Susan's Place Transgender Resources

Feel free to add your own. :) I've found that all these quotes have spoken to me during my transition and some still do.


"Someone I loved once gave me a box full of darkness. It took me years to understand that this too was a gift." - Mary Oliver

"No one can tell what goes on in between the person you were and the person become. No one can chart that blue and lonely section of hell. There are no maps of the change. You just come out the other side. Or you don't." - Stephen King

"Sometimes you have to step outside of the person you've been and remember the person you were meant to be. The person you want to be. The person you are." - H.G. Wells

"The most creative act you will ever undertake is the act of creating yourself." - Deepak Chopra

"You must strive to find your own voice because the longer you wait to begin the less likely you are to find it at all." - Robin Williams

"No relationship is ever a waste of time. If it didn't bring you what you want, it taught you how to handle unwanted things." - Anon.

Peter, these are the years when a man changes into the man he's going to be for the rest of his life. Just be careful who you change into. - Uncle Ben - Spider-man 2002
Pansy

Don't be afraid to be weak
Don't be too proud to be strong
Just look into your heart my friend
That will be the return to yourself
The return to innocence.
Lyrics for Return to Innocence By Enigma

A ship in the harbor is safe.

But that is not what ships are meant for.

Only way to do it is your way

"We all change. When you think about it; we're all different people, all through our lives. And that's okay, that's good. You gotta keep moving. So long as you remember all the people that you used to be. I will not forget one line of this, not one day. I swear." - Matt Smith as the 11th Doctor prior to regeneration into the 12th.

For some reason this made me bawl this morning. Really hit home and I had to run here and share it.

Kami

"There will be haters, there will be doubters, there will be non-believers, and then there will be you, proving them wrong." - Anon

"Family isn't always blood. It's the people in your life who want you in theirs. The ones who accept you for who you are. The ones who would do anything to see you smile, and who love you no matter what." - Anon

"Keep going. You are getting there." - Anon

"Selfishness is not living as one wishes to live, it is asking others to love as one wishes to live." - Oscar Wilde

"The greatest things you'll regret in life are the things you don't do." - Hugh Jackman

"What is really hard, and really amazing, is giving up on being perfect and beginning the work of becoming yourself." -- Anna Quindlen.

"Be brave. Take risks. Nothing can substitute experience." - Anon

"The first step towards getting somewhere is to decide that you are not going to stay where you are." - Anon

"Sometimes you have to do what's best for you and your life, not what's best for everybody else." - Anon

"When one door closes, another opens; but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one that has opened for us."  - Alexander Graham Bell

"When the wrong people leave your life, the right things start happening." - Anon

"Never run back to whatever broke you." - Anon

Quote from: Hanazono on November 24, 2014, 04:05:44 AM
逆水行舟，不进则退

the boat going upstream must advance or it will be pushed backwards

是的! 正确的你说 :)

Gotta love those short but eloquent idioms :).

"Don't wait. The time will never be just right."  - Mark Twain

"All frustrations are self-induced. The outside world can invite us to become upset, but we ultimately accept the invitation." - Anon

"Never give up on a dream just because of the time it will take to accomplish it. The time will pass anyway." - Earl Nightingale

"Never let your fear decide your future." - Anon

"The hardest battle you are ever going to have to fight is the battle to just be you." - Leo Buscaglia

Quote from: Nicole on November 20, 2014, 05:52:51 PM
Only way to do it is your way

Yes. I'm doing it MY way.

"If you don't go after what you want, you'll never have it. If you don't ask, the answer is always no. If you don't step forward, you're always in the same place." - Nora Roberts

"If you're brave enough to say goodbye, life will reward you with a new hello." - Paul Coehlo

"Close some doors. Not because of pride, incapacity, or arrogance, but simply because they no longer lead somewhere." - Anon

"Stop being afraid of what could go wrong and start being positive about what could go right." - Anon

"One day, you will wake up and there won't be any more time to do the things you've always wanted. Do it now." - Paul Coehlo

"Don't let your history interfere with your destiny." - Dr. Steve Maraboli

"You've been criticizing yourself for years and it hasn't worked. Try approving of yourself and see what happens." - Louise Hay

"Sometimes you have to let go and see what happens." - Anon

"Be yourself; because an original is worth more than a copy." -Anon

"In any given moment we have two options: step forward into growth or to step back into safety" - Abraham Maslow

My thoughts for today are that I've already eaten too much turkey/food yesterday. And it 's time to get back on my diet.  I'm going to color my hair today, try on a lot of dresses in my closet to build some nicer outfits & get ready for a lunch date with my electro lady next week. She is going to make me over the way she thinks looks best & she is also giving me some of her older shoes & boots since we are the same shoe size.

Long holiday weekend, but more thoughts!

"You are a hurricane of a girl; remember to breathe every once and a while, do not drown within your own storm." - Anon

"You can't force people to stay in your life. Staying is a choice, so be thankful for people who choose you." - Anon

"To create space for new experiences, one needs to clear out the old." - Diane Adkins

"You are confined only by the walls you build yourself." - Anon

"Stop being afraid of what could go wrong and start being positive about what could go right." - Anon

I am not so keen on quotations, as most of them are dead negatives.

Do this, do that. But sometimes circumstances do not allow for it to happen. I am a product of my history, an accumulation of what I have been taught and experienced, good or bad.

I don't take them as rules but as positive affirmations.

i.e. "You are confined only by the walls you build yourself." - Anon

I don't see that as an absolute rule but it echoes true with myself and I know with many other trans people. We built walls and let ourselves be confined behind them, believing in the walls instead of ourselves.

I'm not trying to tell people to "do this" or "do that" but to affirm, that throughout human endeavors, not just with trans people, that we all struggle, we all need positive affirmations, and we all should have faith in ourselves, our own hearts, and to try to be ourselves, above all else.

For today. I'm dissapointed that my body shape has not changed much & that I still do not any real hips or smaller waist........ I want to go into the plastic surgeon for liposuction of all old "male" fat.......so he can improve my body to a nicer feminine shape. I know the doc can do this & we have discussed it before but I'm just scarred to get cut again, the expense & the time to heal up after surgery. So just eating Subway & hoping HRT will help change my body normally even though I know it will not. So maybe soon I will gather the courage to get put under & let my doc improve my body as he did my face. He does excellent work.

"Never give up, great things take time." - Anon

"There will be many chapters in your life. Don't get lost in the one you are in now." - Anon

"Old ways won't open new doors." - Anon

"I literally have to remind myself all the time, that being afraid of things going wrong isn't the way to make things go right." - Anon

"It doesn't matter how this looks to other people. If this is something you gotta do, then you do it. Fighters fight." - Rocky Balboa

"Look closely at the present you are constructing. It should look like the future you are dreaming." - Alice Walker

"May the space between where I am and where I want to be inspire me." - Tracee Ellis Ross

"Be stubborn about your goals but flexible about your methods." - Anon

"Hardships often prepare ordinary people for an extraordinary destiny." - C.S. Lewis

"You can't reach for anything new if your hands are still full of yesterday's work." - Louise Smith

"Being negative only makes a difficult journey more difficult. You may be given a cactus, but you don't have to sit on it." - Joyce Meyer

"When writing the story of your life, don't let anyone else hold the pen." - Harley Davidson

"I believe that when you realize who you really are, you understand that nothing can stop you from becoming that person." - Christine Lincoln

"Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time." - Thomas Alva Edison

"Anything's possible if you've got enough nerve." - J.K. Rowling

Quote from: LizMarie on December 05, 2014, 10:02:54 AM
"When writing the story of your life, don't let anyone else hold the pen." - Harley Davidson

I think this is really pertinent. Too often have transgender stories been told when the person holding the pen doesn't really understand.

My thought for today;

Never think you know how things will turn out, you may be pleasantly surprised.

Oh, and an extra thought is;

The best friends you have may be miles away, that doesn't make them any less best.

Two thoughts from one of the kings of horror. The second for me right now is the most powerful

"The scariest moment is always just before you start" - Stephen King

"You can, you should, and if you're brave enough to start, you will" - Stephen King

I started on the Atkins low carb diet yesterday. It's going pretty good but It's not safe to even look at a loaf of bread or a twinkie or even think about a cheeseburger. For me brussels sprouts, carrots, cheese, almond unsweetened milk (yuck), eggs, turkey bacon.........

It's sure safer than liposuction I know, so many I can knock off 20 pounds.

"It doesn't really matter who you used to be. What matters is who you've become." - Robert Tew

"Let go of all that keeps you from living now." - Anon

"Everything you want is on the other side of fear." - Jack Canfield

"Decide. Commit. Succeed." - Tony Horton

"Keep it simple. Keep it honest. Keep it real." - Anon

Today was a nice day. I boiled some shrimp & they were delicious. It is so hard finding foods that are approved by the low carb Atkins diet. All my girl friends are so supportive my diet efforts & enjoying being my close friend as I become one of them, a very nice attractive sexy woman.

