Quotes- What do they do for you?

Scanning through the craziness on FaceBook this morning, I ran across a thought provoking statement by Edie Galley… her statement was, “Quotes- could they be holding you back?”

Hmmmmm… It caught my attention.

I went on to read an excellent article in which she is talking about the quotes we hear as children and some as adults that tend to stifle our growth. The examples she gives are “don’t get to big for your britches” and “girls should be seen and not heard”. There are so many of these types of quotes that to list them all would take way too long to write and read. You have heard them and they can be damaging and stunt our personal development.

When I first read Edie’s statement though, I went a totally different direction and wondered if the “good” quotes were holding us back as well. There are many positive, life affirming quotes out there that hit home and motivate us to step into the life we are supposed to live, the life we are made for, our purposeful life. However, we sometimes spend so much time looking for the next quote that will make us smile, give us goose-bumps or make as say “wow” and “aha” that we get lost in the search and never put them into practice. Like any other thing in this world, we stand the chance of becoming addicted if not careful.

I am a personal growth junkie…there I said it. When we spend all of our energies relying on or leaning on one thing, we are using it as a crutch and stand a chance of getting bogged down and getting stuck. We can only live by relying on the addiction. Since I have owned up to being a junkie to personal growth, I will stick with me for this example. If I allow myself, I can become so caught up in the personal growth world that I make no forward steps to live what I learn. I get so stuck in the ”getting ready for growth” mode that I will not make a forward movement until I snap out of the illusion of getting ready for the perfect life. It really is an illusion as the most perfect, fulfilling and enjoyable life tends to be the one that is flexible and adapts to all that pops up in our path.

The same happens with quotes. The perfect quote hits us and instead of using it as a motivation to get out and make positive steps in our life, we look for the next quote that will back up the first one. We use quotes as a way of expressing ourselves when all we are really doing is expressing someone else and their thoughts. We sometimes tend to lose our own identity by letting quotes answer for us. In some cases we use quotes as a weapon to show how much further advanced we are than a co-worker or spouse or anyone else as far as that goes. We often see a quote and say, ”if Johnny only knew this he would be so much better off.” “Barbara could really stand to hear this one” and then off we go to throw the quote out and another war begins. People who are really good at the quote wars will add zing to the quote by stating the author. Mark Twain said, “If you find yourself in a hole, stop digging.” We have just told the other person they created all of the problems and troubles they are in and they need to stop it.

Now, please do not get me wrong, I am a fan of quotes. I actually spend time some days creating quotes of my own in hopes they will add value to someone’s life or inspire them to make a positive change in their life. Whether you are addicted to quotes or not, when you hear one, internalize it, try it on for size and if it fits let it be a guide to your positive growth.

If you are a quote fan, see my facebook page at www.facebook.com/unlimitedreality.net or look through the thousands of quote groups on facebook, twitter and elsewhere in the social media world.

Kenny Brixeyr
Life Coach, Team Building Facilitator