatest trust and respect in your relationships;

8706.  Suffering through your fears and anxieties is what allows you to build courage and perseverance;

8707.  Everything worthwhile in life is won through surmounting the associated negative experience;

8708.  The avoidance of suffering is a form of suffering;

8709.  The avoidance of struggle is a struggle;

8710.  The denial of failure is a failure;

8711.  Hiding what is shameful is itself a form of shame;

8712.  Panic is an inextricable thread in the fabric of life and to tear it out is not only impossible, but destructive: attempting to tear it out unravels everything else with it;

8713.  Learning how to focus and prioritize your thoughts effectively – how to pick and choose what matters to you and what does not matter to you based on finely honed personal values;

8714.  When you care about everyone and everything, you will feel that you’re perpetually entitled to be comfortable and happy at all times that everything is supposed to be just exactly the way you want it to be.  This is a sickness.  And it will eat you alive.  You will see every adversity as an injustice, every challenge as a failure, every convenience as a personal slight and every disagreement as a betrayal;

8715.  Not caring does not mean being indifferent; it means being comfortable with being different;

8716.  Indifferent people are afraid of the world and the repercussions of their own choices.  That’s why they don’t make any meaningful choices.  They hide in a gray, emotionless pit of their own making, self-absorbed and self-pitying, perpetually distracting themselves from this unfortunate thing demanding their time and energy called life;

8717.  To not care about adversity, you must first care about something more important than adversity;

8718.  If you find yourself consistently caring too much about trivial things that bother you, chances are you don’t have much going on in your life to legitimately care about.  And that’s your real problem;

8719.  When a person has no problems, the mind automatically finds a way to invent some;

8720.  What most people especially educated, pampered middle-class, white people consider “life problems” are really just side effects of not having anything more important to worry about;

8721.  Finding something important and meaningful in your life is perhaps the most productive use of your time and energy.  Because if you don’t find that meaningful something, your cares will be given to meaningless and frivolously causes;

8722.  Whether you realize it or not, you are always choosing what to care about;

8723.  Maturity is what happens when one learns to only care about what’s truly worthy;

8724.  Because when we believe that it’s not okay for things to suck sometimes then we unconsciously starting blaming ourselves.  We start to feel as though something is inherently wrong with us, which drives us to all sorts of overcompensation;

8725.  Practical enlightenment is becoming comfortable with the idea that some suffering is always inevitable that no matter what you do life is comprised of failures, loss, regrets and even death;

8726.  Once you become comfortable with all that life throws at you, you become invincible in a sort of low-level spiritual way;

8727.  The only way to overcome pain is to first learn how to bear it;

8728.  Apples: Apples only stay fresh a few days on the counter.  They do best in the crisping drawer of your refrigerator;

8729.  Avocados: If your avocados are still hard and green, leave them at room temperature on the counter to ripen.  If you need to speed up the ripening, stick them in a brown paper bag so they’re trapped with their ethylene gas.  But if you’re trying to keep a ripe avocado around longer, the solution is simple: stick it in the fridge.  The cool atmosphere slows the ripening process;

8730.  Broccoli: No matter how many times you’ve seen broccoli tightly wrapped in plastic at your local grocery it’s not the best way to store it.  Raw broccoli requires airflow and moisture to stay fresh.  An ideal way to keep it is to put it stem-side down in a vase with water in the refrigerator.  By making a broccoli bouquet, you’re providing water and still letting the bushy tops get the oxygen they need.  If that seems too intense, you can loosely wrap your broccoli in damp paper towels and refrigerate;

8731.  Berries: Give them a vinegar bath then store them on paper towels to help soak up moisture.  White vinegar kills the spores fresh berries accumulate before they arrive in your kitchen.  And, if you rinse them well, they won’t taste like vinegar.  This treatment might be a bit much for raspberries, just rinse before you eat them;

8732.  Carrots: Slice off the green tops, which draw moisture from the carrots, making them wither more quickly.  Place them, unpeeled, in a sealed plastic bag in your refrigerator’s crisper drawer (for up to two weeks).  If you buy pre-trimmed carrots, like baby-cut, they last longer if you submerge them in water in a tightly-covered container.  Just be sure to change the water frequently;

8733.  Citrus fruit: The vegetable drawer is the best spot.  And don’t enclose oranges in airtight bags or containers;

8734.  Cucumbers: They shouldn’t be in the refrigerator.  They’ll go soft days in advance if they’re stored below 50 degrees.  They’re sensitive to ethylene, so keep them away from other countertop dwellers like bananas and tomatoes;