"When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it." - Henry Ford

"Ask yourself if what you're doing today is getting you closer to where you want to be tomorrow." - Anon

"Never let your fear decide your fate." - AwolNation (lyrics for "Kill Your Heroes")

"Great things are done by a series of small things brought together." - Vincent Van Gogh

"Sometimes the only way to ever find yourself is to get completely lost." ― Kellie Elmore

I used to be BIG into basketball and took many good things from it...

I can accept failure, everyone fails at something. But I can't accept not trying. - Michael Jordan

"Courage is living by the free will that one creates for themselves, not the life of monotony determined by another." ― Michelle Cruz-Rosado

"You get in life what you have the courage to ask for." - Oprah Winfrey

"You need to understand that life isn't what you're given, it's what you create, what you conquer and what you aim to achieve." - Anon

"Once you become fearless.....Life becomes limitless." - Anon

"Doubt can only be removed by action." - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

"Progress is impossible without change." - George Bernard Shaw

"It's your road and yours alone. Others may walk it with you, but no one can walk it for you." - Sushan R Sharma

"Others may give up on you, but the most important thing is to never give up on yourself." - Anon

"Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase." - Martin Luther King, Jr.

"Even the darkest night will end and the sun will rise." - Victor Hugo

"The dream is free but the hustle is sold separately." - Anon

"I'm on the hunt for who I've not yet become." - Sara Bareilles

"Whatever you believe about yourself on the inside is what you will manifest on the outside." - Anon

"There is no passion to be found in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living." - Nelson Mandela

"Forget all the reasons why it won't work and believe the one reason why it will." - Anon

"The best is yet to be." - Robert Browning

"There is something beautiful about having the chance to rewrite your future." - Anon

"Do not wait until conditions are perfect to begin. Beginning makes the conditions perfect." - Alan Cohen

"Believe you can and you're halfway there." - Theodore Roosevelt

"The secret to change is to focus all of your energy not on fighting the old but on building the new." - Socrates

"You can't start the next chapter if you keep re-reading the last one." - Anon

"Don't let yesterday use up too much of today." – Will Rogers

"If you're still looking for that one person that can change your life, just take a look in the mirror and that person will be looking back at you." - Anon

"Forget it enough to get over it, remember it enough so it doesn't happen again." - Anon

"We either make ourselves miserable or we make ourselves strong. The amount of work is the same." - Carlos Castenada

The worst loneliness is not to be comfortable with yourself. - Mark Twain

You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough - Mae West

To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all -Oscar Wilde

There are two basic motivating forces: fear and love. When we are afraid, we pull back from life. When we are in love, we open to all that life has to offer with passion, excitement, and acceptance. We need to learn to love ourselves first, in all our glory and our imperfections. If we cannot love ourselves, we cannot fully open to our ability to love others or our potential to create. Evolution and all hopes for a better world rest in the fearlessness and open-hearted vision of people who embrace life - John Lennon

"Life has no remote. Get up and change it yourself." - Anon

"The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why." - Mark Twain

"If you don't make the time to work on creating the life you want, you're eventually going to be forced to spend a lot of time dealing with a life you don't want." - Kevin Ngo

"Once you choose hope, anything is possible." - Christopher Reeve

"In the waves of change we find our true direction." - Anon

I would rather attempt something great and fail than attempt nothing and succeed. -paraphrased from Dr. Robert Schuller

"Decide that you want it more than you are afraid of it." - Anon

"Sometimes things take time. Be positive, stay patient, and things will get better." - Anon

"Try not. Do, or do not. There is no try." - Yoda

"Often when you think you are at the end of something, you're at the beginning of something else." - Fred Rogers

"Push yourself because no one else is going to do it for you." - Anon

"It is not the mountain that we conquer, but ourselves." - Edmund Hillary

"Waking up to who tyou are requires letting go of who you imagine yourself to be." - Alan Watts

"People who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it." - George Bernard Shaw

"There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure." - Paul Coelho

"You choose the way you see yourself. Don't let others do the casting." - Anon

"If you want something new, you have to stop doing something old." - Peter F. Drucker

"Nobody succeeds beyond his or her wildest expectations unless he or she begins with some wild expectations." - Ralph Charell

"At times when it seems like your life is not going the way you anticipated, it may just be that things are actually falling into place and you can't quite see the big picture... yet!" - Sherri Bishop

"Live your life. Take chances. Be crazy. Don't wait. Because right now is the oldest you've ever been and the youngest you'll ever be again." - Anon

"A journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step." - Confucius

"When people walk away from you, let them go. Your destiny is never tied to anyone who leaves you, and it doesn't mean they are bad people. It just means that their part in your story is over." ― Tony McCollum

BElieve in
YOUrself

Sometimes you have to have the courage to take risks in order to get reward.

"I'm my own worst critic and I think everyone in the band is a perfectionist" -  Adam Jones (musician)

I love seeing thoughts from others here too!



"Choose the path that your heart leads you on." - Anon

"The mind is a powerful force. It can enslave us or empower us. It can plunge us into the depths of misery or take us to the heights of ecstasy. Learn to use the power wisely." - David Cuschieri

"Stop comparing your behind-the-scenes with everyone else's highlight reel." - Anon

"Sometimes the hardest part isn't letting go but rather learning to start over." - Nicole Sobon

"Take a chance, because you never know how absolutely perfect something could turn out to be." - Anon

"Be careful how you are talking to yourself because you are listening." - Lisa M. Hayes

"Starting today, I need to forget what's gone, appreciate what still remains, and look forward to what's coming next." - Anon

"One reason people resist change is because they focus on what they have to give up, instead of what they have to gain." - Anon

"Do the thing you fear most and the death of fear is certain." - Mark Twain

"I've missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. 26 times I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed." - Michael Jordan

"Your body can stand almost anything. It's your mind that you have to convince." - Anon

"Rule your mind or it will rule you." - Buddha

"The future depends on what we do in the present." - Mahatma Gandhi

"If we wait until we're ready, we'll be waiting for the rest of our lives." Lemony Snicket

"A negative mind will never give you a positive life."- Ziad K. Abdelnour

"Don't be pushed by your problems. Be led by your dreams." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

"To begin any great journey, you must take the first step." - Anon

"He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life." - Muhammad Ali

"Believe in yourself and all that you are. Know that there is something inside you that is greater than any obstacle." - Christian D. Larson

"If you want to fly you have to give up the things that weigh you down." - Anon

"I am an old man and have known a great many troubles but most of them never happened." - Mark Twain

"Life is too short to spend another day at war with yourself" - Anon

"Life has two rules: #1 Never quit. #2 Always remember rule #1." - Duke Ellington

"The past cannot be changed, forgotten, edited, or erased. It can only be accepted." - Anon

"Some people create their own storms then get upset when it rains." - Anon

Are their any qualified surgeons for the mtF GRS in the Southeast US??  Surely with so many people correcting their gender there has to be more surgeons than just the 2 or 3 well known surgeons located in the northern states or Californina. I want to schedule my GRS for 2015 & I'm hopeful for some surgeon located closer to my area, Alabama. Any help or suggestion please post.

I have been fortunate to receive a nice payout from the VA. That will be Abe to cover anything I need.

Where there is a flame
Someone's bound to get burned
But just because it burns
Doesn't mean you're gonna die
You've gotta get up and try

- Pink

"Those who bring sunshine to the lives of others cannot keep it from themselves." - J.M. Barrie

"Owning our story can be hard but not nearly as difficult as spending our lives running from it. Embracing our vulnerabilities is risky but not nearly as dangerous as giving up on love and belonging and joy—the experiences that make us the most vulnerable. Only when we are brave enough to explore the darkness will we discover the infinite power of our light." - Brené Brown

"Hope is the little voice you hear whisper 'maybe' when it seems the entire world is shouting 'no!'" - Anon

"If you want to make a permanent change, stop focusing on the size of your problems and start focusing on the size of you!" - T. Harv Eker

"And once the storm is over, you won't remember how you made it through, how you managed to survive. You won't even be sure, whether the storm is really over. But one thing is certain. When you come out of the storm, you won't be the same person who walked in. That's what this storm's all about." ― Haruki Murakami

"You never know how strong you are until being strong is the only thing you have." - Anon

"Life is a series of thousands of tiny miracles. Notice them." - Anon

"Knowing is not enough, we must apply. Willing is not enough, we must do." - Bruce Lee

"In the end, some of your greatest pains become your greatest strengths." ― Drew Barrymore

"Isn't it funny how day by day nothing changes, but when you look back, everything is different." ― C.S. Lewis

"You cannot evolve unless you are willing to change. You will never better yourself if you always cling to what was." - Anon

"What you need to know about the past is that no matter what has happened, it has all worked together to bring you to this very moment. And this is the moment you can choose to make everything new. Right now." ― Ajay SADH

"Happiness is a direction, not a place." Sydney J. Harris

"We cannot start over, but we can begin now and make a new ending." - Zig Ziglar

"Tomorrow is hte first blank page of a 365 page book. Write a good one!" - Brad Paisley

"Sometimes the smallest step in the right direction ends up being the biggest step of your life. Tip toe if you must, but take the step." - Anon

"Don't let your happiness depend on something you may lose." - C.S. Lewis.

