Positive Quote for Today

"We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty."— Maya Angelou


Controlling My Big Mouth

A True Story
by
Copyright ©
Picture related to the title of the story
With permission, I have extracted this picture-quote from Heart Light. All rights reserved worldwide.

Since my university days in 2008, I have always had a problem of staying still in my moments of excitement. I have wanted to talk and talk like there is no tomorrow.

Last year for instance, I felt oddly excited as my brothers and relatives somberly viewed Mum's body in a mortuary. Though I tried to restrain myself from talking, eventually me and my big mouth asked whether we could have a photo taken beside the body.

Of course they declined to have such a photo taken. And I am sure my brothers thought I wanted to put it on this blog. But hey! I can't do that. Asking whether we could have a photo taken came from my big mouth, not from my heart.

My big mouth almost landed me in trouble in December 2019 when I went to a wedding reception and kept moving from table to table greeting familiar relatives, unaware that some hawk-eyed people were watching my moves.

About fifteen minutes or so later, two men approached me. One instructed me to stay in one place and the other asked me whether I had an invitation card to the wedding.

Luckily for me, I remained calm and kind which made the two men leave me alone. But their interrogation totally deflated me. I was depressed for several days.

After recovering from that depressing experience, I forgot about it for more than five years. But it came back into my mind last month with a vengeance. I felt guilty as I realized how foolishly I behaved during that wedding reception.

It was unwise of me to forget that depressing experience without learning a lesson. No wonder I kept giving way to my big mouth, like when we were viewing Mum's body last year.

Having learnt my lesson, I will make an effort to control my big mouth when I am on cloud nine. So expect no unnecessary chatter from me if we run into each other on the streets or when I come to your shop to buy something. Adieu!

*********************
RECOMMENDATION: If you've enjoyed the above story on controlling my big mouth, you might also enjoy another one on "Part 2: Controlling Enthusiasm" which I wrote some time back. Just click on that link in blue to dive straight into the story.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Sharing is Caring

Like the above story? Then share it on:
Facebook icon X icon LinkedIn icon

How to Become an Early Riser

A True Story
by Thuita J. Maina
on Mar 7, 2025
Copyright ©
Picture related to the title of the story
With permission, I have extracted this picture-quote from Quote Fancy. All rights reserved worldwide.

As I have said before on this blog, I struggled for years to kick the bad habit of oversleeping. It was a struggle that I often lost since something depressing would happen, making me unable to get out of bed before dawn.

Because oversleeping dulled me, I tried to cheer myself up by going through a list I had written about 50 things to be grateful for as one motivational material advised people to do. The method didn't cure my dullness.

Another method I tried was listening to several positive affirmations I had downloaded in MP3 format. The positive affirmations were the usual yada yada "I am handsome. I am talented..." But they also didn't cheer me up.

The reason why those two methods didn't brighten me up, I have discovered, was because I wasn't living rightly. I had a habit of talking and walking too much when excited, hardly sparing any energy for developing my mind.

Not taking time to develop my mind so that I could think clearly and creatively, was what made me plunge into dullness after a few days of excitement. Of course with the dullness came the temptation to oversleep.

With time, I started limiting the talking and walking I did when excited so that I could use my energy to read, write, reflect and play the piano. Such wise use of my energy eventually made me mentally strong to kick my oversleeping habit.

Let me be quick to say that trying to break free from my oversleeping habit all of a sudden didn't work on me. What worked was making my waking-up time changes seem like a gentle improvement on the past.

These days, I spring out of bed before dawn with an enthusiasm that empowers me to fight for my dreams. I love having more time to do the thinking from which my blogging ideas arise. Isn't it wonderful to possess the virtue of early rising?

Stephen R. Covey, in his book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, had it right when he said that virtuous living is the key to personal effectiveness. For me, I consider the habit of early rising to be the mother of all virtues because it gives us more time to improve ourselves.

My beloved reader, I beseech you to also become an early riser if you aren't one. The trick to achieving that goal is spending a considerable amount of your energy in developing your mind and making your waking-up time changes seem like a gentle improvement on the past.

