Thoughts for Several Days

Thought for the day. Remember that? Who came up with that idea, I wonder. A thought for the day is usually some inspirational or motivational quote. And if it's a good thought, why is it a thought for just the day? Why isn't it a thought for the rest of your life? Or at least a thought for the year, or a thought for the decade. And why is it only a thought? Why not a major rule to live by? Thoughts tend to be fleeting things, here one moment and gone the next. Seems to me a really solid motivational idea should be a way of life, not simply a thought. Think about that.

Thoughts for the day are mostly positive but there could also be negative thoughts for the day too, I suppose. If someone were a devout pessimist or an evil person then that person would undoubtedly look for a negative thought for the day to keep his negativity pumped. And remember, since we live in the age of all things being relative, one man's positive is another man's negative. We mustn't be judgmental on this thing. Quite possibly "negativity is the new positive." There's your thought for the day right there.

Everyone has their own favorite words to live by and inspirational quotes are highly personal things. Walt Disney said, "If you can dream it, you can do it." George S. Patton said, "Accept the challenges so that you can feel the exhilaration of victory." John d. Rockefeller said, "If you want to succeed you should strike out on new paths, rather than travel the worn paths of accepted success." Barak Obama said, "We are leading from behind."

Some quotes are not so much motivational or inspirational as they are truisms. For me, one of the best (and most cynical) is "No good deed goes unpunished." Another one with a similar meaning but less cynicism is "There comes a time when you have to stop crossing oceans for people who wouldn't jump puddles for you." A good thought for the day must have an element of truth to it, as both of these certainly do.

"Abnormal is the new normal" is not only a thought for the day, but sadly a commentary of our times. All you need to do is look around to know just how sad and true this one is. Here are a few others to think over:

"Dogs have masters. Cats have staff."

"Always remember that you are absolutely unique. Just like everyone else."

"Going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than standing in a garage makes you a car."

"People who think they know everything are a great annoyance to those of us who do."

"All generalizations are false, including this one."

"A government who robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul."

How about instead of a thought for the day, we have a day for a thought? Meaning that you pick one thought, any thought. It could be an intelligent thought, a witty thought, a stupid thought or whatever. Just come up with one thought when you get up in the morning and don't do anything else that day except think of that one thought. That's right. Just sit there and think of that one thought until bedtime. It better be one hell of a great thought because you're going to have hours of it.

Or how about this? Instead of a thought for the day, you have a "bought for the day," meaning you go out and buy yourself something new each day. Doesn't matter what, just buy something, anything. Now that I think of it, there are probably lots of people who are doing that already. They're called wives. JUST KIDDING! IT'S A JOKE! AN OLD JOKE! IT WAS TOO EASY, I COULDN'T RESIST IT. MY WIFE DOESN'T DO THAT. NOBODY'S WIFE DOES THAT. PLEASE FORGIVE ME. DON'T WRITE ME NASTY LETTERS. A JOKE, THAT'S ALL IT WAS.

Thought for the day… never make jokes about wives. They have no sense of humor.

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JWR contributor Greg Crosby, former creative head for Walt Disney publications, has written thousands of comics, hundreds of children's books, dozens of essays, and a letter to his congressman. He's been a JWR contributor since 1999.