"We don't grow when things are easy, we grow when we face challenges." - Joyce Meyer

"Don't waste your life believing 'I can't.'"

"You have the patience, the strength, and the passion to achieve your ambitions, your goals, and your dreams. All you need to do now is try." - Anon

"Believe you can and you will." - Anon

"Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul and signs the tune without words and never stops at all." - Anon

"Difficult roads often lead to beautiful destinations." - K.D. Rawden

"A bend in the road is not the end of the road, unless you fail to make the turn." ― Helen Keller

"I can't tell you the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everyone." ― Ed Sheeran

" It's not about perfect. It's about EFFORT. When you implement that effort into your life... EVERY SINGLE DAY, that's where transformation happens. That's how change occurs.. KEEP GOING. AND REMEMBER WHY YOU STARTED "

Beautiful thought, Kristina! Thank you!



"Every day is a new chance to start over." - Anon

"The grass is green where you water it." ― Justin Bieber

"When someone else's happiness is your happiness, that is love." - Lana Del Rey

"Sometimes you find yourself in the middle of nowhere, and sometimes, in the middle of nowhere, you find yourself." - Anon

"There is always a way." - Anon

Wow! Justin Bieber getting quoted....I worry for the human race sometimes :D

Even a broken clock (analog) is right twice a day. :P



"If you want to change your life you have to raise your standards." - Tony Robbins

"Having a soft heart in a cruel world is courage, not weakness." ― Katherine Henson

"Don't stumble over something behind you." - Anon

"The first step is the scariest, but there comes a point where you just have to get out there and do it." - Kim Kiyosaki

"The worst thing you can do with disappointment is live with it." - Anon

"Give yourself permission to succeed." - Robin Shea

"Life is too short to start your day with broken pieces of yesterday. It will definitely destroy your wonderful today and ruin your great tomorrow." - Anon

"It's not selfish to love yourself, take care of yourself, and to make your happines a priority. It's necessary." - Mandy Hale

"Move out of your comfort zone. You can only grow if you are willing to feel awkward and uncomfortable when you try something new." - Brian Tracy

"Running away from your problems is a race you'll never win." - Anon

"Don't base your life's decisions on the advice of people who don't have to live with the result." - Anon

"Be yourself; everyone else is already taken." ― Oscar Wilde

"To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment." ― Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Doubt kills more dreams than failure ever will." ― Suzy Kassem

"It all begins and ends in our mind. What you give power to has power over you." - Anon

"The flower that blooms in adversity is the most rare and beautiful of all."   - Mulan

"Yesterday is history, Tomorrow's a mystery, and today is a gift. That's why it's called the present."  - unknown

"You can't should've." - my father

do not try to push the river
Jon Kabat Zinn

"There are only two mistakes one can make along the road to truth; not going all the way and not starting." - Buddha

"You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself, any direction you choose." - Dr. Seuss

"The darkest nights produce the brightest stars." - Anon

"We have many choices in our lives. It is up to us to decide which ones are right for us. Trust your instinct." - Nick Fewing

"No one can make you feel inferior without your consent." - Eleanor Roosevelt

"Stars can't shine without darkness." ― D.H. Sidebottom

"I've already been through hell. So give it your best shot. Not only will I survive, I will win." - Anon

"Sometimes we have to let go of what's killing us, even if it's killing us to let go." - Anon

"Beautiful things happen in your life when you distance yourself from the negative things." - Anon

"Our attitude towards life determines life's attitude towards us." - Earl Nightingale

"Do you have the patience to wait until your mud settles and the water is clear?" - Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

"What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters, compared to what lies within us." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Deep inside you is more strength than you've ever known." - Anon

"At any given moment you have the power to say this is not how the story is going to end." ― M.H.S. Pourri

"Behind the veil of each night, there is a smiling dawn." - Khalil Gibran

"Sometimes stepping outside of the box can help change the view." - Anon

"One small crack does not mean you are broken. It means that you were put to the test and you didn't fall apart." - Linda Poindexter

"If you are always trying to be normal, you will never know how amazing you can be." - Maya Angelou

"Sometimes you have to experience what you don't want in life to come to a full understanding of what you do want." - Mandy Hale

"Sometimes what you are the most afraid of doing is the very thing that will set you free." - Anon

"Out of your vulnerabilities will come your strength." - Sigmund Freud

"You're the driver of your own life. Don't let anyone steal your seat." - Anon

"Success in life comes when you simply refuse to give up, with goals so strong that obstacles, failure, and loss only act as motivation." - Anon

"The mind is like a parachute. It doesn't work unless it's open." ― Jordan Maxwell

"Sometimes on the way to your dream, you get lost and find a better one." ― Lisa Hammond

"If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle." - Sun Tzu

"Don't Panic" Douglas Adams.

"There is an art to flying, or rather a knack. Its knack lies in learning to throw yourself at the ground and miss. ... Clearly, it is this second part, the missing, that presents the difficulties." HHGTTG.

"Whatever you want to do, do it. There's only so many tomorrows." ― Michael Landon Jr.

"It's time now to let go of the past and embrace all that awaits you." - Anon

"Ask yourself what is really important and then have the courage to build your life around your answer." ― John Geiger

"The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be." ― Ralph Waldo Emerson

"When looking back doesn't interest you anymore, you're doing something right." - Anon

"Never try to go back and repair the past which is impossible. But be prepared to constructure the future which is possible." - Anon

"Don't make a permanent decision for your temporary emotion." - Anon

"Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all." - Aristotle

"You can change anything at any point in time. Nothing has to stay the way it currently is." - Anon

"She needed a hero. So she became one." - Anon

Its like I'm falling out of bed
From a long and weary dream
Finally I'm free of all the weight I've been carrying
Falling off the giant bird that's been carrying me
It's like I'm falling out of bed from a long and weary dream
Just exactly as I remember
Every word
Every gesture

Radiohead - Seperator

"Life does not have to be perfect to be wonderful." ― Annette Funicello

"I will not stay silent so you can stay comfortable." - Dina Lapolt

"Old ways won't open new doors." - Anon

"Mourn your losses when you must, but resolve to keep moving." - Anon

"A smooth sea never made a skillful sailor." ― Franklin D. Roosevelt.

"You have power over your mind - not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength." - Marcus Aurelius

"Few are those who see with their own eyes and feel with their own hearts." - Albert Einstein

"You'll never live a true happy life if you always depend on other people to create it for you." - Anon

"Be wise enough to walk away from all the nonsense around you." - Anon

"It's not hard to decide what you want your life to be about. What's hard is figuring out what you're willing to give up in order to do the things you really care about." ― Shauna Niequist

"Truth is available only to those who have the courage to question whatever they have been taught." - Anon

"Failure is the only opportunity to begin again, only this time more wisely." - Henry Ford

"Everyone has gone through something that has changed them in a way they could never go back to the person they once were." - Anon

"Listen to your Own Voice, your Own Soul. Too many people listen to the noise of the world, instead of themselves." - Leon Brown

"The only thing I fear more than change is no change. The business of being static makes me nuts." - Twyla Tharp

"The enemy is fear. We think it is hate, but it is fear." - Ghandi

"What defines us is how well we rise after falling." - Anon

"Never give up on something you really want. It's difficult to wait, but more difficult to regret." - Anon

"Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today. Let us begin." - Mother Theresa

"Never say never because limits, like fears, are often just an illusion." - Michael Jordan

"Purpose is the reason for the journey. Passion is the fire that lights your way." - Anon

"One of the hardest lessons in life is letting go. Whether it's guild, anger, love, loss, or betrayal. Change is never easy. We fight to hold on and we fight to let go." - Anon

"You change for two reasons. Either you learn enough that you want to, or you've been hurt enough that you have to." - Anon

"Sometimes life is about risking everything for a dream no one can see but you." - Anon

"The secret of getting ahead is getting started." Mark Twain

"You don't have to have it all figured out to move forward." - Anon

"What does your heart tell you?" - J.R.R. Tolkien

"If you take another step, and another, you will be surprised to know how far you can go from the point you thought was the end." - Anon

"Today I close the door to my past, open the door to my future, take a deep breath, and step through to a new life." - Anon

"If it doesn't challenge you, it won't change you." ― Peter Voogd

"Refuse to give up, your mistakes don't define you. They don't dictate where you're headed, they remind you." ― T.I. Harris

"Start by doing what's necessary; then do what's possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible." - Francis of Assisi

"You will never be free until you free yourself from the prison of your own false thoughts." - Philip Arnold

"All roads that lead to success have to pass through hard work boulevard at some point." - Anon

"Don't quit. You're already in pain. You're already hurt. Get a reward from it." - Anon

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." ― H. Jackson Brown Jr

"Follow the fire in your heart. Your passion is your purpose." - Anon

"Sometimes you find exactly what you were looking for before you even realized you were looking for it. Stay open. Stay positive. Things can change overnight." - Doe Zantamata

