Meaningful Mondays - Arrows Out

When the Ice is Real but the Emotion is Gone

But here’s the thing—character doesn’t just show up in heroic moments. It shows up in keeping your word… even when it’s inconvenient and even when it is only to you.

Character is the ability to carry out a worthwhile decision once the emotion of making that decision has passed.

Scooters Wall

"A new identity doesn't erase the past. It reclaims the future."
- Lee Brower

"I am not what I used to be, not what I ought to be, and not what I am going to be, but I am thankful I am not what I used to be."
- Coach John Wooden

A Standby Moment

The image was fake. The "bias" was real. The truth was different.

"Bias is like a weed. It starts out small. But left to its own, it grows deep, spreads wide, and quietly chokes out better thoughts."
— Lee Brower

"We do not see things as they are, we see them as we are."
— Anaïs Nin
(our perspective is often colored by internal bias- unless we pause and we pivot.)

"The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge."
— Stephen Hawking

"Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate."
— Carl Jung
( e.g. biPas™-- pausing to recognize and redirect unconscious bias.)

"What is not named cannot be transformed."
— Dr. Edith Eger, Holocaust survivor and psychologist.
(Supports making 'Standby Moment' an asset, not just an anecdote.)

"Just This Once..."

"Small choices make big ripples."

"What would your future self say about that choice?"

"Just this once" leads to convenience. "No matter what" leads to conviction. Conviction leads to character.

“It’s easier to hold to your principles 100% of the time than it is to hold to them 98%.”
— Clayton Christensen

Can you name two of the most powerful words a mother can utter?

Mothers are the nurturers of the world.

“Motherhood isn’t just about biology. It’s a calling to nurture, to comfort, to notice someone else’s need and do something about it.”

The Ripple of a "mother-hearted" life doesn’t ask, “Are you mine?” It simply says, “You matter.”

No Wings - No Problem

“When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.”
– Viktor E. Frankl

“Comparison is the thief of joy.”
– Theodore Roosevelt

"Joy begins where comparison ends."
– Lee Brower

Don't Look Back - a handwritten poem by Coach John Wooden

"You can't live a perfect day without doing something for someone who will never be able to repay you."
--John Wooden

"Things turn out for the people who make the best of the way things turn out."
--John Wooden

"The meaning of life is to give life meaning."
-- Viktor Frankl

The 3 E's of Self Respect

"Respect isn't earned from self-sacrifice. It is learned through self-respect." Genuine respect - both from yourself and others - begins with honoring your own worth first. Respect yourself first; everything else is attracted to that strength.

CHALLENGE: "What is one small choice I can make today -- when no one else is watching -- that strengthens the evidence of my self-respect?"

I bet you don't know where John Wooden displayed the Presidential Medal of Freedom

“The crowds on earth, they soon forget, the heroes of the past, they cheer like mad until you fall. And that’s how long you last.”

"Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are."
- Coach John Wooden

The world praises performance. God celebrates presence. The world gives you a spotlight. God invites you to serve in the shadows.
- Lee Brower

Let's stack the moments that really count. So, here’s the challenge this week:
What am I honoring above the chair rail of my life? What small act of character, compassion, or connection could I do today, even if no one else sees it?

The Little Word that Could

Potential is the seed, motion is what makes it grow.

"Just" helps us get into motion. It turns resistance into willingness. It brings you into the "NOW". It is how "Arrows Out" begins: Just notice. Just ask; Just give. What is "just" one thing you can do today that will create ripples of impact?" Just...!