8735.  Fresh herbs: Rinse herbs and dry them thoroughly in a salad spinner then transfer them to paper towel rolls or stand them upright in mason jars of water (depending on the herb);

8736.  Leafy greens: To keep leafy greens like spinach, chard and collard greens fresh longer, wash and dry them well then wrap them in paper towels.  Keep the bunches whole unless you plan on using them soon.  Place the paper towel roll into a perforated, unsealed plastic bag.  If you’re dealing with salad greens, dumping washed leaves into a paper towel-lined plastic storage container is your best bet;

8737.  Onions: Don’t store onions in direct sunlight.  Keep your onions in a cool, dark, well-ventilated and dry place;

8738.  Potatoes: Potatoes do best in a cool, dark, dry place, but not too cool.  If potatoes are stored under 50 degrees, their starches can convert to sugar, which is actually (really) bad.  Potatoes exposed to too much light may sprout.  They’re still safe to eat, but you should cut the sprouts off first.  You may notice that potatoes and onions like similar environments, but you’ll want to find two different cool, dark, dry spots in your house.  If you store them together, they’ll both go bad more quickly;

8739.  Life itself is a form of suffering.  The rich suffer because of their riches.  The poor suffer because of their poverty.  People without a family suffer because they have no family.  People with a family suffer because of their family.  People who pursue worldly pleasures suffer because of their worldly pleasures.  People who abstain from worldly pleasures suffer because of their abstention;

8740.  All suffering isn’t equal.  Some suffering is certainly more painful than other suffering, but we all must suffer nonetheless;

8741.  Pain and loss are inevitable and we should let go of trying to resist them;

8742.  A premise that underlies a lot of our assumptions and beliefs is the premise that happiness is algorithmic, that it can be worked for and earned and achieved as if it were getting accepted to law school or building a really complicated Lego set.  If I achieve X then I can be happy.  If I look like Y then I can be happy.  If I can be with a person like Z then I can be happy;

8743.  The premise that happiness is algorithmic is the problem.  Happiness is not a solvable equation;

8744.  Dissatisfaction and unease are inherent parts of human nature and necessary components to creating consistent happiness;

8745.  The greatest truths in life are usually the most unpleasant to hear;

8746.  We suffer for the simple reason that suffering is biologically useful.  It is nature’s preferred agent for inspiring change.  We have evolved to always live with a certain degree of dissatisfaction and insecurity because it’s the mildly dissatisfied and insecure creature that’s going to do the most work to innovate and survive.  We are wired to become dissatisfied with whatever we have and satisfied by only what we do not have.  This constant dissatisfaction has kept our species fighting and striving, building and conquering.  So our own pain and misery aren’t a bug of human evolution; they’re a feature;

8747.  Pain in all of its forms is our body’s most effective means of spurring action;

8748.  Pain is what teaches us what to pay attention to when we’re young or careless.  It helps show us what’s good for us versus what’s bad for us.  It helps us understand and adhere to our own limitations;

8749.  It’s not always beneficial to avoid pain and seek pleasure since pain can, at times ,be life-or-death important to our well-being;

8750.  Research has found that our brains don’t register much difference between physical pain and psychological pain;

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8651.  Some people try to conceal their emotions for one reason or another.  Some do it because they are trying to hide who they really are from other people.  Others may do this because they want to mask their own weaknesses.  Anger is often an emotion that is there to show others strength and will mask the insecurities that they have;

8652.  Anger is sometimes used as an alibi to justify the wrongs that they may be doing.  These people will go and do things that are wrong or inappropriate and then they will say that they only did that because they were angry at the time.  This will only start a habit of always acting violently because whenever someone calls them out on it, they can write it off later with anger as an excuse;

8653.  Anger helps you to feel righteous and makes you think you are morally superior to the other person, but it makes it hard to hold onto responsibilities for your actions;

8654.  Anger is never a result of complete spontaneity.  It is usually rooted in something that is deeper;

8655.  No matter what reason you have for the anger most likely it was born out of an issue that you did not take the time to deal with when it was present;

8656.  Next time you are feeling a little bit angry and like you are about to explode, consider clapping your hands really loudly.  This will shock and distract the brain a little bit and by the time, your feelings of anger can subside gradually until they become manageable, especially if they were brand-new ones.  You can perform any kind of action that you want such as coughing, laughing or even dancing;