"You will never reach your destination if you stop and throw stones at every dog that barks." - Winston Churchill

"Don't be concerned about reaching your destination. Enjoy the journey and the destination will take care of itself." Jenny Marie

"The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty." ― Winston Churchill

"Don't waste your beautiful life on wallowing in sadness. Take control of your life and make it extraordinary!" - Anon

"Forgiveness is giving up all hope of having had a better past." - Anne Lamott

"Sometimes you have to step outside the person you've been and remember the person you were meant to be. The person you want to be. The person you are." - H.G. Wells

"Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life." - Steve Jobs

"Magic is believing in yourself. If you can do that, you can make anything happen." - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

"No one has traveled the bridge of success without ever crossing the streets of failure." - Anon

"Never give up. When your heart becomes tired, just walk with your legs, but move on." - Paul Coelho

"Stop waiting for things to happen. Go out and make them happen." - Anon

"Worry often gives a small thing a big shadow." - Anon (Swedish proverb)

"We all have two lives. The second one starts when we realize that we only have one." ― Tom Hiddleston

"There is always a way." - Anon

"The only thing that matters in life is your own opinion about yourself, your own respect for yourself. Nobody can destroy your dignity then." - Anon

"By being yourself, you put something in the world that was not there before." - Anon

"If it is important to you, you will find a way. If not, you'll find an excuse." ― Ain Eineziz

"You always have a choice." ― Michelle Hodkin

"Life has many chapters; one bad chapter doesn't mean it's the end of the book." ― Edenia Archuleta

"The past cannot be changed, forgotten, edited, or erased. It can only be accepted." - Anon

"In the end, people will judge you anyway. So don't live your life impressing others. Live your life impressing yourself." - Anon

"F-E-A-R has two meanings: 'Forget Everything And Run' or 'Face Everything And Rise'. The choice is yours." - Zig Ziglar

"Lost time is never found again." ― Benjamin Franklin

"To believe in something and not live it is dishonest." - Mahatma Ghandi

"You may have made some mistakes and you may not be where you want to be, but that's got nothing to do with your future." - Zig Ziglar

"The imagination is not a state: it is the human existence itself." - William Blake

"Embrace the struggle and let it make you stronger. It won't last forever." - Tony Gaskins

"Until you are broken, you don't know what you are made of." ― Ziad K. Abdelnour

"If you have a dream, give it a chance to happen." - Richard M. Devos

"The best preparation for tomorrow is doing your best today." - H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

"To love oneself is the beginning of a lifelong romance." - Oscar Wilde

"You can't do a good job if your job is all you do." - Jenna Walker, co-founder, Artifact Uprising

"My experience has taught me that all of us have a reservoir of untapped strength that comes to the fore at moments of crisis." - Gerda Weissmann Klein

"A negative mind will never give you a positive life." - Ziad K. Abdelnour

"That which you believe becomes your world." — Richard Matheson

"Healing doesn't mean the damage never existed. It means the damage no longer controls our lives." - Akshay Dubey

"Maybe it's not always about trying to fix something broken. Maybe it's about starting over and creating something better." - Anon

"What you feel is what you get." - Anon

"Attract what you expect, reflect what you desire, become what you respect, mirror what you admire." - Anon

"Courage starts with showing up and letting ourselves be seen." - Brene Brown

"It's not what you do, it's how you do it. It's not what you see, it's how you look at it. It's not how your life is, it's how you live it." - Anon

"One small crack doesn't mean that you are broken. It means that you were put to the test and you didn't fall apart." - Linda Poindexter

"Every excuse is a choice to fail." - Anon

"I've never met a strong person with an easy past." - Anon

"A mistake should be your teacher, not your attacker. A mistake is a lesson, not a loss. It is a temporary necessary detour, not a dead end." - Anon

"The soul always knows what to do to heal itself. The challenge is to silence the mind." - Caroline Myss

"Sometimes we have to let go in order for something truly amazing to happen." - Anon

"Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart." — Steve Jobs

"When you feel like quitting, think about why you started." - Anon

"Kindness has a beautiful way of reaching down into a weary heart and making it shine like the rising sun." - Anon

"You can lie to the world, but you can't lie to yourself." - Anon

"Confidence is something you create within yourself by believing in who you are." - Anon

"If you are always trying to be normal, you will never know how amazing you can be." - Maya Angelou

"Don't stress about closed doors behind you. New doors are opening if you keep moving forward." - Anon

"We do not believe in ourselves until someone reveals that deep inside us something is valuable, worth listening to, worthy of our trust, sacred to our touch. Once we believe in ourselves we can risk curiosity, wonder, spontaneous delight or any experience that reveals the human spirit." ― E.E. Cummings

"Almost every successful person begins with two beliefs; the future can be better than the present, and I have the power to make it so." ― David Brooks

Here are two that have been getting me lately...

"If you've got a today, you don't wear it tomorrow." -Janis Joplin  Ball and Chain (Live)

This next song almost made me fall off my bike yesterday on the way home from work.

I find it hard to believe that you don't know
The beauty that you are
But if you don't, let me be your eyes
A hand in your darkness, so you won't be afraid

When you think the night has seen your mind
That inside you're twisted and unkind
Let me stand to show that you are blind
Please put down your hands
'Cause I see you

I'll be your mirror

-The Velvet Underground and Nico

Also...

"When you look in the mirror do you see yourself?" -Polly Styrene of the X Ray Specs in the song Identity

Thank you, Kellam! I find these daily or nearly daily help keep me focused forward, aware that all of us have challenges to face, and that we all can choose to persevere or give up. The Janis Joplin quote is succinct but powerful. And the song is beautiful. :)

Again, thank you.


"Trust the vibes you get, energy doesn't lie." - Anon

"You can't live a positive life with a negative mind." - Anon

"In the end, we only regret the chances we didn't take." ― Lewis Carroll

"Sometimes you have to stop thinking so much and just go where your heart takes you." - Anon

"I have come to accept the bumpy roads of life; they seem to lead to the best places." - Steve Maraboli

"Knowing is not enough, we must apply. Willing is not enough, we must do." - Bruce Lee

Thank you LizMarie, for this thread. I spent a good chunk of time reading through it yesterday. Laughing and crying!

These are all posted to my Facebook and Google+ feeds as well, but with associated graphics. Most of the time I am just sharing someone else's share but rarely I combine a graphic and quote myself when I can't find one I like. The goal is always to uplift, make us smile, make us believe that we can, and help us each move forward each day. The last few years for me have taken me from the depths of despair and "I can't" to a new happiness and "Yes I can! Watch me!" as I've changed. If I can help just a few of our family here at Susans to grasp that optimism and drive for the future, then I will have succeeded.

Please feel free to add whenever you want. I never intended this to be just my thread but rather a collection of what quotes, ideas, lyrics, poetry each of us have encountered that helps lift us up each day.

"Be who you want to be, not who you are labeled." - Anon

"He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life." - Muhammad Ali

"Be confident in who you are. You aren't a one in a million kind of person. You are once in a lifetime." - Anon

"Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving." ― Albert Einstein

"To move the world we must move ourselves." - Socrates

"You must always be yourself, no matter what the price. It is the highest form of morality." -Candy Darling

Some people think little girls should be seen and not heard, but I think...oh bondage, up yours! - Polly Styrene

What makes them so straight and me so bent? - Dave Dictor MDC

The following is a quote from Bill Murray answering the question "what is it like to be you?" at the Toronto film festival 2014 on Bill Murray Day.

So what's it like to be me? You can ask yourself, What's it like to be me? You know, the only way we'll ever know what it's like to be you is if you work your best at being you as often as you can, and keep reminding yourself: That's where home is.

There's nothing worse
Than hating yourself
Waiting around
Like you're somebody else

-The Gits
Wingo Lamo

:D Thanks!


"If opportunity doesn't knock, build a door." - Milton Berle

"There is no passion to be found in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living." - Nelson Mandela

"Sometimes you have to give up on people. Not because you don't care, but because they don't." - Anon

"If you want to live a new way, you have to start thinking that way. Your thoughts precede the lifestyle, not the other way around." - Bryant McGill

"Don't allow your hurt to hijack your future." - Anon

"Life does not get better by chance, it gets better by change." - Jim Rohn

"You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream." - C.S. Lewis

"The only thing that is ultimately real about your journey is the step that you are taking at this moment. That's all there ever is." - Eckhart Tolle

"Oh yes, the past can hurt. But the way I see it, you can either run from it, or... learn from it." - Rafiki (from The Lion King)

"You can never cross the ocean unless you have the courage to lose sight of the shore." ― Christopher Columbus

Everyday you get up in the morning, you should live your life like a ->-bleeped-<-ing star. - Liam Gallagher

Everytime I look in the mirror, God looks back. - Liam Gallagher

Some advice on self worth from one of the biggest egos on the planet.

