Thursday, January 8, 2026

Close to home

What you despise in anyone else is in you too. That’s how you know it well enough to despise it.

Your abhorrence is there not to make you hate the other person. It is there to encourage you in avoiding what you find so distasteful in that person.

You have pretty much no control over most other people. What you absolutely can control are your own choices, words, and actions.

By far, the best place to right any wrong is in your own life, with your own priorities and activities from day to day. Remind yourself often to invest your energy close to home, where it will do the most good.

It’s easy to become outraged by the actions of others, but outrage alone will not accomplish anything positive. Challenge yourself to look deeper, to identify how you can transform that outrage into good and useful actions.

It’s important to notice what’s wrong, but not helpful to be consumed by disapproval. Decide instead to be inspired by positive purpose.

— Ralph Marston

Positive and realistic       

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