Hey Reader,

Hope you been doing well and having a great week.

This week I shared on LinkedIn these four questions to ask ourselves when setting goals for the upcoming new year:

1. What actions will allow me to do the right thing every day?
2. How can I love fully and truly?
3. What fascinating experiences do I want to pursue?
4. What important tasks/projects do I want to undertake?

You can see the full post here.

Today I want to focus on the second question and share a couple of ideas that expand on the notion of loving fully. 💙

Take a look at this quote I came across this morning from Australian novelist Morris West from his novel, The Shoes of the Fisherman:

Wow! How true is that?

When you truly love someone, you're all in. There's no holding back. You give that love freely and unconditionally. You don't expect anything in return regardless of how much you invested.

Can you imagine living your life like that... so free and full of life yet with no expectations?

How would we even go about doing that?

I think the start of the answer can be found in this quote by Rumi:

Enjoy the newsletter and have a great weekend.

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What Becoming a Parent Really Does to Your Happiness
​Paul Bloom | 4 minutes

Few choices are more important than whether to have children and if we do have children what does this mean for our happiness and quality of life? Psychologists and other social scientists have worked to get to the bottom of this. But what if the rewards of having children are different from, and deeper than, happiness?

​Read the post ➜ ​

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Everything is Temporary
​Dr. Christine Bradstreet

And it’s all going to be ok.

The hard times are temporary, and the good times are temporary.

Knowing that times are temporary makes me incredibly grateful for the blessings in my life.

It makes me revel in the everyday wonders that surround me.

It makes me pay attention, so I can soak in every wonderful moment of life.

And when times are tough, it comforts me to know it’s all temporary. It can feel like it will never end. But look back at your life. Eventually, that situation did pass.

​Source​
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The Opposite of Meditation = Recess.
​Gretchen Rubin | 7 minutes

I’ve spent many years pursuing self-knowledge and self-mastery and there's so much focus on focus! Now I want to illuminate my thoughts from the outside—not with detachment, not with discipline, but with wildness.

I don't want to daydream, I don't want to enter flow, I don't want to cultivate mindfulness, and I don't want to observe my thoughts.

I want to let my mind off its leash.

I want the opposite of meditation which doesn't mean the rejection of meditation. It means visiting the playground of my own mind just like schoolchildren at recess.

​Read the post ➜ ​
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Control the Uncontrollable
​Brianna Vieira via @JaneyGodley

​Source​
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Thanks for reading.

If you have any questions, feedback, or want to share some of your own insights, feel free to hit reply and let me know. I read and reply to every email.
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​As Always, Keep Creating,

Anthony V. Lombardo

https://anthonyvlombardo.com
Join the space: Notes on Personal Growth
Subscribe to my Youtube channel
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