"Life opens up opportunities to you, and you either take them or you stay afraid of taking them." - Jim Carey

"You are what you are and where you are because of what has gone into your mind. You can change what you are and where you are by changing what goes into your mind." - Zig Ziglar

"Every day is a second chance." - Anon

"If there is no struggle, there is no progress." - Frederick Douglass

"You have to do what is right for yourself, nobody else is walking in your shoes." - Anon

"You've got to kick at the darkness until it bleeds daylight." (Bruce Cockburn)

"Don't die with your song inside you." - Anon

"Life is a lot like jazz... it's best when you improvise." - George Gershwin

"Failure is not the opposite of success; it's a steppingstone to success." Elli Stassinopoulos

"Decide to stop doing something, or start doing something, if you genuinely want to see change in your life." - Anon

"Remove toxic people from your life, even if they are blood relatives." - Anon

NOTE: I was out of town a few days, so apologize for the long lapse in positive thoughts.



"Do not speak badly of yourself. For the warrior within hears your words and is lessened by them." - David Gemmell

"Take a risk, it can lead to great things." - Anon

"The flower that blooms in adversity is the rarest and most beautiful of all." ― Walt Disney Company, Mulan

"On particularly rough days when I'm sure I can't possibly endure, I like to remind myself that my track record for getting through bad days so far is 100%, and that's pretty good." - Anon

"If I ever let my head down, it will be just to admire my shoes." - Anon

"I found one person who can change my life: me!" - Anon

"A positive attitude gives you power over circumstances instead of circumstances having power over you." - Joyce Meyer

"Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away." - Philip K. Dick

"Dreams are like stars... you may never touch them but if you follow them they will lead you to your destiny." - Liam Payne

"The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away." - Pablo Picasso

I was married, had two young children, and an adoring wife. It tore me to pieces to come out and transition. But I made the right choice. She was young enough to get remarried and the kids had a wonderful dad. During my transition, my theme song was "A Man I'll Never Be" by Boston.  Here are the Lyrics:


"A Man I'll Never Be"

If I said what's on my mind
You'd turn and walk away
Disappearing way back in your dreams
It's so hard to be unkind
So easy just to say
That everything is just the way it seems

You look up at me
And somewhere in your mind you see
A man I'll never be

If only I could find a way
I'd feel like I'm the man you believe I am
And it gets harder every day for me
To hide behind this dream you see
A man I'll never be

I can't get any stronger
I can't climb any higher
You'll never know just how hard I've tried
Cry a little longer
And hold a little tighter
Emotions can't be satisfied

You look up at me
And somewhere in your mind you see
A man I'll never be

If only I could find a way
I'd feel like I'm the man you believe I am
And it gets harder every day for me
To hide behind this dream you see
A man I'll never be.

Cindi

Everyone is a genius just being themselves. - Thelonious Monk (related by Wavy Gravy)

Even though this song was recorded back when I was a teen I only heard it a couple years ago. It has helped me immeasurably in my motion toward and into transition.

I've thought about it, hell, about a million times
It takes all my strength
Just to keep me calm
But I have to tell myself
It's best just to breathe
Holding it inside will only help to do me in
Each time I close my eyes
I see another chain
It's one I can't forget
Something I can not break out of

I need a second skin
Something to hold me up
Can't seem to get out of this hole
I've dug myself right back in

Just to wake up tells me, hell, I must be brave
It hits me like a drug
Shot into my vein
It's not as delightful
Delightful of a pain
Immobilizing me
Almost makes me think I'm dead
I need that second skin
Something to hold me tough
Can't do it on my own
Sometimes I need just a little more help, well
I want that chance to give
Every drop that's left in me
I need a second skin
Something I can not break out of

I just tell myself, girl, just let it breathe
It's a calmness I'm always searching for
But the dirt it gets so heavy
It falls above my head
Seeping in from under my feet
It just keeps on getting deeper

I need a second skin
Something to hold me up
Can't do it on my own
Sometimes I need just a little more help
I've got that chance to give
Every drop that's left in me
I need a second skin
Something I can not break free of

Though no one ever said it'd be easy
Still no one's left to deny
The choice that comes between
Your willingness to survive
Though you're knowing what you stand up against
A world set to deceive
You need a special strength, yeah
I've got that second skin, yeah
I've got that chance to give
I've got the only way
That I know how to live with it
I need a second skin
Something to hold me tough
I need a second skin
SOMETHING I CAN NOT BREAK OUT OF

"Second Skin" by The Gits

And another from the opening of the Bikini Kill song "Double Dare Ya"

Hey girlfriend
I got a proposition goes something like this
Dare you to do what you want
Dare you to be who you will
Dare you to cry, cry out loud
You get so emotional baby!

Double dare ya
Double dare ya

"Surround youself with people who clearly love your light... and add to it!" - Karen Salmansohn

"It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are." - e.e. cummings

"I choose to live by choice, not chance; to make changes, not excuses; to be motivated, not manipulated; to be useful, not used; to excel, not compete. I choose self esteem, not self pity. I choose to listen to my inner voice, not the random opinion of others." - Anon

"Life does not have to be perfect to be wonderful." ― Annette Funicello

"The distance between your dreams and reality is called discipline." - Anon

"The name you choose, it's like a promise you make." -the eleventh Doctor, Doctor Who

the sheer enormity of that hit me like a ton of bricks. for a trans person, choosing a name might be the first real sign that you've realized and accepted what's going on with you, and it's a promise of what's to come. It's a promise that someday, that things will be better, that you can be yourself fully. It's a promise to live up to that name.

It's a promise I damn well intend to keep.

Excellent point about our names. They become commitments to ourselves.




"Confidence is not 'They will like me'. Confidence is 'I'll be fine if they don't'." - Anon

"The only person that can save you.. is you!" - Anon

"To make a difference in someone's life you don't have to be brilliant, rich, beautiful or perfect. You just have to care enough and be there." - Anon

"A good friend knows all your stories. A best friend helped you write them." - Anon

"The secret of getting ahead is getting started. Always put your fears behind you and your dreams in front of you." - Anon

The capacity to be alone is the capacity to love. It may look paradoxical to you, but's not. It is an existential truth: only those people who are capable of being alone are capable of love, of sharing, of going into the deepest core of another person--without possessing the other, without, becoming dependent on the other, without reducing the other to a thing, and without becoming addicted to the other. They allow the absolute freedom, because they know that if the other leaves, they will be as happy as they are now. Their happiness can not be taken by the other because it is not given by the other.   - Osho

Quote from: Cindi Jones on March 18, 2015, 12:57:27 PM
The capacity to be alone is the capacity to love. It may look paradoxical to you, but's not. It is an existential truth: only those people who are capable of being alone are capable of love, of sharing, of going into the deepest core of another person--without possessing the other, without, becoming dependent on the other, without reducing the other to a thing, and without becoming addicted to the other. They allow the absolute freedom, because they know that if the other leaves, they will be as happy as they are now. Their happiness can not be taken by the other because it is not given by the other.   - Osho

Thank you for sharing this. I had to move into solitude in the past couple years, to learn to love myself, to learn to be happy. It was a major part of my journey toward the ultimate goal of being able to love the world back.

I'm more than a woman, more than a man, I feel larger than life, you must understand. - Lunachicks "Mr. Lady"

I enjoy these other thoughts. Part of setting the tone for my thinking each day is a few minutes of this sort of meditation, reflecting on the positive and how I can make that work going forward.



"You'll never do a whole lot unless you're brave enough to try." - Dolly Parton

"The worst distance between two people is misunderstanding." - Anon

"When you try to control everything, you enjoy nothing. Sometimes you just need to relax, breathe, let go, and live in the moment." - Anon

"It's better to walk alone, than with a crowd going the wrong direction." - Diane Grant

"Blood makes you related. Loyalty makes you family." - Chris Diaz

"Some things are meant to happen, just not meant to be. Some things are meant to come into your life, just not meant to stay." - Trent Shelton

"Be thankful for the bad things in life. For they opened your eyes to the good things you weren't paying attention to before." - Anon

"I can choose to let it define me, confine me, refine me, outshine me, or I can choose to leave it behind me." - Anon

"Learn to be alone and to like it. There is nothing more freeing and empowering than learning to like your own company." - Mandy Hale

"Life isn't about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself." - George Bernard Shaw

"Coming out as transgender is like jumping out of a plane without a parachute only to discover you have wings."   - Amanda Simpson

"There is nothing outside of yourself that can ever enable you to get better, stronger, richer, quicker, or smarter. Everything is within. Everything exists. Seek nothing outside yourself." - Miyamoto Musashi

"Each day is a new life. Seize it." - David Guy Powers

"Strength doesn't come from what you can do. It comes from overcoming the things you once thought you couldn't." - Rikki Rogers

"I already know what giving up feels like. I want to see what happens if I don't." - Neila Rey

"The biggest mistake you could ever make is being too afraid to make one." - Anon

Liz Marie - I love these quotes. I refer back to them when I feel stuck (which has been happening a lot lately).

Please keep them coming. Thanks

That's the whole intent! I found that finding a few good positive affirmations each day, and meditating on them during the day, helps keep me focused positively, and looking forward, not backwards. I've had an easier transition than some, with a very supportive employer, so I am lucky in that regard. I've had personal losses, especially of family, but they made those choices, not me. I'm glad that these can help others keep a positive outlook.