************************
RECOMMENDATION: If you've enjoyed the above story on how to become an early riser, you might also enjoy another one on "Rising Early Every Day" which I wrote a couple of years ago. Just click on that link in blue to dive straight into the story.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Sharing is Caring

Like the above story? Then share it on:
Facebook icon X icon LinkedIn icon
← Newer Stories  ||   No Older Stories

Connect With Me

Do you want to get regular updates of new stories and videos on this blog? Then connect with me on:
Facebook iconFacebook
X iconX
LinkedIn iconLinkedIn
Goodreads iconGoodreads
RSS Feed iconRSS Feed
WhatsApp iconWhatsApp


Latest Stories

Controlling My Big Mouth
on March 12, 2025

How to Become an Early Riser
on March 07, 2025

Poverty is Bad
on March 02, 2025

Bible Quote

"Always be full of joy in the Lord; I say it again, rejoice! Let everyone see that you are unselfish and considerate in all you do... Don't worry about anything; instead pray about everything; tell God your needs and don't forget to thank Him for His answers. If you do this, you will experience God's peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand."

~Phillipians 4:4-7 (TLB)

About the Author

Name: Thuita J. Maina
Nationality: Kenyan
Lives in: Kiserian, Rift Valley, Kenya
Mission: To inspire the world to godly living, one person at a time.

Just for Laughs

There was this drunkard named Azoge who loved drinking at Josiah's Bar. On being told a certain Hon. Nanga was flying to America to be conferred a law degree so that he could be admitted to the bar, Azoge replied, "Why fly all the way to America to be admitted to the bar while you can get into Josiah's Bar any time?"



The 7 Deadly Sins

  1. Pride
  2. Envy
  3. Gluttony
  4. Lust
  5. Anger
  6. Greed
  7. Sloth

Author's Note

I am learning to treat life as a journey, not a destination. So I am striving to enjoy each moment even as I anticipate to fulfill my dreams, especially meeting my soulmate and traveling abroad. Tomorrow may never be mine.

Fun Facts

  1. The fear of having no cell-phone service, running out of battery, or losing sight of your phone is called Nomophobia, reportedly affecting 66% of people.
  2. A single Google search needs more computing power than it took to send Apollo 11 to the moon. The Apollo computer was less equipped than a modern toaster.
  3. Besides being some of the biggest names in the tech industry, HP, Apple, Google and Microsoft share another commonality. They all started in garages.
~Extracted from Codingforums.com

Health Tip

So many of us take for granted the wonderful construction of the human body and the workings of its various parts. Some of us even expect it to function efficiently with less than the minimum care and attention. Learn the much you can about your body and how the care of it can help to give you that greatest blessing of all - good health.


Wonders of the Modern World

  1. The Simplon Tunnel
  2. The Sky-scrapers of New York
  3. The Boulder Dam of Colorado
  4. The Panama Canal
  5. The Golden Gate Bridge
  6. The Taj Mahal at Agra in India
  7. The North Sea Oil Drilling Rigs

Great Example for Politicians

"My life in politics was a joy. I loved campaigns and I loved governing. I always tried to keep things moving in the right direction, to give more people a chance to live their dreams, to lift people's spirits, and to bring them together. That's the way I kept score."

~Bill Clinton

Scientific Marvels

  1. Space travel
  2. Heart surgery
  3. Fibre-optics communication
  4. Concorde
  5. Radios
  6. Computers
  7. Anesthetics

My Supreme Desire

Although I'd like to be rich and famous, my supreme desire is to be radiant: to radiate health, cheerfulness, calm courage and goodwill. I wish to live without fear, hate, guilt, worry and jealousy. I wish to be honest, natural, confident, clean in mind and body - ready to say "I do not know" if it be so and to treat all men with kindness - to meet any loss, failure, criticism and rejection unabashed and unafraid.



