On-the-spot thinking Flashcards
Lust is the craving for salt of a man who is dying of thirst.” — Unknown
What does this metaphor suggest about human desires and their consequences?
“The unexamined life is not worth living.” — Socrates
Why is self-reflection considered essential for a fulfilling life?
“You don’t have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great.” — Zig Ziglar
What does this quote teach us about taking the first step, even if we’re unsure?
“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” — Aristotle
What does this mean about our daily choices and their impact on our future?
“Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson
Why is embracing uncertainty and creating your own path seen as a form of courage?
“The only way to deal with this life meaningfully is to find one’s passion.” — Friedrich Nietzsche
How can passion shape your life choices and direction?
“Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.” — Rumi
What are the ‘barriers’ within you that prevent deeper connections with others?
“Happiness is not something ready-made. It comes from your own actions.” — Dalai Lama
How can we shift our mindset to take responsibility for creating our own happiness?
“The only limits in our life are those we impose on ourselves.” — Bob Proctor
What limits have you unknowingly placed on yourself, and how can you overcome them?
“What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals.” — Zig Ziglar
How do your goals shape your personal growth, beyond just the outcomes?
“What you do speaks so loudly that I cannot hear what you say.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson
What does this tell you about the importance of actions over words? How can you apply this in your own life?
“Life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans.” — John Lennon
How does this perspective change the way we view control and the unexpected in life?
“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” — African Proverb
What is the balance between independence and collaboration in achieving long-term success?
“You can’t cross the sea merely by standing and staring at the water.” — Rabindranath Tagore
What does this say about the necessity of action in achieving any significant goal?
“The more I know, the more I realize I know nothing.” — Socrates
What does this say about the nature of wisdom and intellectual humility?
“A bird sitting on a tree is never afraid of the branch breaking, because her trust is not in the branch, but in her own wings.” — Unknown
What does this say about self-reliance and trust? How can you apply this idea to your own life?
“Don’t count your chickens before they hatch.”
How does this relate to managing expectations and the risks of premature optimism? What’s the balance between planning ahead and being overly hopeful?
“A rolling stone gathers no moss.”
Does constant movement prevent growth, or is it about adaptability and the need for change? Can stability and growth coexist?
“A stitch in time saves nine.”
How does this reflect the importance of preventing problems early? Can some things really be fixed by taking quick action, or does it depend on the situation?
“The tongue is but three inches long, yet it can kill a man six feet high.”
What does this say about the power of words and communication? How can something so small and simple cause such great harm, and what responsibility comes with speaking?
“A wise man hears one word and understands two.”
How does this reflect the value of listening and understanding? What does it mean to “read between the lines” and grasp deeper meanings?
“A bird does not sing because it has an answer. It sings because it has a song.”
What is the difference between seeking answers and expressing oneself? Is the act of expression more important than finding the solution?
Three people need to cross a river. They have a boat, but only two people can row it at a time. One of the people is a child who can’t row. The other two people are adults. How do they all get across the river?
The adults row across, one comes back, the other adult rows across again, bringing the child back, then both adults row across together.
You are in a room with three light switches. Each switch controls one of three light bulbs in another room. You can only enter the room with the bulbs once. How do you figure out which switch controls which bulb?
Turn one switch on for a few minutes, then turn it off. Turn the second switch on and leave the third off. The bulb that’s off and warm is the first, the one that’s on is the second, and the third bulb is the last.