"When someone walks away from you, it's not the end of your story. It's the end of their part in your story." - Anon

"Failure: It can destroy you or it can make you so freakin' mad that you work even harder to become the winner you know you are." - Anon

"There are two educations. One should teach us how to make a living and the other how to live." - John Adams

"Blame anchors us into the past; a place we cannot change. Acceptance frees us into the future." Bryant McGill

"The past is a good place to visit, but certainly not a good place to stay." - Anon

"Don't let the doubt of others stop you. Walk your own path." - Anon

"A great attitude becomes a great day which becomes a great month which becomes a great year which becomes a great life." - Mandy Hale

"Always trust your instincts. Do what feels right." - Anon

"There's no reason to look back when you have so much to look forward to." - Anon

"Just because something isn't happening for you right now doesn't mean it will never happen." - Anon

"If you believe it will work out, you'll see opportunities. If you believe it won't, you'll see obstacles." - Wayne Dyer

"Don't be an extra in your own movie!" - Bob Proctor

"The cost of not following your heart is spending the rest of your life wishing you had." -Anon

"Determine what you want and why you want it. Once you understand what's important, you can utilize your passions and achieve anything." - Brooke Griffin

"Right now you are one choice away from a new beginning, an opportunity for success." - Oprah Winfrey

"The worst thing you can do to yourself is judge yourself through the eyes of others." - Anon

"Sometimes burning bridges isn't a bad thing. It prevents you from going back to a place you should never have been in the first place." - Anon

"Today is the first day of the rest of your life." ― Abbie Hoffman

"If someone shows you their true colors, don't try to repaint them." - Anon

"Realize deeply that the present moment is all you ever have." - Eckhart Tolle

"Acceptance is not submission; it is acknowledgement of the facts of a situation, then deciding what you're going to do about it." ― Kathleen Casey Theisen

"Be wise enough to walk away from the nonsense around you." - Anon

"Don't put the key to your happiness in someone else's pocket." - Anon

The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world's deep hunger meet. -Frederick Buechner

"It is in your moments of decision that your destiny is shaped." - Anthony Robbins

"Time is like a river. You cannot touch the same water twice because the flow that has passed will never pass again." - Anon

"Be brave with your life." - Anon

"At some point you have to realize that some people can stay in your heart but not in your life." - Anon

"Success is where preparation and opportunity meet." - Bobby Unser

''You can be anything you want to be - just turn yourself into anything that you think you could ever be''

Queen - Innuendo

"Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid." - Albert Einstein

"You were given this life because you are strong enough to live it." - Anon

"Don't give up. The beginning is always the hardest." - Anon

"You can have what you want, do what you dream, and brave what you fear, if you first see it done in your mind." - Anon

"Progress, no matter how small, is always something to be proud of." - Anon

"May your choices reflect your hopes, not your fears." - Nelson Mandela

"The longer we dwell on our misfortunes, the greater their power to harm us." - Voltaire

"There will be many chapters in your life. Don't get lost in the one you're in now." - Anon

"Courage is doing what you are afraid to do. There can be no courage unless you are scared." ― Eddie V. Rickenbacker

"The greatest gift you can give to others is the gift of unconditional love and acceptance." - Brian Tracy

"Love yourself first and everything else falls into line." - Lucille Ball

"The best way to predict your future is to create it." ― Peter F. Drucker (Note: Drucker actually said this, not Lincoln.)

"Your comfort zone keeps expanding every time you get out of your comfort zone." - Anon

"Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars." - Khalil Gibran

"You are far from the end of your journey. The way is not in the sky. The way is in the heart. See how you love." - Anon

"Memories are simply moment that refuse to be ordinary." - Diane Keaton

"I don't trust words, I trust actions." ― Ain Eineziz

"Dreaming or doing is a choice that will mea the difference between failure or success." - Anon

"The struggle you are in today is developing the strength you need for tomorrow. Don't give up!" - Anon

"It's never too late to start over. if you weren't happy with yesterday, try something different today. Don't stay stuck, do better." - Alex Elle

"Use your comfort zones to rest in, not to live in. Use them consciously to relax and restore yoour energy as you mentally prepare for your next challenge."

"Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth." - Buddha

"Nothing ever goes away until it teaches us what we need to know." - Pema Chodron

"If you want something you never had, you have to do something you never did." - Anon

"You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them." - Maya Angelou

"Life will test you to see how determined you are." - Billy Cox

"If you don't let go of the wrong people, the right people won't show up." - Joel Osteen

"I want to live, not just survive." - Anon

"One's destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things." ― Henry Miller

"You cannot change the people around you but you can change the people you choose to be around." ― Semanyenzi Richard

"Action is the key to all success." ― Pablo Picasso

"Nothing is easier than self-deceit." - Demosthenes

"Be brave, fight for what you believe in, and make your dreams a reality." - Anon

"Strength doesn't come from what you can do. It comes from overcoming the things you once thought you couldn't." - Anon

"Never be afraid to fall apart because it is an opportunity to rebuild yourself the way you wish you had been all along." ― Rae Smith

"Hope is the little voice you hear whisper 'maybe' when the entire world is shouting 'no!'" - Anon

"I'm stronger because I had to be. I'm smarter because of my mistakes. I'm happier because I have overcome the sadness I've known and I'm wiser because I have learned from my life." - Dave Hedges

"Never settle. Fight for the life, the career, the dreams, the love that you deserve." - Mandy Hale

"May I have the courage todau to live the life I would love... to postpone my dream no longer. But do at least what I came here for and waste my heart on fear no more." - John Donohue

"Inhale the future, exhale the past." - Anon

"Stop thinking so hard about everything, stop over analyzing. Just go. Just do. If it feels right, just go with the flow. If it feels wrong, don't think about it anymore and walk away." - Anon

"It's a long road, this journey of life, and at times, you will be all alone with no end in sight. No matter what, keep on going, because once you turn that corner, it's really worth it!" - Dave Hedges

"Even if the path is a little blurry, keep walking. You'll focus in when you know what you want then the picture of your life will be crystal clear. Just don't ever give up." - Anon

"Saying yes to happiness means learning to say no to the things and people that stress you out." - Thema Davis

"To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream, not only plan, but also believe." ― Anatole France

"The day she let go of the things that were weighing her down was the day she began to shine the brightest." - Katrina Mayer

"The trials in our life can often be blessings in disguise. So, don't worry about them and just let the life lessons strengthen you. No matter how much it hurts, no matter how bad the pain, just hold your head up and keep going." -  Dave Hedges

"It's always when you least expect it that something amazing will come along. Something far better than you could have ever wished for. So be patient, be positive, and keep your focus." - Dave Hedges

"Don't settle. Either they will wake up to the fact that you are worth more... or you will." - Charles Orlando

"Be strong enough to let go and wise enough to wait for what you deserve." - Anon

"You don't have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great." - Zig Ziglar

"If you allow people to make more withdrawals than deposits in your life, you will be out of balance and in the negative. Know when to close the account." - Auliq Ice

"I will let go of attitudes, behaviors, people, and things that do me more harm than good. I am learning to fly." - Anon

"Close your eyes and imagine the best version of you possible. That's who you really are. Let go of any part of you that doesn't believe this. - Anon

"Your words have great power. Use them to support and inspire." - Karen Salmansohn

"At any moment, you have a choice, that either leads you closer to your spirit or further away from it." - Thich Nhat Hanh




NOTE: I will be away, beginning tomorrow through Friday, May 1st. I'm not sure how well my connectivity here will be, nor am I sure how well I will feel since I'm undergoing FFS. If I can, I will try to post more positive thoughts on days I feel up to it. If not, I'll resume when I return home.

See you all on the flip side! Think positively!

All the Best with your surgery! Take the time to look after yourself. Our thoughts will be with you.

Wishing you the best..found a new starting point for my days :)

"petit a petit l'oiseau fait son nid"

Little by little the bird builds its nest

I'm home and mending, so here we go again! :)


"Sometimes people try to expose what's wrong with you, because they can't handle what's right about you." -Anon

"Old ways won't open new doors." - Anon

"Every day may not be good, but there is something good in every day." - Anon

"Risk something or forever sit with your dreams." - Herb Brooks

"It is not the length of life, but the depth of life." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Don't judge me. You couldn't handle half of what I've been through in my life. There's a reason why I do the things I do and a reason the way I am the way I am. Understand before you judge." - Dave Hedges

"Scars, by their very nature, will remind us where we've been. However, they can't stop us moving forward or dictate where we're going with our lives." - Dave Hedges

"Never discourage anyone who makes continual progress, no matter how slow." ― Plato

"Sometimes the sweetest freedoms are the ones we give ourselves." - Pepper Blair

"To deny people their human rights is to challenge their very humanity." - Nelson Mandela

"Don't aim for success if you want it; just do what you love and believe in it, and it will come naturally." - David Frost

"You must learn a new way to think before you can master a new way to be." - Marianne Williamson

"There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you." - Maya Angelou

"I admire people who choose to shine even after all the storms they have been through." - Anon

"Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere."

