As I mentioned last week, I’m reserving my weekend posts for things that inspire me.
From quotes I personally have on my wall to moments that inspire action, I’ll post them on the weekends.
So here’s an ounce of inspiration for today:
“Always will I strive to be greater than I am. I must SURPASS MYSELF. In each successive act, test, encounter, thought, I will BE GREATER than in the one previous. I am what I am now; but in an hour I must be more than I am now. In everything must I exert MORE POWER TO SURPASS MYSELF.”
What does it mean to you?
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August 31st, 2008 (comment#1)
yeah, this is a very nice quote. I think if we exceed ourselves in whatever it is, we can find ever more joy and pleasure in life, because we’re able to “bear” this joy. It is like when you have a cup of water, it can only contain as much water as the size of the cup can bear.
If we exceed in something, our awareness of this something expands too (for example, if you exceed in playing a piece of music, you become aware of ever more details of this piece you haven’t seen before) and this leads to greater consciousnes and therefore more responsibility but also more pleasure and freedom (becouse of the + of possibilitys to choose from) in life. The responsibility for example is because, when you exceed in your job and you become promoted, you inevitably have more responsibilitys in your job than if you stick to playing your old tune over and over again (to give an example everyone can relate to).
(sorry for my English, I am from Germany)
August 31st, 2008 (comment#2)
I am a quote fanatic and have fallen hard for this quote. It immediately made itself at home in one of my notebooks I call “quotebooks.” Thanks for the great slap of motivation!
August 31st, 2008 (comment#3)
@Peter: Right on!
@Joi: Did you already know this quote or you just added it? Like you, I love quotes too. If rehearsed regularly and digested (what they call “autosuggestion”), they can actually lead to real subconscious change that invokes action!
August 31st, 2008 (comment#4)
Also, what this quote means to me is:
We should always strive to be better… in every part of our life. Even when bad things happen (”tests”), we should look for something that can help us to grow and be better. And when these encounters reoccur, we should look to surpass ourselves (in how we deal with them, in how we allow them to change our states/moods, how we cope/overcome).
I think it gets really good when it says “I am what I am now, but in an hour I must be more than I am now.” That suggests microimprovements (haha, I think I made that up)… just little things you can improve on. If one has a cursing problem, try to be conscious of it. If one tends to judge people negatively at first impression, try to be impartial when looking at other people because we don’t know what they’ve been through or who they are under their first impressions. If one is a chronic procrastinator, try to get up and finally do the thing you’ve been pushing back. In an hour, try to be better than you are now… I love it! :)
JG