Ray’s Daily
September 7, 2022
You may be disappointed if you fail, but you are doomed if you don’t try.
Beverly Sills
Ray’s Daily first published on September 7, 2005
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I think way too many of us either just go with the flow or use others as an excuse for our own inaction. Someone sent me this reminder that we really are in control of more than we like to admit.
The 10 Things in Life You Control
There are just a few aspects of life that we can truly control, and it’s useful to know just what those areas are. If you don’t know, you’ll spend a lot of time blaming others for your own failings.
The 10 things in life that you DO control:
1. What you do.
Your actions are yours alone. You choose to make them or not make them and you are responsible for the effects of those actions.
2. What you say.
Likewise, the words you speak (or write) are also consciously chosen. Like actions, they have an impact on your life and the lives of those you contact.
3. What you think.
Yes, there are some subconscious thoughts that you can’t control. But the things that you really think about, your beliefs, your ideals, etc. are concepts you have chosen to accept and believe in.
4. Your work.
Many people like to overlook this one, it being much easier to say “Oh, I’m trapped in my job because I don’t have a degree, experience, etc.” Hogwash! That’s simple a way of denying one’s responsibility in having chosen the job in the first place. It’s your job and you chose it. If you stay (or go), that’s a choice as well.
5. The people you associate with.
There’s a famous t-shirt that states: “It’s hard to soar like an eagle when you’re surrounded by turkeys.” Colloquial is very often correct! Your friends can either lift you up or bring you down. You make the decision which type of friends you wish to have.
6. Your basic physical health.
Much about our health is a factor of genetics, environment, and exposure. Much more of our health is simply a matter of the things we choose: diet, exercise, drugs, sleep, routine physicals, check-ups, etc.
7. The environment you live in.
Your house, the condition of your home, the town you live in, the amenities available to you are all things you can control, although some to a lesser degree (i.e., you decide to tolerate them or move someplace else).
8. Your fiscal situation.
Having or not having enough money is a factor of what you make versus what you spend.
9. Your time.
You choose how to “spend” your time and how much of your time to give to various activities. You’ll never get more time than the 24 hours your given each day.
10. Your legacy.
All your actions, words, and knowledge that you share while you are living become the gift that you leave when you are gone.
Jim M. Allen, personal & business success coach.
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A ship in port is safe, but that’s not what ships are built for.
Adm. Grace Murray Hopper
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We encouraged our 18-year-old daughter to find a job to help pay for her college education. One day she came home with five applications, and later that evening we read them.
Under “Previous Employment,” she listed “Baby-sitting.” And under “Reason for Leaving” she wrote, “They came home.”
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Loving someone means helping them to be more themselves, which can be different from being what you’d like them to be, although often they turn out the same.
Merle Shain
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Father Murphy was playing golf with a parishioner. On the first hole, he sliced into the rough. His opponent heard him mutter, “Hoover!” under his breath.
On the second hole, the ball went straight into a water hazard. “Hoover!” again, a little louder this time.
On the third hole, a miracle occurred & Fr. Murphy’s drive landed on the green only six inches from the hole! “Praise be to God!”
He carefully lined up the putt, but the ball curved around the hole instead of going in. “HOOVER!!!!”
By this time, his opponent couldn’t withhold his curiosity any longer, & asked why the priest said “Hoover”.
“It’s the biggest dam I know.”
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Nothing ruins a class reunion like someone who has managed to stay young-looking and get rich at the same time.
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Children’s Creative Musings about Science!
* To explain nuclear reactions, one child said, “When they broke open molecules, the found they were only stuffed with atoms. But when they broke open atoms, they found them stuffed with explosions.”
* Concerning astronomy, one child said, “Most books now say our sun is a star. But it still knows how to change back into a sun in the day-time.” And another said, “Some people can tell what time it is by looking at the sun. But I have never been able to make out the numbers.”
* “Vacuums are nothings,” said a young physics student. “We only mention them to let them know we know they’re there.”
* “Evaporation gets blamed for a lot of things people forget to put the top on,” one child observed.
* “Rain is often known as soft water, oppositely known as hail,” reported a budding meteorologist. Another added, “Thunder is a rich source of loudness.”
* Other children added these observations: “Isotherms and isobars are even more important than their names sound.” And, “It is so hot in some places that the people there have to live in other places.” And, “The wind is like the air, only pushier.”
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“I think animal testing is a terrible idea; they get all nervous and give the wrong answers.”
Joseph Blosephina
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A small, uncertain, and nervous witness was being cross-examined.
The lawyer thundered, “Have you ever been married?”
“Yes, sir,” said the witness in a low voice. “Once.”
“Whom did you marry?” the lawyer demanded.
“Well, a woman,” the witness answered timidly.
The lawyer said angrily, “Of course you married a woman. Did you ever hear of anyone marrying a man?”
And the witness said meekly, “My sister did.”
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“The best car safety device is a rear-view mirror with a cop in it.”
Dudley Moore
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Nancy, whose daughter had just given birth to a beautiful, healthy baby, showed up for a lunch date looking less cheerful than Jill expected.
“What’s wrong,” Jill asked. “Are you depressed by the fact that you’re a grandmother?”
Nancy responded with a barely perceptible smile. “No,” she said. “It’s just that I’m not crazy about having to sleep with a grandfather.”
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Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
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Management is not responsible for duplicates from previous dailies. The editor is somewhat senile.
Ray’s Daily has been sent for more than twenty years to people who want to start their day on an upbeat. If you have system overload because of our daily clutter, let me know and I will send you the information via mental telepathy. If you have not been getting our daily you can request to be added by e-mailing me at raykiwsp@comcast.net. Back issues are posted at http://rays-daily,com/ currently there are hundreds of readers from around the world.
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