Greatest American Presidents

  1. Abraham Lincoln
  2. George Washington
  3. Thomas Jefferson
  4. Franklin Roosevelt
  5. Theodore Roosevelt
  6. Woodrow Wilson
  7. Andrew Jackson

Making Peace With the Past

"Dwell not on your past. Use it to illustrate a point, then leave it behind. Nothing really matters except what you do now in this instant of time. From this moment onwards you can be an entirely different person, filled with love and understanding, ready with an outstretched hand, uplifted and positive in every thought and deed."

~Eileen Caddy

Toughest Colleges to Get Into

  1. MIT
  2. Princeton
  3. Harvard
  4. Yale
  5. Stanford
  6. Brown
  7. Columbia

Why You Should Trust God

"Men and women who turn their lives over to God will find out that He can make a lot more out of their lives than they can. He will deepen their joys, expand their vision, quicken their minds, strengthen their muscles, lift their spirits, multiply their blessings, increase their opportunities and pour out peace."

~Ezra Taft Benson

The 7 Greatest Scientists

  1. Albert Einstein
  2. Isaac Newton
  3. Galileo Galilei
  4. Nikola Tesla
  5. Aristotle
  6. Archimedes
  7. Charles Darwin

You Matter

"Always be yourself. Never try to hide who you are. The only shame is to have shame. Always stand up for what you believe in. Always question what other people tell you. Never regret the past; it's a waste of time. There's a reason for everything. Every mistake, every moment of weakness, every terrible thing that has happened to you, grow from it. The only way you can ever get the respect of others is when you show them that you respect yourself and most importantly, do your thing and never apologize for being you."

~Unknown

The Most Industrialized Nations

  1. United States
  2. Japan
  3. Germany
  4. France
  5. United Kingdom
  6. Italy
  7. Canada

Keys to Success

"...in his effort to withstand temptation, to economize, to exercise thrift, to disregard the superficial for the real - the shadow for the substance; to be great yet small, in his effort to be patient in the laying of a firm foundation; to so grow in skill and knowledge that he shall place his services in demand by reason of his intrinsic and superior worth. This is the key that unlocks every door of opportunity, and all others fail."

~Booker T. Washington

The 7 Social Sins

  1. Politics without principle
  2. Wealth without work
  3. Pleasure without conscience
  4. Knowledge without character
  5. Commerce without morality
  6. Worship without sacrifice
  7. Science without humanity

Cherish What You Love

"Cherish your visions, cherish your ideals, cherish the music that stirs in your heart, the beauty that forms in your mind, the loveliness that drapes your purest thoughts - for out of them will grow all heavenly environment, of these if you but remain true to them, your world will at last be built."~James Allen

The World's Largest Cities

  1. London in England
  2. New York in the United States
  3. Tokyo in Japan
  4. Berlin in Germany
  5. Chicago in the United States
  6. Shanghai in China
  7. Paris in France

Benefits of Optimism

"In terms of success, optimistic people out perform their pessimistic colleagues. Research shows that they are consistently promoted higher and make more money while working fewer hours than those who think pessimistically. Optimists also contribute more significantly to social progress. It is the optimists who start and run successful companies, who win elections and carry out reforms, and who make breakthroughs in the realms of science and technology."

~Pepe Minambo

The World's Greatest Lakes

  1. Caspian Sea in the Commonwealth of Independent States, C.I.S. (formerly U.S.S.R)
  2. Lake Superior in North America
  3. Victoria Nyanza in Central Africa
  4. Aral Sea in C.I.S.
  5. Lake Huron in North America
  6. Lake Michigan in North America

Demonstrating His Love

"Take your communication for instance - the way you address others. It ought to be with loving, gracious and edifying words. Never talk people down. Never use words that hurt and demean people. Communicate excellently with others without destroying their self-image or making them feel sorry for themselves. Talk to people in a way that they never forget the excellence of your words, the love and grace of Christ that you communicated. It's how God wants us to love."

~Dr. Chris Oyakhilome

World's Longest Rivers

  1. Missouri-Mississipi (U.S.)
  2. Amazon (Brazil)
  3. Nile (Egypt)
  4. Yangtse (China)
  5. Lena (Russia)
  6. Zaire (Central Africa)
  7. Niger (West Africa)