8657.  “Scuderia” in Italian translates to “stable” (in English) . . . and it’s associated with auto racing;

8658.  (John Maxwell’s) 6 ways to get beyond yourself: 1.  Quit taking yourself so seriously; 2.  Quit thinking that the world owes you a living; 3.  Quit believing you are indispensable; 4.  Start seeing through other people’s eyes; 5.  Start placing value on others; and 6.  Start understanding your purpose on earth;

8659.  Meyer lemons aren’t (all) that sweet.  They’re like unripe oranges;

8660.  Happy ending . . . check;

8661.  It’s hard to beat a person who never gives up;

8662.  Stress affects everyone.  It’s the body’s way of reacting to change and a reflection of your perception of the demands being placed on your body;

8663.  Despite the negative connotation, stress isn’t inherently bad.  It’s all about our perception of and response to stress;

8664.  When stress is chronic and persistent, it can have a wide range of body-wide effects;

8665.  While short-term stress can boost concentration and alertness, chronic stress literally shrinks the brain and can lead to impaired cognition, anxiety, depression, poor sleep and reduced enthusiasm for activities you typically enjoy;

8666.  While acute stress can enhance the immune system, chronic stress suppresses the immune system making you more susceptible to infection and injury and slows down recovery;

8667.  According to Dr. Thomas Cowan, chronic stress is responsible for the vast majority of heart disease because of its effects on the heart and vascular system (e.g., increased heart rate and increased blood pressure);

8668.  Stress activates the branch of the nervous system that does the exact opposite of the body’s rest-and-digest response.  Chronic stress leads to inhibition of secretions, motility and contractions of sphincters, which can add up to reflux, heartburn, constipation, diarrhea, gas, bloating and nausea and stress has also been shown to disrupt the gut microbiome;

8669.  While individual response to stress varies, many people tend to overeat, make poor food choices and skip out on exercise when under stress;

8670.  There’s evidence that chronic stress can shift the body into a fat-storing mode;

8671.  Chronic stress can be a significant trigger for skin-related conditions, such as acne, rosacea, eczema and psoriasis, and it can also cause hair to fall out;

8672.  According to men’s health expert Dr. Geo Espinosa, stress castrates.  It zaps libido and it sends testosterone levels plummeting;

8673.  In women, stress affects the menstrual cycle (and the duration and intensity of periods) and amplifies the symptoms of menopause;

8674.  Apparently, the Chinese have been using paper for hygiene (i.e., toilet paper) since the 6^th century;

8675.  17 ways to increase your listening (to unlock both your personal potential and relationship potential): 1.  Don’t try to solve people’s problems right out of the gate; 2.  Repeat what someone else is telling you to: A) Make sure you’re understanding; and B) Reassure the person that you’re listening; 3.  Make eye contact; 4.  Check your body language and match it with the emotion of the conversation and the other person talking; 5.  Do not interrupt the other person when they’re talking.  Don’t jump in to finish her/his thought; 6.  Don’t use “nudging” words like “uh-huh;” 7.  Don’t finish people’s sentences.  Don’t talk over them.  And don’t give them words; 8.  Give acknowledging statements after someone is done talking; 9.  Where appropriate, use physical touch to anchor in the emotion; 10.  Use appropriate follow-up questions instead of jumping from one question to another that’s completely irrelevant; 11.  Ask questions of understanding to deepen the conversation; 12.  Don’t project forward what you think the other person is going to say and don’t stop paying attention so you don’t forget the point you think is more important; 13.  Don’t multitask.  And don’t check your e-mail or phone; 14.  Focus on the present and not your upcoming schedule; 15.  Be in the moment and try to meet the other person where they are; 16.  Use words and phrases that the other person seems to be using repeatedly; and 17.  Try to match and mirror the other person’s pace, tone, volume and body language;

8676.  Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice; it is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved;

8677.  Around 4-5 years old, a bald eagle’s head turns white;

8678.  If you like stuffing, (you might want to) try a toasted, stuffing sandwich;

8679.  The truth is attitude isn’t everything, but it is one thing that can make a difference in your life;

8680.  You cannot disconnect attitude from reality and expect success;

8681.  Your attitude can’t substitute for competence;

8682.  Some people confuse confidence, which is a function of attitude, with competence, which is a function of ability;

8683.  Your attitude can’t substitute for experience;

8684.  Your attitude cannot change the facts;

8685.  Your attitude cannot substitute for personal growth;

8686.  Your attitude will not stay good automatically.  It’s easier to maintain an attitude than it is to regain an attitude;

