Understanding Is A Two-Way Street. Here Is Why

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Eleanor Roosevelt famously said, “Understanding is a two-way street.” What does this quote mean to you? To me, it means understanding is knowing, not judging. If you want to know people, don’t judge them, know them. If you want to know yourself better, don’t judge yourself, know yourself.

You find it difficult to even know who you are because you never stop judging yourself. If you want to help yourself, your life, your family, stop judging yourself and start celebrating who you are. You can judge yourself all you want. But one thing will not change: “Who you are.”

Stay away from judging people. Stay away from judging yourself. Because judgement prevents you from knowing people. It doesn’t tell you the whole story about them. Before you judge people, try to understand them. Try to understand where they have been, where they are, why they do what they do, and where they are going. People have different stories. Our stories are not the same. If you want to hear people’s stories, listen to them.

Understanding brings peace and harmony.”

You cannot do that without understanding yourself. The real understanding starts with you. It starts at home. Greatness begins at home. Understanding brings people together. And judgement separates people. If you want to know people, understand them. Do not judge them. Mother Teresa said, “If you judge people, you have no time to love them.” If you want to love people, understand them. If you want to love yourself, understand yourself. You cannot love yourself if you don’t understand who you really are. Love connects. Judgement separates. Love heals. Judgement kills. If you want to grow your life, it starts with understanding what you want out of life. It starts with understanding your values. It starts with understanding your emotions. And it starts with understanding your life.

If you want to know others, understand yourself. You can do it. But it will take time.

If You Want To Really Live Your Life, You Must Stop Preparing To Live

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Tomorrow will not change if you are not ready to take action today. Preparation is the beginning of growth, but not the end of growth. If you want to change things, prepare to succeed, not to fail. Too much preparation can lead to failure. Because success comes from knowing when to stop preparing. You cannot prepare all your life. It is time to start doing something. Don’t hide your gifts, bring them out. Don’t use preparation to delay your life. It is good to prepare, but don’t prepare forever.

“Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do.”-Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “Tomorrow will be like today. Life wastes itself whilst we are preparing to live.” It is time to start living. Stop preparing for what you already know. Start doing what you have trained yourself to do. Without action, preparation is useless. If you know you are not ready to go to work, why are you getting ready? You get ready, then you go. You prepare, then you act. Remember, “Knowing is not good enough; you must do. You must act. You must apply what you know.” If you want to change yourself, your life, you must act.