"Forgiveness is a gift to yourself. It frees you from the past, past experiences, and past relationships. It allows you to live in the present time. When you forgive yourself and forgive others, you are indeed free." - Louise Hay

"Everyone needs at least one friend who understands what we do not say." - Anon

"Things may go wrong today but focus on what's going right. Stay positive and keep going." - Anon

"Your past has given you the strength and wisdom you have today, so celebrate it. Don't let it haunt you." - Anon

"There comes a time when you have to stop crossing oceans for people who wouldn't jump puddles for you." - Anon

"Start by doing what's necessary, then what's possible, and suddenly you are doing the impossible." - St. Francis of Assisi

"Your only limit is you." - Anon

"You may not know what is going to happen when you try, but if you do not try, nothing will happen." - Anon

"A strong woman is one who is able to smile this morning like she wasn't crying last night." - Anon

"The one who falls and gets up is so much stronger than the one who never fell." - Anon

"Don't worry about failure. Worry about the change you miss when you don't even try." - Anon

"Letting go means to come to the realization that some people are a part of your history, but not a part of your destiny." ― Steve Maraboli

"The number one reason people fail in life is because they listen to their friends, family, and neighbors." - Johnny Depp

"You are the artist of your life. Choose your colors wisely." - Anon

"Your dream doesn't have an expiration date. Take a deep breath and try again." ― Usama Ghazi

"Sometimes when we reach the lowest points in our lives, we will find the very things we need to get us back on our feet. So, during those times, keep your eyes and your heart wide open." - Dave Hedges

"The greatest prison people live in, is the fear of what other people think." ― David Icke

"Life doesn't have to be perfect to be wonderful." ― Annette Funicello

"You were once wild here. Don't let them tame you." - Isadora Duncan

"Sometimes you will never know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory." - Dr. Suess

"You have to get up every morning and tell yourself 'I can do this'." - Anon

"Don't let other people choose the path for you. Deep down inside, you know the right way to go, so do the right thing and follow your heart." - Anon

"The risk of a wrong decision is preferable to the terror of indecision." - Anon

"Identify your problems but give your power and energy to solutions." - Anthony Robbins

"You can't reach for anything new if your hands are fill of yesterday's junk." - Anon

"Always remember that your present situation is not your final destination. The best is yet to come." - Anon

"We all have chapters we would rather keep unpublished." - Downtown Abbey

"Whatever your past may have been, your future is still spotless!" - Boonaa Mohammed

"Remember how far you've come, not just how far you have to go. You are not where you want to be, but neither are you where you used to be." - Rick Warren

"Good judgment comes from experience, and a lot of that comes from bad judgment." - Will Rogers

"I don't regret the things I did wrong. I regret the good things I did for the wrong people." - Anon

"You don't have to have it all figured out to move forward." - Anon

"I don't hold grudges, you just become irrelevant." - Anon

"Never allow waiting to become a habit. Live your dreams and take risks. Life is happening now." ― Paulo Coelho

"The starting point of all achievement is desire." - Napoleon Hill

"Once we believe in ourselves, we can risk curiosity, wonder, spontaneous delight, or any experience that reveals the human spirit." - E.E. Cummings

"At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person. Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us." - Albert Schweitzer

"The one thing you can control is how you treat yourself. And that one thing can change everything." - Leeana Tankersley

"Life worth living is worth dying for." - Pepper Blair

"Don't go through life, grow through life." - Anon

"Loving yourself isn't just about breaking up with the wrong people, it's also about letting the right ones in." - Anon

"Dream what you want to dream, go where you want to go, be what you want to be, because you have only one life and one chance to do all the things you want to do." - Anon

"Live the life you imagined." - Anon

"It is never too late to be what you might have been." - George Eliot

"A mind that is stretched by experience can never go back to its old dimensions." - Oliver Wendell Holmes

"It's the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting." - Paul Coelho

"If it doesn't challenge you, it won't change you." - Anon

"Learn from yesterday. Live for today. Hope for tomorrow." - Anon

"Yes, I've made mistakes. Life didn't come with instructions." - Anon

"You know you're on the right track when you're not interested in looking back." - Anon

Without effort in transitioning, even though on HRT, I'm stuck, since my energies are going to graduate school. It's going to be weird once school is out in the next several months, once I graduate, hopefully. More time after work to focus my energies on transitioning, instead of graduate school.

You go at your pace, Sonadora. Just stay focused. Even small steps will add up eventually.




"No matter how many mistakes you make or how slow your progres, you are still way ahead of everyone who isn't trying." - Anon

"If the plan doesn't work, change the plan but never the goal." - Anon

"There's a special place in my heart for the ones who were with me at my lowest and still loved me when I wasn't very lovable." - Anon

"In life we never lose friends, we only learn who the true ones are." - Anon

"Believe in who you are going to become. Don't let your past define you!" - Anon

"If you are always trying to be normal, you will never know how amazing you can be." - Maya Angelou

"Do your little bit of good where you are, it's those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world." - Desmond Tutu

"Giving up doesn't always mean you are weak. Sometimes it means you still have enough self respect to walk away from people who do not respect your feelings." - Anon

"You can't always wait for the perfect moment. Sometimes you must dare to do it because life is too short to regret and wonder what might have been." - Anon

"Once in a while, right in the middle of an ordinary life, love gives us a fairy tale." ― Lila DiPasqua, The Duke's Match Girl - A Fiery Tale Novella

"When you completely trust another person, you will end up with one of two outcomes. A friend for life or a lesson for life. Both, regardless of the outcome, are valuable." - Anon

"Some won't appreciate you no matter how much you do for them. Release yourself. Go where you're appreciated and understood." - Robert Tew

"The tragedy of life is not death, but what we let die inside of us while we live." - Norman Cousins

"If you keep telling the same sad small story, yoou will keep living the same sad small life." - Jean Houston

"Believing in yourself is the first secret to success." - Anon

"Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall." ― Oliver Goldsmith

"Absorb what is useful, discard what is not, add what is uniquely your own." - Bruce Lee

"Running away from your problems is a race you'll never win." - Anon

"Ignite the fire inside of you." - Anon

"Your outlook in life defines who you are." - Anon

"Life isn't about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself." ― George Bernard Shaw

"Each day is an adventure in discovering the meaning of life." ― Jack Canfield

"If nothing ever changed, there'd be no butterflies." - Anon

"You are not strange. You are beautifully, impossibly unique. Own that and you can stop apologizing and minimizing and start living and celebrating." - Anon

"I'm thankful for nights that turned into mornings, friends that turned into family, and dreams that turned into reality." - Anon

"Nothing holds you back more than your own insecurities." - Anon

"Be kind to yourself. The seeds we plant within are the harvest we have to give." - Mary Davis

"The number of times I succeed is in direct proportion to the number of times I can fail and keep on trying." - Tom Hopkins

"You don't need anybody to tell you who you are or what you are. You are what you are!" ― John Lennon

"Forgive it enough to move on... Remember it enough so it doesn't happen again." - Anon

"So often we become so focused on the finish line that we fail to enjoy the journey." - Anon

"Just be yourself. Let people see the real, imperfect, flawed, quirky, weird, beautiful, and magical person that you are." - Anon

"Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes... including you." - Anne Lamott

"Don't dwell on the times you've failed. You're not a failure unless you quit. Move forward with your life." - Anon

"The gem cannot be polished without friction nor man without trials." - Confucius

"Don't be afraid to take a big step if one is indicated; you can't cross a chasm in two small jumps." — David Lloyd George

"In life, I have made a lot of mistakes and felt a lot of pain. My pain made me stronger and my mistakes made me wiser." - Dave Hedges

"Failure is like a stairway; you decide whether it takes you to the bottom or whether it leads you to the top." - Anon

"Sometimes life takes us to where we never wish to be, then we realize it's where we truly belong." - Anon

"Life is inherently risky. There is only one big risk you should avoid at all costs, and that is the risk of doing nothing." ― Denis Waitley

"One of the saddest things is to accept that some people can only be in your heart, not in your life." - Anon

"All your dreams can come true if you have the courage to pursue them." - Walt Disney

"Be patient and tough; someday this pain will be useful to you." - Ovid

"Very often a change of self is needed more than a change of scene." - Arthur Christopher Benson

"People don't want to hear the truth because they don't want their illusions destroyed." - Friedrich Nietzsche

"I believed I would be successful long before I actually was." - Johnny Wimbrey

"Don't wait for the perfect moment. Take the moment and make it perfect." ― Abraham Hicks

"If you never try, you'll never know." - Anon

"You never know which door will lead you towards your dreams, until you have the courage to walk through it." - Anon

"When you start seeing your worth, you'll find it harder to stay around people who don't." - Anon

"I do not exist to impress the world. I exist to live my life in a way that will make me happy." ― Richard Bach