8687.  The point is that attitude alone isn’t going to cut it.  That doesn’t mean, however, it isn’t (really) important.  Attitude is a key, powerful ingredient in the recipe for success, fulfillment and purpose.  And while your attitude isn’t everything it can do a whole lot for you; as a matter of fact, in many situations, it’s the difference-maker;

8688.  Your attitude makes a difference in your approach to life;

8689.  Your attitude makes a difference in your relationships with people.  It influences how we see others and it determines whether we lift others up or deflate them.  And the right attitude allows us to learn from each person we meet;

8690.  Your attitude makes a difference in how you face challenges;

8691.  Mindfulness and awareness are key to improving an attitude that desperately needs changing;

8692.  No choice will determine the success of changing your attitude more than the desire to change;

8693.  Change your attitude by changing your thoughts.  Attitudes are nothing more than habits of thought;

8694.  Take responsibility for your attitude.  You can’t control the weather, but you can control the atmosphere of your mind;

8695.  Not deciding is a choice.  Indecision is choosing not to decide and allowing other forces to control the “controllable” in our lives.  It’s surrendering ourselves to either outcome;

8696.  Choosing indecision on items you generally don’t care about is completely okay, but what’s not okay is consistently pawning off accountability;

8697.  A confident person doesn’t feel a need to prove that s/he’s confident.  A rich person doesn’t feel a need to convince anybody that s/he’s rich.  Either you are or you are not.  And if you’re dreaming of something all of the time then you’re reinforcing the same unconscious reality over and over: that you are not that;

8698.  The key to a good life is not caring about more; it’s caring about less and caring about only what is true and immediate and important;

8699.  The desire for more positive experience is itself a negative experience.  And, paradoxically, the acceptance of one’s negative experience is itself a positive experience;

8700.  The more you pursue feeling better all of the time, the less satisfied you become as pursuing something only reinforces the fact that you lack it in the first place.  The more you desperately want to be rich, the more poor and unworthy you feel regardless of how much money you actually make.  The more you desperately want to be sexy and desired, the uglier you come to see yourself regardless of your actual physical appearance.  The more you desperately want to be happy and loved, the lonelier and more afraid you become regardless of those who surround you.  The more you want to be spiritually enlightened, the more self-centered and shallow you become in trying to get there;

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8601.  (I just realized) Justin Bieber’s uncle-in-law is Jack Donaghy (i.e., Alec Baldwin in “30 Rock”) and his aunt-in-law is a (former) Bond girl (i.e., Kim Basinger as “Domino Petachi” in “Never Say Never Again”) . . . weird;

8602.  Faith is really good for stopping worry and anxiety;

8603.  Beliefs are subconscious and therefore below the level of conscious awareness.  So how will we know if there’s a problem in that area?  It usually shows up in the form of repeated frustrations.  A feeling like you’re trying and trying, but not making much progress.  When that happens, and it’s a pattern, then you know that you have some subconscious belief change work to do;

8604.  Ella Fitzgerald (the American jazz singer) was born in Newport News, Virginia;

8605.  Time is more than money; it’s the currency of life and it’s an irreplaceable resource.  When time is up, it’s gone;

8606.  We can increase many capacities, but there’s nothing we can do to expand, save or manage time.  Time is a fixed resource; the number of minutes in a day, days in a week and weeks in a year all tick away relentlessly in spite of our efforts to control it;

8607.  If we want to get more done, make a greater impact and truly lead a life of significance, we need to increase our energy capacity;

8608.  People who grow to their maximum potential don’t sit back and wait for things to happen; they go out and make things happen and that requires energy;

8609.  When you spend your time doing the things that you care about most, you will find yourself fully charged with energy.  What are the activities that make you say, “I was born to do this?”  That’s your gift zone.  Spend more time there;

8610.  A life of significance is not about having more money and more stuff.  It’s about spending time and creating experiences and memories with the people you care about most;

8611.  When we serve others by providing something that makes their day a little better, we enter what Ed Bastian calls the “virtuous circle.”  We not only draw energy from having done something good for someone else, we also get an energy boost from their response;

8612.  R(eckless)I(nvesting)S(ans)K(nowledge);

8613.  Between (the ages of) 25-40, the number one cause of death for men in the Western world is suicide. . . . After 40, it’s (coronary) heart disease;

