Faith and Doubt

in a Culture of Disbelief

  • Home
  • About
  • Milestones
  • Contact

7 Lessons from Dr. Seuss

April 1, 2013 Leave a Comment

Share this post:

Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on LinkedInShare on Email

Lorax1)  “Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind.”

Author Raymond Hull said, “He who trims himself to suit everyone will soon whittle himself away.” But Dr. Seuss takes it beyond people pleasing. He’s saying we must learn to offend the right people. One measure of your influence may be that you’re offending the right people.

2)   “You’ll miss the best things if you keep your eyes shut.”

Socrates put it this way:

“An unexamined life is not worth living.” One reason we keep our eyes shut may be the discomfort of seeing things in ourselves in need of change.  Once we do, however, we can get back to saying what we feel with more confident authenticity and less blind-spotted drivel.   

3)   “A person’s a person no matter how small.”

I find many people dismiss this fact: You only love as much as the one you love the least. It’s easy to love the lovable when they’re lovable.  Consider what you think of people who love you when you are UNlovable. Do you want that kind of character? Loving the one you love least enlarges our capacity to love unconditionally.  It’s the reason behind  this famous saying: “As you have done it unto the least of these, you have done it unto me.”

4)    Sometimes you’ll play…games you can’t win ’cause you’ll play  against you.

Sometimes we are our own worst enemy. We tend to hit the panic button when someone takes a swipe at our slice of pie. We’re quick to push back. Bad messages we receive are not always intended and seldom admitted when they are intended. In either case, we become faulted by our reaction. In the end, we find ourselves at odds with ourselves. Better to bite your lip at least one more day. “The truth will out.”

5)   “Don’t cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened.”

It took the poet Tennyson many years after losing his dear friend to admit to himself: “I hold it true, whate’er befall; I feel it when I sorrow most; ‘Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.”

6)    Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.

As Jefferson said, “A little rebellion now and then is a good thing.”     

 7)   The writer who breeds more words than he needs, is making a chore for the reader who reads.

As Shakespeare said,”Brevity is the soul of wit.”  

 

 

 

Related

Filed Under: Personal Growth Tagged With: Dr. Seuss Quotes

Subscribe to Faith and Doubt

Subscribe to Faith and Doubt today and receive a free copy of Milestones.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Who is Behind Faith and Doubt?

Tim FilstonTriplets+1 Dad. Smokies trout stalker. Spandex warrior. Comforting the afflicted and afflicting the comfortable.
More about Tim.

FacebookLinkedInTwitter

Get updates from Faith and Doubt by email!


Subscribe to Faith and Doubt today and receive a free copy of Milestones.

Main Topics

  • Personal Growth
  • Relationships
  • Leadership
  • News & Culture
  • Tough Questions
  • Great Reads

Latest Tweets

  • Great research on GenZ and distrust of institutions by @WeAreSpringtide. @EPChurch

    June 23, 2022 4:47 PM

  • What is Juneteenth? Read here: buff.ly/3kpZRWr

    June 19, 2022 11:15 AM

  • Bad week? Maybe you could use a couple magic words... www.faithanddoubt.com/personal…

    June 17, 2022 11:54 AM

Facebook

Facebook

RSS Featured Links

  • 3 Foundational Truths for Creation Care
  • Pouring Yourself Out vs. Wearing Yourself Out
  • Speeding in Opposite Directions: ‘Lightyear’ and ‘Maverick’
  • Even Video Games Teach Us to Rest
  • 3 Ways to Sympathize with Women Considering an Abortion

Latest Tweets

  • Great research on GenZ and distrust of institutions by @WeAreSpringtide. @EPChurch

    June 23, 2022 4:47 PM

  • What is Juneteenth? Read here: buff.ly/3kpZRWr

    June 19, 2022 11:15 AM

RSS Leadership tips from Tony Morgan

Recent Posts

  • “Just Because.” Magic words.
  • How to win people, not just arguments
  • Earning the right to be heard

all content © 2022 by Tim Filston | Design by Robin Cornett