"There are no problems, only solutions." ― John Lennon

"I'm stronger because I had to be. I'm smarter because of my mistakes. I'm happier because I have overcome the sadness I've known and I'm wiser because I have learned from my life." - Dave Hedges

"What you do today can improve all your tomorrows." - Anon

"Own who you are." - Anon

"Not everyone will understand your journey. That's okay. You're here to live your life, not to make everyone understand." - Anon

"The length of your shoe may change, the size of your pants may change; but your life will never change until your mind changes." - Israelmore Ayivor

"Wisdom is the right use of knowledge." - Charles Spurgeon

"You are so much more than what you see in the mirror." - Anon

"The most confused we get is when we try to convince our heads of something our hearts know is a lie." - Karen Morning

"Why be a copy when you were born to be an original?" - Oscar Wilde

"If you wish to travel far and fast, travel light. Take off all your envies, jealousies, unforgiveness, selfishness, and fears." - Cesare Pavese

"If they left you, you didn't need them. If they walked away, they weren't part of your destiny." - Anon

"When your past calls, don't answer. It has nothing new to say." - Anon

"I admire people who choose to shine even after all the storms they have been through." - Anon

"It's better to walk alone, than with a crowd going in the wrong direction." - Anon

"In the age of information, ignorance is a choice." - Donny Miller

"The worst sorrows in life are not in its losses and misfortunes, but its fears." - A.C. Benson

"To move the world, we must first move ourselves." - Socrates

"One of the greatest weaknesses in most of us is our lack of faith in ourselves." - L. Tom Perry

"A single dream can launch a journey of a lifetime." - Anon

"Fear can never completely be eradicated from the mind, but it can be tempered. Human beings overcome fears that seem insurmountable every day. If you are reading this, you are human. What one human can do another human can do. Know this, believe this, and you will come to know that the courage you see in others resides in yourself. It always has." - Fallon Fox

"Be true to yourself and stop caring about what others think of you." - Anon

"The Problem is not the problem; the problem is your attitude about the problem" - Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp)

"Life is too ironic to fully understand. It takes sadness to know what happiness is. Noise to appreciate silence and absence to value presence." - Anon

"Don't think about what might go wrong. Think about what could go right." - Anon

"For a seed to achieve its greatest expression, it must come completely undone. The shell cracks, its insides come out and everything changes. To someone who doesn't understand growth, it would look like complete destruction." ― Cynthia Occelli

"Life goes on... whether you choose to move on and take a chance in the unknown, or stay behind, locked in the past, thinking of what could have been." - Anon

"You can't stop the waves but you can learn to surf." ― Jon Kabat-Zinn

"Never let your past experiences harm your future. Your past can't be altered and your future doesn't deserve the punishment." - Anon

"Do not seek to change what has come before. Seek to create that which has not." - David Airey

"You, yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection." - Buddha

"Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out." - Robert Collier

"Do not let the behavior of others destroy your inner peace." - Dalai Lama

"For what it's worth: it's never too late to be whoever you want to be. I hope you life a life you're proud of, and if you find you're not, I hope you have the strength to start over again." - F. Scott Fitzgerald

"Never forget who was there for you when no one else was." - Anon

"Set free the negativity that doesn't belong to you and rid yourself of the negative people who only want to bring you down." - Anon

"The greatest prison people live in, is the fear of what other people think." ― David Icke

"Move on. It's just a chapter in the past. But don't close the book, just turn the page." ― Brooklyn Copeland

"I've always liked the time before dawn, because there's no one around to remind me who I'm supposed to be, so it's easier to remember who I am." - Brian Andreas.

"I am not a product of my circumstances. I am a product of my decision." - Stephen Covey

"Identify your problems but give your power and energy to solutions." - Tony Robbins

"It is the ultimate luxury to combine passion and contribution. It's also a very clear path to happiness." - Sheryl Sandberg

"A river cuts through a rock, not because of its power, but its persistence." - Anon

"We are not perfect, we are learning. That's the beauty in our specific journey." - Anon

"Listen to the wind, it talks. Listen to the silence, it speaks. Listen to your heart, it knows." - Native American Proverb

"Honor the space between no longer and not yet." - Nancy Levin

"The difficulties of life are intended to make us better, not bitter." - Anon

"Always, always trust your first gut instincts. If you feel something is wrong, it usually is." - Anon

"Ask yourself what is really important and then have the wisdom and courage to build your life around your answer." ― Lee Jampolsky

"A huge mistake in relationships is we confuse a real person with the image of them we've created in our minds." - Anon

If you don't muster the courage now, you'll only end up making it worse.  :-\

ヾ(〃^∇^)ﾉ

True courage is being scared to death but saddling up anyway.

"You never know when a moment and a few sincere words can have an impact on a life." - Zig Ziglar

"Repeat this until you understand it: I do not need people who do not need me." - Anon

"You should not have to rip yourself into pieces to keep others whole." - Anon

"Bend but don't break." - Anon

"The good times become great memories. The bad times become great lessons." - Anon

"There will come a time when you believe everything is finished; that will be the beginning. "
― Louis L'Amour

"One reason people resist change is because they focus on what they have to give up, instead of what they have to gain." - Anon

"Sometimes what you're most afraid of doing is the very thing that will set you free." ― Robert Tew

"Do what you have to do until you can do what you want to do." - Oprah Winfrey

"Everything is hard before it is easy." - Goethe

(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CIWmQ04UcAAyoMZ.jpg)

"Thoughts become things. If you see it in your mind, you will hold it in your hand." - Bob Proctor

"Small shifts in your thinking, and small changes in your energy, can lead to massive alterations of your end result." - Kevin Michel

"Experience has taught me that you cannot value dreams accoridng to the odds of their coming true. Their real value is in stirring within us the will to aspire." - Sonia Sotomayor

"Always laugh when you can. It is cheap medicine." - Lord Byron

"People come and go, but life is simply about seeing who cares enough to stay." ― Ziad K. Abdelnour

"Someone who is worthy of your love will never put you in a situation where you feel you must sacrifice your dignity, integrity, or self-worth to be with them." - Anon

"Nobody is superior. Nobody is inferior. People are simply Unique, Incomparable. You are you. I am I. I have to contribute to my potential to Life, you have to contribute your potential to Life. I have to discover my own Being, you have to discover your own Being." - Osho

"Life is an echo. What you put out comes back to you." - Anon

"Let my worship be within the heart that rejoices, for behold, all acts of love and pleasure are my rituals." - Anon

"Nature is, indeed, the only book whose every page is filled with important content." - Goethe

"Those who don't believe in magic will never find it." - Roald Dahl

"People who wonder whether the glass is half empty or half full miss the point. The glass is refillable." - Anon

"Write a new story and let that new story define your future rather than relive your old limited past." - Abe Stone

"What you think of yourself is much more important than what others think of you." - Seneca

"You were born to be real, not to be perfect!" - Anon

"Revive your light. Manifest your dreams. Realize your worth." - Anon

"Stop holding on to what hurts and make room for what feels good." - Anon

"You simply can't be nice all the time. Sometimes you need to stop hiding from the difficult decision, make your stand, show how strong you are, and refuse to let others hurt you." - Anon

"A dream doesn't become reality through magic, it takes sweat, determination, and hard work." ― Colin Powell

"Be brave, my darling. You have faced dark times before and you're still here now." - Anon

"The currency of living is how you spend the moments of your life." - Richard Bandler

"Tears are words that need to be written." - Paul Coelho

"The only limits you have are the limits you believe." - Wayne Dyer

"If you don't imagine, nothing ever happens at all." - John Green

"To change ourselves effectively, we first had to change our perceptions." - Stephen R.Covey

"If you want to live a happy life, tie it to a goal. Not to people or things." - Albert Einstein

"We all have an unsuspected reserve of strength inside that emerges when life puts us to the test." - Isabel Allende

"A goal without a plan is just a wish." ― Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

"You can't change how people feel about you, so don't try. Just live your life and be happy." - Anon

"Live your life and forget your age." ― Norman Vincent Peale

"Fear is a liar" - Unknown

After 9 months, and 10 pages of posts containing close to 1000 quotes, I'll be stepping back from this.

I depart for Thailand in 7 days and am getting busy preparing. I won't say that I won't post in this thread further, but it will be less often, as I expect to be busy and, to be honest, I'm not seeing many new uplifting quotes to add anymore.

But if you see one, please feel free to add it! We all need to maintain a positive outlook on life.

Much love to everyone,

Cara




"Maybe the journey isn't so much about becoming anything. Maybe it's unbecoming everything that isn't you so you can be who you were meant to be in the first place." - Anon

"Don't we all have a little free spirited wanderer in our souls just longing to get out and explore?" - Anon

"There are no mistakes, only opportunities." - Tina Fey

"We do not heal the past by dwelling there; we heal the past by living fully in the present." - Marianne Williamson

"Sometimes we create our own heartbreaks through expectation." - Anon

All the Best in your journeys! You have provided me much to think about and I have found this very supportive. I will miss your selections. Thanks what you do!

Thanks Cara, I've often come here when I needed some mental and soul refreshing.

Best wishes on your journey!

Hugs,