8614.  If you constantly break your word to yourself, how can you trust yourself?

8615.  Every time you say you’ll do something, but you don’t you lose trust with yourself;

8616.  The “hero” goes into the darkness to find the light;

8617.  The biggest obstacles to your success is your own self-doubt and laziness;

8618.  It is your self-doubt and laziness that define and limit who you are;

8619.  There is no one in your way except you and your doubts;

8620.  Irrational tendencies typically lead to the types of mental constructs that often promote addiction, avoidance, compulsiveness, procrastination, anxiety, depression, shame, guilt, hurt, anger, self-pity or self-blame;

8621.  The idea that success is the only option as anything else will lead to a loss of social standing, love and affection from your support group and the other good things in your life;

8622.  If failure is seen as the worst possible outcome then, when you find yourself dealing with adversity, you will often find yourself more depressed and prone to greater frequency of anxiety or panic attacks than you may otherwise experience.  This often leads to an overall feeling of worthlessness that makes it difficult or even impossible to complete otherwise minor tasks;

8623.  Ben Franklin started the first mutual (fire) insurance company in the English colonies/future U.S.;

8624.  Top performers understand that getting distracted is human nature.  They accept it’s going to happen and they don’t beat themselves up when it does;

8625.  Indulge distraction then refocus twice as hard;

8626.  Productivity is not simply being busy.  Anyone can (be) and stay busy.  Being productive means moving the ball toward the goal line efficiently and effectively.  Being busy, on the other hand, can mean running around in circles and making no meaningful progress toward your goal;

8627.  Prioritize your work.  Time is a limited commodity and every choice has an opportunity cost.  Productivity hinges on setting priorities;

8628.  Don’t bite off more than you can chew.  Set proper expectations for yourself.  Don’t load up your schedule with a bunch of tasks especially if they’re not important.  Focus on one big ticket item each day;

8629.  Batch your tasks which simply means putting the same tasks together to reduce the transition time of your brain from switching between tasks.  For example, do send and answer all emails during a single block of time.  Make all your phone calls during another block of time;

8630.  Increasing productivity not only means more effectively getting things done, it means having more time for the things that matter most to you and having less stress and more happiness too;

8631.  Everything worthwhile is uphill. . . . Sadly, many people have uphill hopes and downhill habits;

8632.  Nothing that is good in life comes easy. . . . And very little that comes easy is good;

8633.  The (touring) pianist for “The Lumineers” (i.e., Stelth Ulvang) plays barefoot;

8634.  How do you know it’s not your day to hike?  The answer is: When the 4-wheel drive vehicle ahead of you slides on around on the road on the way to the trail;

8635.  Handjob in a cabin hot tub . . . check . . . fingering in a cabin hot tub . . . (double) check . . . sex in a cabin hot tub . . . (triple) check;

8636.  More is lost by indecision than wrong decision.  Indecision is the thief of opportunity.  It will steal you blind;

8637.  Apparently, seniors (seem to) like Cracker Barrel (Old Country Store);

8638.  Fried apples is just apple pie without the crust;

8639.  Your words have the power to both create and destroy.  The words we choose build our own reality and the reality of those around us.  Be thoughtful about what you say.  You have great power in your speech that can unleash a forceful fury that can create, tear down, build, heal or hurt;

8640.  Every time you open your mouth is an opportunity to stay true to yourself and what you value or an opportunity to stray from that path;

8641.  If you’re looking to feed a family of 4 for $5.00 or less a meal, (you might want to) try the recipes at “$5 Dinners” (5DollarDinners.com/recipes)

8642.  Chocolate chess pie tastes like a (fluffier, less dense) brownie;

8643.  Metered parking goes until 10:00 PM (Monday through Saturday) in D.C.;

8644.  Joey Genetti is (pretty) tall;

8645.  According to Lily Kershaw, the dressing rooms at the Pie Shop (PieShopDC.com) in D.C. are glamorous (not really);

8646.  Lily Kershaw is Sansa Stark’s (i.e., Sophie Turner) go-to sad music;

8647.  If you’re interested, you will do what is convenient; if you’re committed, you’ll do whatever it takes;

8648.  Anger can help you to either hide the pain that you are dealing with or it can be used to channel that feeling over to someone else.  It is pretty common that angry people will just lash out because it helps them to let off some steam;

8649.  When people experience something and they think that it is unpleasant, it will often invoke an angry response;

8650.  There are some people who may have gone through a bad experience in the past.  There are some people who are still going through those bad experiences today.  As a means of helping them to deal with these unpleasant times, they always resort to directing their anger towards another person;