Wisdom from winston churchill

Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill was a British Conservative politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. Widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century, he served as Prime Minister twice. Churchill is probably no stranger to anyone. He is famous, more than being a veteran war time British Leader, as a man of very wise saws. He has given some fundamental food for thoughts, for which he will be remembered for centuries. Here are a few of them.

1. Most troubles never happen.

Most things you fear will happen, never happen. They are just monsters in your own mind. And if they happen then they will most often not be as painful or bad as you expected. Worrying is most often just a waste of time.

“When I look back on all these worries, I remember the story of the old man who said on his deathbed that he had had a lot of trouble in his life, most of which had never happened”

2. Focus on what you are doing right now.

 When you start to look too far into the future then any task or project can seem close to impossible. And so you shut down because you become overwhelmed and start surfing the internet aimlessly instead. That is one of the reasons why it is good to plan for the future but then to shift your focus back to today and the present moment.

“It is a mistake to look too far ahead. Only one link in the chain of destiny can be handled at a time.”

“It is always wise to look ahead, but difficult to look further than you can see.”

3. Be an optimist.

Focusing on what helps you sure makes a huge difference compared to if you keep focusing on what is wrong in every situation or what makes you more of a victim. It’s like living in two different worlds. How do you make the shift to a more optimistic attitude? Well, it takes time. But gradually you can change it.

“The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.”

“Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference.”

“I am an optimist. It does not seem too much use being anything else.”

4. Be concerned about action.

Taking action, sometimes, can lead to failure, rejection or making mistakes. There is always a risk! But if you stay in inaction then you are pretty much guaranteed that nothing will change or improve. How can you improve your action habit though? Three tips:

 ◦Reconnect- with the present moment...

◦Lighten up...

◦Start small.

“I never worry about action, but only about inaction”

5. Don’t give up.

Since society often tells us to look for quick fixes it’s easy to make the mistake of giving up too soon after you have failed perhaps 1-5 times. That’s the “normal” thing to do. But what could have happened if someone just kept going after that? And for each failure learned more and more about what works? People often make a mistake of giving up too early. Your mind probably has a reasonable time-frame for success. This might not correspond to a realistic time-frame though.

It’s useful to take a break from advertised perspectives and let more realistic perspectives seep into your mind. Learn from people who have gone where you want to go. Talk to them. Read what they have to say in books or online. This will not give complete plan but a clearer perspective of what is needed to achieve what you want.

“Continuous effort – not strength or intelligence – is the key to unlocking our potential”

“If you’re going through hell, keep going.”